Lighting up lives, one lamp at a time

Residents of Sitio Dayapa can now look forward to a sparkling, glowing Christmas.

The off-grid community is only an hour away from the town proper of Tanay, Rizal, yet come sundown, its approximately 300 residents go about their chores in the dark.

“This community is just one hour away where there is light and where everybody takes things for granted. And one hour from that area to here is darkness,” related DATEM managing director and treasurer Engr. Lilit J. Tumbocon.

Going by its core value of malasakit, DATEM thus deemed it best to celebrate its 35th year in the industry with an outreach activity that would have an optimal impact to the community, a way to contribute to nation-building that is more long-term. The Quadruple A contractor, in partnership with Liter of Light, has distributed and installed more than a hundred solar lights in the homes and streets of Sitio Dayapa.

“We are very humbled that Sitio Dayapa welcomed us into their home and allowed us to brighten up their lives, so to speak. This paradise of a community deserves to be illuminated, and its children should not be made to struggle in the dark as they prepare for their future,” noted DATEM chairman and chief executive officer Engr. Levy V. Espiritu.

“Malasakit in English can mean many different things like compassion. It can also mean cooperation; it depends on how you relate to the other person. So that’s really where we build our business,” explained Arch. Lesley E. Villanueva, head of business development management division. “Every year we have an outreach activity, but this year, we wanted something that is more sustainable at the same time. Because our company is really focused on nation-building, we wanted something that will also contribute to that. So it’s not just a flash in the pan, it’s also something that the beneficiaries can carry on with them throughout the years.”

Villanueva learned of Liter of Light, a grassroots movement which provides high-quality solar lighting to communities with limited or no access to electricity. With its volunteers and global network, Liter of Light has, to date, successfully illuminated more than 140,000 households in the country and close to 400,000 homes across the globe.

“We decided to reach out to them to see how we can partner up and contribute to a community,” she shared.

According to Villanueva, they initially thought about doing something that involves construction, like building a community center or roads.

“But that’s also very time-consuming,” she said. “So we thought of doing something that will connect us directly to the community. And one thing that we saw that connected us directly is by helping them build their community. Not literally as in build their houses or build their community centers but something that will aid them, something that they need in their everyday lives.”

“We wanted something that they would own for themselves, something they can build for themselves. Less effort, less maintenance but it will have a bigger impact,” Villanueva further explained.

“We celebrated our 35 years, and we want to have a major outreach activity that will have optimal impact to a community,” said Tumbocon. “It’s the company’s way of giving back, by providing a community with something that is more meaningful to them. Having light is meaningful to a community.”

He continued: “Malasakit is one of our internal core values. It means taking care of the company, taking care of the community, taking care of the country, not for your own interest but also for the future generations. So this kind of activity is really sharing with the community. For us in the company, it’s walking the talk.”

Going forward, DATEM will still continue to provide responsible construction services, whether to the private sector or to the public sector, to help in nation-building. At the same time, it aims to have activities that will ensure inclusive growth in the economy. With its outreach projects, DATEM shifts its focus to the less fortunate communities in the country.

DATEM’s managing director emphasized the importance of going the extra mile in order to help more remote communities in the country.

“If we only bother to really reach out, we can identify communities which need help the most,” he said.

“We would like to inspire, first, our employees in the company and also try to inspire other companies to reach out and identify areas where they can help communities the most,” shared Tumbocon. “The keyword there is stewardship.”