Building bridges, creating communities
August 1, 2006 | 12:00am
It takes people working together for the good of many to make the world a better place to live. But, jaded as I am, it takes more than reading or hearing someone say something like this to make me believe that there are actually people who really work for the good of other people. And then I took a trip to Cebu.
My cynicism was set aside as I watched members of several barangays in Southern Cebu listening intently at a seminar on how to make soap. Sure, soap would help improve people’s lives, but, more than just the desire for a better livelihood, there was the goal of making their communities more attractive for tourists to come and visit. In this way, the whole of Southern Cebu would benefit.
"Bridgecom sa Bayan is a project of Globe Telecom that allows us to reach out to the communities where we operate," says Jones Campos, PR head of Globe Telecom. "We hope that we can help improve the entrepreneurial skills of the people in the smaller communities in Southern Cebu."
Bridging Communities (BridgeCom) is Globe Telecom’s integrated corporate community relations program aimed at serving communities where it operates. The main thrust of the program is community development. In the long run, Globe hopes to be identified as a development partner of the communities where it operates.
Globe Telecom, ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation, and new partner Turismo Rural Foundation (a Cebu-based tourism foundation) are working together to make Southern Cebu one of the must-visit places in the country.
The day we were there, 90 participants from 30 barangays joined the business development training at the Metro Park Hotel in Lahug. Speakers from the Department of Agriculture of San Fernando, Cebu, the Department of Science and Technology, ABS-CBN Foundation, and Globe Telecom shared their skills and knowledge of entrepreneurship with the barangay leaders.
Jeffrey Tarayao, Globe Telecom community-relations head, says that the Bridgecom Sa Bayan, which is Globe Telecom’s social responsibility program, seeks to provide entrepreneurial skills for specific livelihood projects in various barangays. "But, what we are trying to do is to make the entrepreneurial training barangay-specific," says Tarayao. "We don’t want to have generic programs for barangays. What we hope to do is to give them entrepreneurial skills which are specific to their needs per barangay."
Bridgecom Sa Bayan is a three-part program. Globe Telecom and ABS-CBN Foundation start by identifying which communities need assistance. Once that is done, they visit the communities and meet with the community leaders, so together they can identify what would be best for the community. "This way, the community will own the project and be committed to its success," adds Tarayao.
Bridgecom Sa Bayan and ABS-CBN Foundation hope that when the communities become aware of what they can do to improve their lives, this will have a domino effect, helping other nearby communities as well.
Once the community identifies which livelihood project it might need, Bridgecom Sa Bayan and ABS-CBN Foundation start the process of developing an entrepreneurial program best suited for the community.
The micro-financing component is handled by ABS-CBN Foundation. Globe, meanwhile, helps in bringing the community together, as well as tapping the facilitators and speakers for the program.
It is also important that the project remains sustainable. And, in Cebu, Globe has tapped the Turismo Rural Foundation, which is committed to making Cebu the next "place to be" in the Philippines.
"What we hope to do here in Southern Cebu is to use ancestral homes that can be converted to bed-and-breakfast places for tourists," says Julie Vergara. "We will put small tourists shops where we can sell the products the local communities produce."
Globe hopes that this model in Southern Cebu will be replicated in communities in other parts of the country that need help developing entrepreneurial skills. After all, it is for the local communities that Bridgecom Sa Bayan was created. The seminar-workshops aim to encourage the local communities to be self-sustaining, and in this way, help the country move forward, too.
"What is important here is that at the start, the different members of the communities do not know each other," shares Tarayao. "In the process, they get to know each other and are willing to help each other grow as a community – regardless of what their individual agendas might have been when they joined the program."
Last year, Bridgecom sa Bayan reached more than 1,200 barangay leaders, 700 women entrepreneurs and over 400 barangays in the country.
There is a word for all this energy focused on achieving one task for the good of the whole: synergy. That trip to Cebu did one thing for me. Jadedness has no place in a world where people work to bridge communities.
My cynicism was set aside as I watched members of several barangays in Southern Cebu listening intently at a seminar on how to make soap. Sure, soap would help improve people’s lives, but, more than just the desire for a better livelihood, there was the goal of making their communities more attractive for tourists to come and visit. In this way, the whole of Southern Cebu would benefit.
"Bridgecom sa Bayan is a project of Globe Telecom that allows us to reach out to the communities where we operate," says Jones Campos, PR head of Globe Telecom. "We hope that we can help improve the entrepreneurial skills of the people in the smaller communities in Southern Cebu."
Bridging Communities (BridgeCom) is Globe Telecom’s integrated corporate community relations program aimed at serving communities where it operates. The main thrust of the program is community development. In the long run, Globe hopes to be identified as a development partner of the communities where it operates.
Globe Telecom, ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation, and new partner Turismo Rural Foundation (a Cebu-based tourism foundation) are working together to make Southern Cebu one of the must-visit places in the country.
The day we were there, 90 participants from 30 barangays joined the business development training at the Metro Park Hotel in Lahug. Speakers from the Department of Agriculture of San Fernando, Cebu, the Department of Science and Technology, ABS-CBN Foundation, and Globe Telecom shared their skills and knowledge of entrepreneurship with the barangay leaders.
Jeffrey Tarayao, Globe Telecom community-relations head, says that the Bridgecom Sa Bayan, which is Globe Telecom’s social responsibility program, seeks to provide entrepreneurial skills for specific livelihood projects in various barangays. "But, what we are trying to do is to make the entrepreneurial training barangay-specific," says Tarayao. "We don’t want to have generic programs for barangays. What we hope to do is to give them entrepreneurial skills which are specific to their needs per barangay."
Bridgecom Sa Bayan is a three-part program. Globe Telecom and ABS-CBN Foundation start by identifying which communities need assistance. Once that is done, they visit the communities and meet with the community leaders, so together they can identify what would be best for the community. "This way, the community will own the project and be committed to its success," adds Tarayao.
Bridgecom Sa Bayan and ABS-CBN Foundation hope that when the communities become aware of what they can do to improve their lives, this will have a domino effect, helping other nearby communities as well.
Once the community identifies which livelihood project it might need, Bridgecom Sa Bayan and ABS-CBN Foundation start the process of developing an entrepreneurial program best suited for the community.
The micro-financing component is handled by ABS-CBN Foundation. Globe, meanwhile, helps in bringing the community together, as well as tapping the facilitators and speakers for the program.
It is also important that the project remains sustainable. And, in Cebu, Globe has tapped the Turismo Rural Foundation, which is committed to making Cebu the next "place to be" in the Philippines.
"What we hope to do here in Southern Cebu is to use ancestral homes that can be converted to bed-and-breakfast places for tourists," says Julie Vergara. "We will put small tourists shops where we can sell the products the local communities produce."
Globe hopes that this model in Southern Cebu will be replicated in communities in other parts of the country that need help developing entrepreneurial skills. After all, it is for the local communities that Bridgecom Sa Bayan was created. The seminar-workshops aim to encourage the local communities to be self-sustaining, and in this way, help the country move forward, too.
"What is important here is that at the start, the different members of the communities do not know each other," shares Tarayao. "In the process, they get to know each other and are willing to help each other grow as a community – regardless of what their individual agendas might have been when they joined the program."
Last year, Bridgecom sa Bayan reached more than 1,200 barangay leaders, 700 women entrepreneurs and over 400 barangays in the country.
There is a word for all this energy focused on achieving one task for the good of the whole: synergy. That trip to Cebu did one thing for me. Jadedness has no place in a world where people work to bridge communities.
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