Gone are the days when members of the Mamanwa tribe in Guirang village here have to climb uphill to fetch water following the completion of a water system project funded through a fund-raising drive organized by the Leyte Normal University (LNU) based in Tacloban City.

Tribe leader Jennifer Cabadongga welcomed the project as this will provide convenience to the 80-member tribe who had to walk for 200 meters along a steep slope to get water for washing and laundry.

“Even if we are tired from day-long work in farms, we have to go up to the nearby faucet to get water. With this project, we don’t have to do that,” Cabadongga told reporters on Monday.

She is upbeat that through this project, they will be able to maximize the use of their water filtration system for drinking.

LNU Bachelor of Arts in Communication head Eva Rosal said the school’s extension project was funded from the PHP30,000 net proceeds of an LNU concert organized by their department held on March 4, 2020.

“Before the concert, we had already identified the Mamanwa tribe as recipient of our fund-raising event. In our consultation with them, they have identified water supply as their immediate need,” she said.

Rosal thanked the LNU homegrown talents who performed during the concert, artist Matmat Centino, generous sponsors, students and alumni, faculty and staff, and all who bought tickets to the concert.

Based in Tacloban City, LNU is a center of development for teacher education in Eastern Visayas.

It was established as a normal school in 1921 and converted to a university in 1995. (PNA)