RESIDENTS of Barangay Awihao, an upland village located about seven kilometers from the Toledo City center, welcomed the completion of a health center that was built with the help of Therma Visayas, Inc. (TVI) and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (AFI).
The health center sits next to the barangay hall. It will benefit Awihao’s 2,000 residents.
For years, barangay health workers in Awihao dispensed services in a corner of the barangay hall, which also housed other local government offices and the barangay council session room.
Village-wide vaccination drives and other health-related activities had to be conducted in the nearby sports complex.
Awihao barangay captain Leonita Birao thanked TVI for helping the village.
“Health is one of our priorities and the health center is a big help, especially among the indigent residents. We are privileged to have TVI in the community,” Birao said.
TVI corporate social responsibility manager Edgardo Nicolas said the company saw the need to build a health center in Awihao after a 2014 study on the health conditions of residents in the village.
“A third party baseline study pointed out the need to improve health conditions in Barangays Awihao, Bato and Cabitoonan. This is why TVI decided to build health centers in our host communities,” said Nicolas.
TVI, a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp. and Vivant Corp., is building a 340-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Toledo City.
Nicolas said that TVI turned over a health center in Barangay Bato in 2014. This year, TVI intends to build a health center in Barangay Cabitoonan.