CORON, Palawan—Seventeen-year-old Darlene U. Factor saw how lack of electricity in several islands in Coron, Palawan has affected living conditions of residents and the education of children and young people like herself. “Hirap talaga ang buhay sa isla kasi walang kuryente. Nung nakita ko pamumuhay s aisla, nakapag-decide ako mag-EIM para makatulong din ako sa pamilya ko at sa kanila (Life is so difficult in the islands without electricity. When I saw how they lived, I decided to take EIM so that I would be able to help my family and the community in the islands),” Factor said. Factor is a grade 11 student taking up Electrical Installation and Maintenance (EIM) tech-voc strand at Coron School of Fisheries (CSF). She was planning to enroll in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) with the goal of being able to pursue later civil engineering in college. But when inquiring about the senior high school track offering at CSF, she learned the school does not offer STEM but EIM. During the inauguration last February 27 of the new EIM tech-voc lab built by CSF with assistance from Vivant Foundation Inc. (VFI) and Calamian Islands Power Corporation (CIPC), Factor said she made the right decision. With the help of VFI, the EIM track offering of CSF has been upgraded to include solar technology and the school received additional tools and equipment. VFI’s assistance also included NC-II training in solar technology for CSF EIM instructors to improve their capability to teach the enhanced curriculum. When she proceeds to Grade 12 and undergo work immersion, she will be able to use her knowledge in solar technology in conducting basic maintenance and repair work at the Banuang Daan Elementary School, where VFI and COREnergy Inc. installed a 15.12-kilowatt peak PV system that now powers the school’s three classrooms. Banauang Daan is an island barangay in Coron which is more than an hour’s ride away by boat from the port in Poblacion. It is known to many tourists because of two natural attractions: Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake. The elementary school has 233, of whom 230 are members of the Tagbanua tribe. COREnergy is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivant Corporation and is engaged in retail electricity supply, rooftop solar and energy engineering services. “We decided to work in education on seeing how it empowers young people to help not only themselves but also their communities,” said VFI Executive Director Shem Jose W. Garcia. VFI’s projects in the education include solar energization of remote and/or off-grid schools, EIM upgrading, assistance to plumbing tech-voc track, STEM support, and college scholarship. “When we energize remote public schools through solar, we combine it with the upgrading of the EIM-solar track of a nearby senior high school to ensure the sustainability of the installed PV system. By doing so, we make sure that there are skilled and knowledgeable people to conduct maintenance and repair on the PV system. We also hope to promote renewable energy in off-grid areas because the tech-voc upgrade provides the community a pool of electricians with knowledge of solar,” Garcia said. In Coron, the EIM-solar track has attracted several girls to enroll in a strand that is generally regarded as “a boy thing.” This has not deterred Factor from pursuing the track. She said that she would even decline the help from her male classmates. “Sabi ko sa kanila gusto ko ako gagawa para malaman ko papaano. Hindi naman porke’t babae hanggang dito ka lang. Para sa akin, dapat matutunan din ng mga babae ang trabaho ng mga lalake (I would tell them that I want to learn how to do it. Being a girl should not stop me from learning a man’s job. We girls should learn to do even the work traditionally given to boys),” she said. For the school year 2022-2023, of the 59 grade 11 students enrolled in EIM, 12 are girls. For the 44 grade 12 students, 11 are girls.