THE D. Tuazon Elementary School in Lourdes, Quezon City is the recipient of a 2-story, 4-classroom school building donated by Deutsche Bank Ag Manila and SM Prime Holdings through the SM Foundation.

The donation came with student desks, teachers tables and chairs, electric fans, blackboards and complete toilet facilities for each classroom. Aside from these, SM Foundation also donated textbooks, workbooks, magazine and teaching aids for use of the teachers of the School. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank employees renovated the school library, built bookshelves and equipped these with reference books and computers. The employees likewise did mural paintings of the classrooms.

Handing over the donation were SM Foundation represented by Carmen Linda Atayde, executive director for Education; and Deutsche Bank Ag Manila executives Mylene Caparas, global transaction and corporate banking coverage head; and Rhoneil Fajardo, chief operating officer of Deutsche Bank. Receiving the donation de Jesus, school principal; Dr. Corazon Rubio, OlC-School Division Superintendent of Quezon City and barangay captain Manny Crisostomo.

De Jesus said that while the school is ‘within a middle-class community, students enrolled in the school from barangays Lourdes, St. Peter, Maharlika, Daang Bundok and Manresa are impoverished people residing in these barangays.’

‘Private schools within the area like St. Theresa, Our Lady of Lourdes School and Sienna College are where children of these middle class families go’ so the D. Tuazon Elementary School with a 780-student population go on two shifts: 6-12 in the morning and 12-6 in the afternoon to accommodate the students in only 3 school buildings with 11 academic rooms at 43 students per classroom.’

De Jesus claimed ‘the new school building will greatly ease the congestion and hopefully with 4 additional classrooms, we estimate only 2 classrooms will go double shift and perhaps lessen the ratio of pupils per section.’

This is the third partnership of Deutsche Bank and SM Foundation in the school building activity with the first one in Caloocan and the second in Rosario Cavite. As in all its donated schoolbuildings, SM Foundation will adopt a yearly maintenance program for the school.