Thursday, July 24, 2008 Family turns over 9 classrooms By Elisabeth Baumgart Sun.Star Correspondent
PERHAPS the best present a man can receive on his 85th birthday is having the president attend his party.
Consul Antonio Chiu couldn’t agree more, as he thanked President Arroyo for attending yesterday’s formal turnover of the deeds of donation of the nine newly constructed classrooms to Gun-ob High School.
“This is the best birthday gift my father could ever receive,” Chiu said.
As his father, Ramon Chiu, celebrated his 85th birthday yesterday, he formally turned over the nine classrooms to Gun-ob High School. He previously donated 12 classrooms to the school.
Value
Because of the elder Chiu’s humble beginnings, he has not forgotten the value of education, his family said. Being a native of Cadiz City, Oriental Negros, life was not easy for Chiu after experiencing the hardships during the Japanese occupation.
Chiu’s family eventually decided to move to Bantayan, Cebu in order to evade the Japanese.
With Chiu being the eldest of nine children, he took it upon himself to work for his family to make ends meet and had to give up his own dream of attaining an educational
degree.
Initially dabbling in farming and small-time trading, Chiu and his family founded a company known today as B. Benedicto and Sons Co., Inc.
Despite his old age, he refused to settle down and instead, continues to help those who are in need. Currently, Chiu is the president of the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Grounded on the belief that “educated minds are the best way to make a country strong and to help people achieve a better life for themselves and their families,” Chiu has dedicated himself to the call of education.
Sacrifice
Since Barangay Gun-ob did not have a high school of its own, students were forced to travel to neighboring barangays in order to attain a high school degree.
It was only in 1995 to 1996 when the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Lapu-Lapu finally opened a night high school, using the Gun-ob Elementary school facilities.
“When he saw the children’s sacrifice of going to school every night, he then decided to help them out,” said Consul Chiu.
In 2002, Chiu met with barangay officials, offering to build 12 classrooms and an office for as long as officials could provide a lot for the proposed school.
Gun-ob High School officially opened its gates to high school students in 2003, accommodating 573 students in the newly constructed campus.
Over the years, the population of high school students rose steadily, slowly rendering the 12 donated classrooms insufficient.
“We already held classes on stage, at our covered court. Students would sit on wooden benches and teachers used mobile boards,” recalled Raul Davide, principal of Gun-ob High School.
Floods
Students had it even worse during the rainy season, when rain would fall nonstop. Floods would hit their classrooms and school officials were forced to stop classes.
Noting the plight of the students, Chiu decided to donate another set of classrooms to Gun-ob High school. Along with the nine classrooms, Chiu had a concrete fence constructed around the school, a steel gate and a stage.
“This is for the students, that they should value their education because this is the key to their future,” said Chiu’s son, Antonio.
And value they did.
For Neria Cabañero, a third year high school student of Gun-ob, she was more than happy to have more classrooms at her school.
“I’m really happy. This can really help us in our studies. Now everything will be much better,” said Cabañero.
