TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) – A total of 54 students from remote communities in Rizal, Cagayan have graduated as the first beneficiaries of “Project Classhome”, a program that helps students stay in school by providing them with a safe place to live and study.
The graduates include 33 senior high school students from San Juan Integrated School and 21 junior high school students from Bural Integrated School.
The project was launched in 2019 by the Department of Education (DepEd) and supported by other government agencies and private groups. It aims to help students from far-flung areas, especially Indigenous Peoples (IPs), by offering dormitory-style housing close to their schools.
DepEd Regional Director Benjamin D. Paragas said the project shows what can be achieved through teamwork, as he thanked the benefactors.
“Project Classhome proves that with unity and support, we can give students a better future,” he said.
San Juan Integrated School head Pedro Guimay said he once thought the project was only a dream.
“I didn’t expect it would happen, but now I’m seeing our students graduate, and it brings me so much joy,” he said.
Class valedictorian Chrichelle Pamittan shared how hard it was to reach school before the project started.
“We had to walk for hours through muddy roads, cross rivers, and climb hills. But Project Classhome gave us a place to stay after classes, and we had what we needed to keep going,” she said.
During the graduation ceremony, students received bags, groceries, school supplies, rice, and vegetable seedlings from various government agencies.
Since it began, the project has helped 96 students from the remote barangays of Masi, San Juan, and Bural of Rizal town –an insurgency-infested area.
The program is part of the government’s push to bring services to isolated communities through Executive Order No. 70, which created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Project Classhome was recently recognized by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development Region 2 for improving access to education in hard-to-reach areas. (GVB/PIA Cagayan)
