As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity, the Department of Science and Technology Region II (DOST-II) gave 85 essential relief packs and 10 units of Multi-Purpose Drying facility last 21-23 May 2021 at Sitio Naguilian, Barangay Fuga Island.

Fuga is one of the islands located north of Luzon, part of the Babuyan Archipelago, and a far-flung barangay in Aparri, Cagayan. It is accessible by boat and is 3-4 hours from Claveria town.

DOST-II, though its Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program, facilitated the conduct of the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) activity. The TNA was done to identify the science and technology needs of the community and to properly plan appropriate interventions through CEST.

The island is identified as a Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Area or GIDA with four elementary schools located in four different sitios. Due to economic difficulties, parents who can only afford to send their children to high school and college have the privilege to pursue their studies in the mainland, and those who aren’t capable will just continue to help their parents in the island to find food to eat.

Fuga has been hampered by lack of education, livelihood opportunities and limited electricity service. The island is left to use solar energy donated by supporting institutions to light up the villages. Solar panels lower the price of electricity that enable the islanders to save more from their income to spend for essentials such as food and education, and also provide them greater connectivity through mobile phone charging, access to television, radio, and internet services.

The result of the TNA showed that there is a need for interventions in education and health and nutrition. With education as entry point, DOST-II strategized with the installation of the Science and Technology Research-Based Openly-Operated KioskS or STARBOOKS in elementary schools powered by solar panel and batteries. More than 400 students and teachers will benefit from the STARBOOKS and allow students better access to education tools.

STARBOOKS, a knowledge product of the DOST’s Science and Technology Information Institute, provides reliable and free science and technology (S&T) information to the public in an offline mode. It includes books, journals, researches, and others, including livelihood videos that will help the students, teachers, and the community develop and enhance their S&T knowledge.

In the island, there are school children who dream to live the life that they’ve imagined; to be successful and to chase greater endeavors. One of them is Kimberly Miguel, a grade 9 student of Claveria Rural and Vocational School who imagined herself to be a flight attendant someday and to help her family to have a comfortable life.

“Ang pangarap ko po ay maging isang Flight Attendant. Gusto ko pong makapunta sa iba’t ibang bansa, gusto kong tuparin ang pangako ko sa kanila na mag-aaral po ako ng mabuti.” Kimberly said in an interview conducted by DOST-II.

“Ang trabaho pong ng mga magulang ko ay farmer at housewife po, kaya gusto ko pong umangat ang pamilya ko sa hirap” she added.

Another basic necessity that the community wishes to have is clean, potable water that will greatly help them improve their day-to-day living. About 2,000 residents of the island are unable to access clean water for drinking and sanitation, posing a serious health risk to residents. Thus, providing clean water and sanitation became the next agenda for DOST-II that conduct physicochemical water testing of their water sources for microbiology contaminants that is also one of the components of the CEST program.

To address the limited economic opportunities in the island, where farming and fishing are the main source of livelihood, DOST-II provided solar drying trays for their farm crops. Furthermore, the office plans to conduct training on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to improve the products of small enterprises in terms of safety, quality, and extending shelf-life.

To fully support the community entrepreneurs, DOST-II also provides timely, accurate and reliable services using the latest analytical methods and procedures that are accepted as international standards. This includes also the calibration of weighing scales used in business.

Moreover, Project Assistant II Elise Lucas shared her expertise and conducted training sessions on home care products, particularly the formulation of dishwashing liquid and detergent powder. This will enable the community members to engage in other livelihood activities, aside from farming and fishing, that can augment family income.

Moreover, to ensure the health of the young member of the community, the intervention also included the complementary feeding program conducted for underweight children in the island.

Another problem confronting Fuga Island are natural hazards particularly typhoons. In 2018, the municipality of Aparri reported the greatest number of damaged houses hit by Typhoon Ompong and Fuga Island was one of those affected because of its location. In times of calamities, islanders depended only on external assistance reinforced by the government.

With this sad reality, DOST-II plans to educate them on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to mitigate the negative impact of calamities. Likewise, the office intends to promote awareness and understanding of science-based information & technologies for disaster prevention & mitigation to make the community disaster resilient.

“We must find and identify S&T solutions that create economic opportunities and solve human development challenges not only in our region, but the entire Philippines,” said Engr. Sylvia Lacambra, provincial director of PSTC Cagayan during a meeting with the Marine Battalion officers and Barangay officials.

“This journey is made possible by the directives from our Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña and our Regional Director Sancho A. Mabborang, in bringing science and technology closer to the disadvantaged communities and into their hearts,” Lacambra shared.

The services provided by DOST-II to the community were made possible with assistance from the Marine Battalion Landing Team – 10/Naval Task Group Fleet Marine Cagayan who helped them reach the island and come back to the mainland safely.

Fuga Island, despite the limitations and challenges that the community faces, are determined to improve their lot and DOST-II, with its mandate to help marginalized communities, will continue to integrate S&T solutions in every community in the region and bring science closer to their hearts.