Over 100 kids provided with WiFi kits for online learning
Knowledge Channel Foundation, Mary’s Way Foundation, Globe Telecom and ABS-CBN partner together for the Big Blue Hearts Campaign.
102 Grade 1 public school children and 5 of their teachers from Santa Rosa, Laguna can now hold their classes online thanks to the Big Blue Hearts Campaign of Knowledge Channel Foundation (KCFI), Mary’s Way Foundation, Globe Telecom and ABS-CBN. The donation includes Globe at Home Prepaid WiFi Kits from Mary’s Way Foundation and internet load allowance good for 6 months from Globe Telecom. This comes at an important time when Filipinos are currently doing distance learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The beneficiaries from Balibago Elementary School and Santa Rosa Central Elementary Schools 1 and 3 will now be able to hold online classes and watch over 1,000 video lessons from Knowledge Channel uploaded online including Wikaharian, an educational video series being piloted in their classes to help them read better in Filipino.
In a virtual event launch held last January 21, KCFI President and Executive Director Rina Lopez-Bautista, thanked the partners of Big Blue Hearts and emphasized the importance of partnerships in making distance learning more affordable and accessible to Filipino families. “Sa kabila ng lahat ng ito, hindi natin hahayaang patuloy na mapag-iwanan ang mga batang Pilipino. Patuloy na nagsisikap ang Knowledge Channel Foundation kasama ang iba’t-iba pang partners tulad ng Globe Telecom, Mary’s Way Foundation at ABS-CBN para tulungan kayo, ang mga guro at magulang, sa patuloy na pag-aaral at pagkatuto ng mga bata sa bahay. Hindi po kami titigil sa aming misyon na magbigay ng kalidad na edukasyon gamit ang media at technology.”
In the same event, Globe Telecom’s Mike Agustin (Director for Enterprise Group-Sales), members of Mary’s Way Foundation represented by Maritess Pineda (Past President), ABS-CBN’s Connie Nolasco-Lopez (Chief of Staff, Office of the President), and Dr. Manuela Tolentino (Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd Santa Rosa) expressed their solidarity for the cause through the signing of a commitment pledge.
“It’s an opportunity to transform the way we educate the next generation through technology. Globe is happy to be part of this transformation…We’ll ensure learning will be effective and fun for young students,” Agustin said during the event.
For Mary’s Way, they saw the Big Blue Hearts as a mission. “How providential it is that due to this pandemic, education became a challenge, especially to the marginalized who had to resort to home schooling. With the help of KCFI ,we were able to find a niche to support some students with all that it takes to do home schooling,” Pineda said in her speech.
LOOK: Mary’s Way Foundation, Globe Telecom, ABS-CBN, DepEd Santa Rosa, and KCFI sign commitment cards for Big Blue Hearts
ABS-CBN, a long-time and steadfast partner of KCFI in making distance learning more accessible through TV, was not short in stating their support. “ABS-CBN’s commitment to helping uplift the lives of Filipinos is stronger than ever, especially now that providing education for children in need has become more challenging with this pandemic,” Connie Lopez emphasized. “But the task becomes easier when organizations the share our commit come to help us achieve our goal.”
For the Department of Education Santa Rosa Schools Division led by Dr. Manuela Tolentino, the united front of Big Blue Hearts was a timely blessing. “The City Division of Santa Rosa City is very lucky to have partners since then KCFI, and ABS-CBN and now Mary’s Way Foundation and Globe Telecom. Continuing education is really very hard during this time because of the existing pandemic, and the hardship we are encountering due to lack of resources and the inability of our people especially teachers and parents to embrace whole-heartedly the way education is being done now.”
KCFI and Mary’s Way Foundation continue to accept partners for Big Blue Hearts to help more learners all over the Philippines. To know more, visit: https://www.knowledgechannel.org/big-blue-hearts or email us at info@knowledgechannel.org