HEEDING the call of the Department of Education (DepEd) to support the yearly Brigada Eskwela, leading business process-outsourcing (BPO) services provider Telus International Philippines (TIP), in partnership with the nonprofit organization Hands on Manila, transformed a school and a community in Tondo, Manila, during the company’s annual Telus Days of Giving (TDOG) on May 13.
“Telus Days of Giving are just one of the ways our company provides team members with the opportunity to showcase their commitment to the communities around the world where we live, work and serve,” said Jeffrey Puritt, president and CEO of Telus International.
He furthered: “We reinforced our corporate philosophy, We give where we live, right here in Manila when we came together today to create a safe, clean and comfortable learning environment for students to maximize their potential.”
Serving as a kickoff for the DepEd’s yearly school clean-up program, Brigada Eskwela, over 2,600 TIP volunteers came straight from a full night’s shift to spend their Saturday at Rosauro Almario Elementary School to refurbish some of the school’s facilities and extend their helping hands to the surrounding community by sharing first aid, disaster preparedness, livelihood and job-interview skills.
Aside from repainting walls, repairing chairs, refurbishing bathrooms, planting gardens, and replacing school windows, TIP volunteers built a new kindergarten classroom to accommodate more students. The company also conducted a dental mission for the students of the school, and organized a workshop to train teachers in first aid and proper health-care treatment, so they can better care for their students in the event of accidents and disasters.
Milette Belen, Telus CSR manager, said what is unique this year is that they also equipped the community near the school with the basic skills and knowledge needed in times of disasters.
“This area is often hit by fire, so it also best to teach them to be safe as well, and how to respond during a fire incident,” Belen said in an interview.
This year’s TDOG focused on fire prevention, emergency preparedness and trauma- recovery workshops, which were attended by teachers, barangay officials and community representatives. TDOG also prepared livelihood programs, such as soap- and candle-making workshops, and administered communication skills and job training for residents seeking employment in the BPO industry. TIP volunteers provided short courses on language training and shared interview techniques and etiquette tips to help job seekers from the community build confidence and to better prepare them for job interviews.
To further highlight the goals of the event and appeal to the caring culture of its team members, TIP created a chair exhibit that features broken chairs taken from Rosauro Almario Elementary School and showcased them in the five TIP offices in Metro Manila. According to Carlos Giammattei, brand, Marketing and Culture director at TIP, the exhibit is a symbol of hope for this year’s TDOG. “These chairs represent, not only the work needed for the school, but they also symbolize the hope of creating a better and stronger community if we work together as one,” Giammattei shared.
This was TIP’s fifth time supporting the Brigada Eskwela program and, to date, the Telus Days of Giving activities have already helped tens of thousands of students in Metro Manila public schools, including the more than 9,000 elementary students attending Rosauro Almario Elementary School.
TIP held its first Telus Days of Giving in 2007, when team members built homes in the TELUS-Gawad Kalinga Village. For the past 10 years, the company has helped thousands of families and underprivileged children and students through its partnerships with non- government organizations, such as Gawad Kalinga, Bantay Bata, Bantay Kalikasan, Virlanie Foundation and Hands on Manila.
Brigada continues to generate funds
The DepEd said Brigada Eskwela continues to generate higher support every year from education stakeholders since its first kickoff in 2003.
In a recent press conference at the DepEd Central Office, Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali recalled how this effort evolved since its first implementation, “Noong 2003, hindi pa mandatory para sa ating paaralan ang pagsali sa Brigada. Only around 30 percent of our schools participated that time. But in 2007 it increased to 100-percent school voluntary participation.”
This increase in school participation—noting its nonmandatory status—led to the issuance of a Department Order in 2008, which enjoined all DepEd schools to participate yearly in the Brigada Eskwela activities.
Furthermore, Umali also cited the increase in the generated resources from education stakeholders. From the generated resources and support in 2012 amounting to P1,519,575,657.13, it increased to P7,263,949,535.83 in 2016.
“With these figures, kitang kita po natin kung paano naging matagumpay ang Brigada Eskwela sa pagsulong ng mga taon,” Umali said.
“For this year 2017 if we equal what we have done last year, that, by itself is already an achievement. But I’m sure that we will surpass it,” Umali added.
For her part, Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones mentioned that aside from school maintenance activities, other efforts such as the anti-illegal drugs use campaign lectures, distribution of pencils gathered under the One Million Lapis Campaign, and opening of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) registration desk, will also be conducted at the national kickoff in Cebu City.
“Many of our children are still unable to join the formal learning system. With all its improvements and opportunities, meron pa ring hindi nakakaabot dahil sa poverty, school’s distance, early marriages, etc.,” Briones said on the opening of the ALS registration desk. Briones shared that the Education Department is expecting around 500 to 1000 Brigada volunteers and people from the community in Cebu City to register in the ALS registration desk.
Furthermore, other activities such as earthquake and fire drills, Rabies Awareness Campaign, and tree/vegetable planting are set to be conducted in selected schools nationwide.The whole DepEd Executive Committee (ExeCom) and other DepEd officials are set to spread and visit all regions to participate, and monitor the successful conduct of the Brigada Eskwela 2017.