The education sector is one of the many sectors that has been, and still continues to be aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Online learning has been staunchly proposed to replace face-to-face classes, in the hopes of avoiding the spread of the disease within schools. However, it is not assured that every student is equipped with the necessary resources, nor their household qualified as conducive to undergo this type of learning; essentially, the plight of Filipino students has worsened. As students ourselves with the capacity and drive to help address the needs of a small percentage of students-in-need, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Thus, Salindiwa: Donation Drive was born.
Salindiwa: Donation Drive, launched July 5, 2020 on Facebook and Instagram, aims to benefit at least 100 students from Kapitan Moy Elementary School (KMES) in Marikina City. It was started by our high school barkada of five, now sophomore students from UP Diliman and UST, and sustained by a volunteer pool of around 20 members. As alumnae of St. Scholastica’s Academy Marikina (SSAM), we often used to visit the public elementary school to teach modules on Math, Science, English, and Values Education. The students of KMES genuinely made an impact on us.
Initially, we decided on a scope encompassing all public school students in Marikina City to whom we will be providing flash drives and electronic devices (desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone). However, upon consulting with prominent figures in community outreach, we decided to narrow our scope and maximize our impact by focusing on at least 100 students from KMES. The city government has also vowed to provide tablets for students from Grades 4 to 6, and the teachers from KMES recommended pocket wifi units to help bridge the gap for their online learning. Since the needs of our beneficiary changed from gadgets to pocket wifi, we followed suit.
As of September 1, 2020, Salindiwa was able to raise a total of P103,629.93 and received 4 pocket wifi unit donations. P77,910 has already been used to purchase 98 pocket wifi units for the students, paving the way for Salindiwa to reach its goal of providing internet connection to at least 100 students. Last September 4, the units were successfully turned over to the parents of the selected 102 students of KMES, with the help of the teachers themselves and principal of KMES.
Originally, the beneficiaries of the pocket wifi units were only Grade 4 students but upon further consultation and with the recommendation of the KMES Brigada Eskwela Coordinator and the School Principal, it was decided that the units would be spread across students-in-need from Grades 4 to 6.
The remaining funds will be used to sustain the online learning of our beneficiaries by loading each student’s pocket wifi unit with P400 pesos every month until the last month of the upcoming school year. This amount will be enough for 6GB of data for online learning.
The donation drive will be active until June 2021, the last academic month of SY 2020-2021. The remaining amount needed by Salindiwa is P351,579.07 to help support the internet connection of 102 students from KMES for a whole academic year.
Help Salindiwa: Donation Drive in ensuring that no student gets left behind by donating any amount through any of our donation channels. This will greatly help the 102 students of KMES continue their education amidst these trying times.
For monetary donations, you can donate through the following:
BDO
Maria Lourdes De Vera
002600004625
BPI
Alessandra Lim Jara
9759177468
QR Code: https://bit.ly/SalindiwaBPI
GCash
Alessandra Jara
09173171806
PayMaya
Micaela Gavino
09086102967
PayPal
