Tondo school gets boost for Brigada Eskwela

MANILA, Philippines — Over 1,000 volunteers from TELUS International Philippines and its partners joined a special Brigada Eskwela initiative at Lakan Dula High School in Tondo, Manila on Aug. 12.

Canadian Ambassador David Hartman volunteered, along with TELUS officials and employees, to prepare the school ahead of the opening of classes later this month.

Sixty classrooms, 15 hallways and 23 staircases were repainted, while 368 chairs were refurbished. Four murals were also painted in different parts of the school, which has more than 5,000 students.

“We firmly believe that education is so important… for nation-building, and it’s just not the Department of Education or the schools that have responsibility for it,” said TELUS Asia Pacific and Africa regional vice president Rajiv Dhand.

“It’s the private sector like us who also has to contribute, not only with money, but with heart, hands and mind to ensure that when the students come back, they have nice classrooms, the teachers have a place where they can teach and they can (help students) fulfill their full potential,” he added.

Last week, TELUS initiated the preparation by repairing floors, windows and ceilings in badly damaged classrooms. It will also donate an additional 200 chairs and 120 electric fans to the school.

This is the ninth year that the company participated in Brigada Eskwela.

Among those who took part in the TELUS Days of Giving 2023 were its president and chief executive officer Jeff Puritt and country vice president Anne Munoz.