The project was initiated in response to the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School-Program, which aims to provide much needed assistance and service to public schools by creating partnerships among the business sector, NGOs, civic groups, individuals and the education department.

Present at the handover ceremony were Navotas mayor Toby Tiangco, Department of Education (DepEd) school division superintendent Dr. Nenita Rivera, Daanghari principal Dr. Teresita Lopez, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Luzon operations manager Robby Nazal, Deutsche Bank chief operating officer Rhoneil Fajardo, faculty, students and community members of Daanghari Elementary School.

Deutsche Bank, in partnership with the PBSP, identified Daanghari Elementary School as its project beneficiary in 2005. Due to a lack of classroom facilities, Daanghari Elementary School had a classroom student ratio of 1:91.

"We chose the Daanghari Elementary School because of its critical pupil-classroom ratio where its 2,536 students share only 28 classrooms," said Enrico Cruz, Deutsche Bank’s Chief Country Officer for the Philippines.

"This is our modest contribution to the development of the country’s educational system," Cruz added.

The project also formed part of Deutsche Bank’s active involvement in PBSP’s Strategic Private Sector Partnerships for Urban Poverty Reduction (STEP-UP). The STEP-UP program aims to assist poor communities through the provision of affordable housing, school building, roads, portable water and drainage systems. In fact, Deutsche Bank was recognized as among the top private sector partners by PBSP for its continuing efforts to alleviate poverty.

The Bank’s contribution to the Daanghari Elementary School also earned it a Department of Education Partnership Award.