Solar energy lights Kidapawan IP village

KIDAPAWAN CITY -At least 50 houses built for the Manobo families here were lighted through the use of solar energy.On Wednesday, City Mayor Joseph Evangelista led the ceremonial switching on of solar led lights to Manobo homes at Barangay Balabag, a hinterland village located on Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak.Evangelista said the households’ solar lighting system was made possible through the seed money, a project of the International Urban Training Center (IUTC) in Gangwon Province of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Habitat.The seed money given in July to the Kidapawan LGU amounted to US$10,000 (P450,000).The project, he added, benefits 50 households of the indigenous peoples located at Umpan Village in Barangay Balabag, this city.The turnover and ceremonial switch on of Umpan Village’s household solar lighting system was attended by Doo Jung-so, Korean Ambassador for international affairs from Gangwon Province Park Yeong Min and Dr. Yeong-hoon Kim of the IUTC from Gangwon Province and Professor Kwi Gon Kim of the UN Habitat.Ambassador Doo said that with the solar led lights, Manobo children, can now study their lessons at night.The lights do not only illuminate the IP houses but also prevent dengue-causing mosquitoes to harm the residents, according to Evangelista.The houses for the Manobos were built early this year through funding -- about P2.5 million, from the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Kidapawan LGU.Barangay Balabag chairman Datu Eduardo Umpan has donated his lot to become the site of the project.