Rebuilding better

MANILA, Philippines – One of the most outstanding characteristics of the Philippines is its numerous breathtaking islands – more than 7,000 islands of various sizes fronting breathtaking seasides and sunsets. The archipelagic nature of the country is a boon to tourism during summertime, but definitely a risk during the rainy season. Numerous communities in the country are situated near coastlines and low-lying areas, increasing the likelihood of property damage due to flooding and unexpectedly strong storm surges.

Such was the case, and disastrously so, one fateful day in November 2013 as Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) battered the central Visayas region, leaving millions of pesos in property damage, entire towns washed out, and countless lives lost.

Most of the recovery and restoration efforts focused on the rebuilding of shelters and educational facilities, with numerous non-government organizations (NGOs), private companies and entities and local government units (LGUs) partnering to make rapid progress in restoring the lives of the survivors to normalcy. Because of this, numerous schools and educational centers have been put up since the typhoon. These facilities allowed students to return to their normal study routines shortly after the calamity.

However, there are some who saw the rebuilding efforts as an opportunity to improve on what used to be sufficient infrastructure. True to our culture of innovation, Intel took the opportunity to provide better learning opportunities to the residents of Tanauan, Leyte.

What we have here is an opportunity not only to allow the community’s students to return to normal. We at Intel wanted this to be an opportunity to offer a better quality of education to the children of Tanauan by rebuilding a stronger school that is supported by ICT infrastructure that will empower the students for a digitally inclusive learning experience.

During the first day of classes in public schools around the country, Intel Philippines, on behalf of Intel Corporation and Intel Foundation, officially turned over the rebuilt Sto. Niño Elementary School in Tanauan, Leyte, to local government and school officials. Aside from providing disaster-resilient school buildings, Intel also provided laptops, 2-in-1 laptop/tablet devices and a content access point to provide robust ICT learning capabilities to the school.

To ensure that these ICT devices are put to good use, Intel enlisted the help of its elite Intel Education Volunteer Service Corps (IESC) to provide digital literacy training to all the 16 teachers of the school. Appropriately calling themselves Team Alay, the IESC volunteers offered basic technology training to equip the students and teachers of Sto. Niño with the skills to keep up with the digital landscape.

“The focus of the trip was to provide digital literacy to the teachers and students of Sto. Niño Elementary School. Instead of writing their teaching materials manually over and over again, they can now use a computer to prepare lesson plans, create grading sheets and other day-to-day tasks in a simpler, more creative and efficient manner. On the last day, the teachers sang a thank-you-please-come-again song to us and before we knew it, tears started trickling down our faces by this sweet and unexpected gesture. They thanked us for teaching them. Now they feel better equipped for teaching,” said Wei Ling, one of the IESC volunteers serving as the project manager.“Upon leaving, I realized that not only did they learn, they also taught us about resilience and strength, giving me a new perspective on the entire experience. I would like to send my deepest gratitude to everyone at Sto. Niño Elementary School, Philippine Science High School and the community of Tanauan. I am filled with admiration and respect for each of you, and you will always have a special place in my heart. I am confident that they will thrive and continue to rebuild a better future,” shared Marianne, another IESC volunteer who has Filipino roots and served as a teacher trainer during the program. Our goal is to provide more than just a rebuilt Sto. Niño Elementary School for the community. This effort highlights Intel’s ongoing dedication to provide a holistic and systemic way of improving the learning opportunities of students in the Philippines and around the world.

Our work in Sto. Niño is only the start – we hope that this can be a best practice case on how transformative education would not only boost the country’s digital literacy but also offer Filipinos better opportunities for their future.

The volunteers, dubbed Team Alay, offer basic technology training to equip both students and teachers.

 

The author is Intel Philippines’ country manager.