LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The provincial government is now pilot testing the use of water purifiers in 24 public schools in this capital town to make sure that thousands of schoolchildren and students will have available supply of fresh water for their drinks.
Gov. Nestor B. Fongwan expressed concern over the rapid increase in kidney patients having haemodialysis treatment, especially those younger ages, because of their failure to drink fresh water but instead patronize carbonated and energy drinks.
“We want our children and students to be exposed to sufficient supply of fresh water through the availability of the water purifiers. Let us educate our children to drink fresh water in order to spare them from contracting the dreaded kidney ailment that would drain the resources of families who have patients undergoing the regular dialysis treatment,” Fongwan said.
If the use of the water purifiers in the 24 schools will be successful, the governor said the provincial government will try its best to provide the 460 public elementary and secondary schools with the needed water purifiers to make sure that children will be drinking fresh water instead of the usual carbonated and energy drinks that are expensive.
Fongwan proposed a partnership with the Cordillera Adivay Lion’s Club in order to address the alarming problem of kidney ailment among young adults that would compromise the bright future of today’s youth, thus, the need for sufficient resources that could be provided to the schools in order to empower the children and students to continuously drink fresh water.
According to him, one unit of water purifier with hot and cold features costs around P27,000 which is cheaper compared to the enormous expenses to be rendered by an individual undergoing thrice a week dialysis that amounts to more or less P10,000 per week.
He cited the existence of civic-minded groups like the Cordillera Adivay Lion’s Club and other similar groups that extend utmost assistance to the different communities and people in need of help since investing to the social needs of the people should be one of the major priority of government apart from dealing heavily with infrastructure.
“We must keep our children healthy by teaching them the right attitude towards eating the right kind of food and drinking sufficient volume of water. Let us learn to go back to the basics for our children to be guaranteed better health,” he added.
He said it is noteworthy to consider that numerous individuals seeking financial assistance from the government and social welfare agencies are those undergoing dialysis treatment because of their kidney ailments, thus, it is best to prevent the occurrence of such dreaded ailment by starting the children young in observing the correct lifestyle for them to be able to be spared from what is now a major social concern.
The governor reiterated his reminders that keeping the health of children should be the major role of parents, thus, they must continuously educate their children to drink water instead of patronizing the expensive carbonated and energy drinks which are being promoted by well-known personalities among other measures that would prevent them from contracting the dreaded diseases like kidney ailments that is now a major problem among schoolchildren and students alike.
By Dexter A. See
