GILAS is a multi-sectoral initiative that provides Internet access for students and basic Internet literacy programs for public secondary schools in the Philippines. GILAS is part of the corporate social responsibility programs of Innove.
"What we have done with GILAS is to choose priority areas. Towards this end we choose the areas which have the initiative to deploy computers," added Cagurangan.
One of the first to do just that was Lapu Lapu City, Sta. Rosa High School in Olango Island in particular. What Innove does is to work together with local government, school, Department of Education and the local community so that, in the long run, the GILAS projects become self-sustaining. Innove has gone as far as providing a dedicated Globelines telephone line for Internet access.
The computers in the computer lab are interconnected but Internet access is done through the dedicated line and also through dial-up. "This way we are able not only to help the school in teaching the students the use of the computers and the Internet but also give the community a source of livelihood," said Cagurangan.
We took a 15-minute boat ride from Punto Engaño, Lapu Lapu City to Olango Island which has a population of 23,000. The island has four high schools which have been furnished with computers by the local government. "At this point, the students here are far behind the students in the Cebu City, " said Mar Cabahug, head of the anti-poverty unit of Lapu Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza. "Matter of fact, many of the students here in Olango have never seen a computer. We want that to change and we want our students to be prepared for better jobs."
Upon reaching Sta. Rosa High School, we were welcomed to the new computer lab, which has 30 computers. School principal Woodrow Deluyo is doing everything so the 1,332 students there can make full use of the computers.
"We cater to seven out of the eight barangays on the island," said Deluyo. Deluyo has already spread the word in the island that the computer lab will be used as an Internet café at night. This way, he says, everyone can benefit from the lab.
And to make everything work well, the local government has also given
Sta. Rosa a generator set which it can use should there be power failures.
"We are so fortunate to have these computers here. I have so many plans – I want our freshmen to learn the basics of using the computer, so that when they get to third and fourth year they will be ready to tackle the use of the Internet," said Deluyo. "If the students use the computer for even just two hours, it will already be a big help."
Indeed.
It’s also good, said Deluyo, that there is a standby generator because he expects to have the computers and the air-conditioning unit running for at least nine hours a day.
And then there are the after-school hours when the computers can be used by out-of-school youth or other members of the community. "We need to keep this computer lab fully functioning and one of the best way is to get all the people on the island involved," added Deluyo. "Of course, we will charge a small fee for anyone who wants to use the computers after school hours. But I am sure that all the money they invest in learning will be worth it."
Cagurangan told us it was no easy task getting the system up and running. But she said that Innove did all it could so everything would be in place. "Through GILAS, we give the school free Internet access for one year. After that, it is up to them to find ways to keep the project going," quipped Cagurangan. "We feel that the best way to help the community is to give them other means of livelihood as well."
Many of the students who graduate from Sta. Rosa are not yet ready to go to college or even to look for work. Last year, out of the 269 graduates only 20 went to college, another 20 went to look for work and the rest stayed in Olango because they were only 16 years old.
This is where Deluyo feels that the Internet café will be a big help – for those students who are not yet ready to go to college because they are too young. "If we give them access to the Internet maybe when they reach 18 and decide to look for work in the city or go to college they will be on equal footing with the other students," said Deluyo. "Before the computer lab was set up, some of the kids here had never even touched a computer. So, it was hard for them to find work."
But the Internet will not only be used to help the residents of Olango Island find work in other places – Deluyo believes the Internet access will also help them become better fisherfolk because they will be able to search the Internet on the best techniques for fishing.
"It is important for us at Innove to make sure that all GILAS projects are fully functioning. This is why I am always in touch with our project beneficiaries so Innove can assist them if necessary," said Cagurangan. "Lapu Lapu City is the first Internet-ready, fully-connected city under GILAS. Mayor Arturo Radaza has done all that he can to make sure of this."
Deluyo is hopeful that soon enough broadband access will also be available on the Island.
"If the island shows it is ready for it, Innove will try to give them that too," opined Cagurangan. "We hope to give the best access to information that we can."