Citibank IT experts volunteer as trainers

On Saturdays, members of the Citibank’s technology group log in a few hours as volunteer trainers at the Krus na Ligas High School in Quezon City.

They also serve as mentors to the school’s Computer Club as part of the Personal Computers for Public Schools Program of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).

Citigroup Foundation, through United Way International, has funded the establishment of computer laboratories in public high schools. Krus na Ligas High School is the seventh beneficiary. More labs are currently on the drawing board.

An integral part of Citibank’s computerization effort is the participation of its staffers in the community outreach program. The bank strongly encourages volunteerism among its employees, believing that true support for a community outreach program does not involve only monetary or material donations but also time and knowledge.

As Citibank country corporate officer Catherine Weir said, "Citibank’s investment does not end with the donation of hardware alone. We also pledge to supplement the hardware with ‘software’ – not the kind that you install in the computers but the kind that you store in the minds of their users."

Citibank’s technology staffers share their expertise with the teachers and students of Krus na Ligas High School via formal and informal sessions. The formal sessions involve teachers’ training, while the informal sessions are hands-on activities for the students, ranging from simple computing tips and shortcuts to desktop publishing and even basic programming.

"This ‘soft’ component of the grant is just as important to us as the hardware that goes with it," Weir said. The hardware component of the grant from Citigroup includes over 20 complete, brand-new computers and peripherals.

For its part, the school pledged to use them actively as teaching tools, while its Parent-Teacher Community Association promised to do their part in taking good care of the computers and encouraging their children to make full use of them.