Elementary pupils of Sitio Durian, Barangay Lucac, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, recite a poem of thanks during the inauguration ceremony of their newly completed 1 unit-2 classroom sub project.They are just few of the children in the community who will benefit from the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan- Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services’ (Kalahi-CIDSS’) Classroom Construction for Lumads (CCL) program in partnership with Department of Education (DepEd), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

A total of 251 schools with 605 classrooms will be built for different indigenous people (IP) communities in Mindanao. The Caraga Region will have the most number of schools with 75 along with 198 classrooms. This is part of the national government’s intensive efforts to address the needs of lumad communities by providing them accessible and culture-based education.