Wyeth commits to support education of underprivileged youth

MANILA, Philippines - It was Pablo Picasso who said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” He may have said this decades ago, but these words still ring true until now. After all, how many children – all brimming with promise and creativity – just fade away when they grow up?

Today, Wyeth Nutrtion and Synergeia Foundation are working hand-in-hand to do their part by nurturing future generations through education. And they’re doing it through a simple but ingenious way – by giving notebooks to thousands of underprivileged schoolchildren all over the country.

“A notebook may not seem anything special to some, especially for kids who have had the benefit of growing up with cellphones, tablets and gaming consoles; but for a same-aged child, who’s not as fortunate, a simple notebook can represent his canvas for the future,” says Richard Arboleda, associate director for Communications, Wyeth Philippines.  

Arboleda shares that what makes the notebooks extra special are their designs, which were specially made by three gifted artists who are schoolchildren themselves. The child artists are Allie Arroyo who began painting at 5 and is now improving her craft under noted artists Bambi Manosa and Elaine Herbosa; Antonio Tordesillas, who has already had a solo exhibit at the age of 14; and Marco Flores who hails from the art capital of the Philippines, Angono, Rizal.

“Our aim is to promote literacy and to encourage children to be creative and value education; we are able to achieve that through the gift of these three children. Access to notebooks leads to more writing and reading, which then fosters an increase in proficiency,” says Arboleda. 

From June 15 to August 15, Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation will be launching the Nurture.Inspire.Give campaign. Here, any purchase of Aqiva (900g), Progress Pre-school Gold (900g and 1.6kg), Promil Pre-school (900g and 1.6kg), Bonakid Choco Boost (800g), Bonakid Pre-school (900g, 1.2kg and 1.6kg), Enercal Plus (900g), or ProMama (900g) comes with a free limited edition notebook and a scratch card. The scratch card has a promo code, which one can use to register through SMS to be eligible for the raffle promo and to enable a child to receive his/her own notebook.

Wyeth Nutrition will give away P20,000 worth of gift certificates for school supplies and an educational gift pack worth P5,000 to 50 raffle winners on July 17 and another 50 winners on August 16.

Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation pledge to give away notebooks equal to the total number of registrants. 10,000 registrants would mean 10,000 notebooks to be given away to less fortunate schoolchildren in the Philippines.

“No one understands children better than children themselves; and it is because of this that we chose to have Marco, Allie and Antonio design the notebooks,” notes Arboleda. “Looking at their designs, it’s no exaggeration to say that we may be very well looking at the future of Philippine art.”

Arboleda is also proud of Wyeth Nutrition’s partnership with Synergeia Foundation, which implements programs to improve basic education to nearly 1.5 million schoolchildren in 250 municipalities in the Philippines. Since 2011, the organizations have collaborated to implement feeding programs and inspire employee volunteerism.  “What they do is travel to the remotest barangays in the country to work with communities in order to upgrade basic education – and that’s why we’re sure that help really reaches those who really need it.