THE Procter & Gamble Philippines (P&G) turned over computer tablets to a school in Tacloban City last Saturday.
The turnover was held in time for the reopening of the Robinsons Place Tacloban, which closed after getting severely damaged by typhoon Yolanda last Nov. 8.
Some 1,025 pupils will benefit from the 150 tablets and 15 Pocket WiFi dongles given to the Marasbaras Elementary School, which is located near the mall in Barangay Marasbaras.
Launched in 2011, the “e.Studyante program” has provided laptops and tablets to schools in several communities where the Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) operates.
“Our dream is to help our school children keep up with children in other countries,” said Anna Legarda, P&G country communications leader during the turnover ceremony held at the mall.
The project, she said, aims to enhance education in the country through technology and connectivity.
Under the project, the RRHI identifies the beneficiary while the P&G donates the gadgets.
“The role of the school is to keep the tablets in good shape and make sure the children are able to use the gadgets,” Legarda said, adding that the gadgets are “good, efficient and effective”.
She said the mall is now identifying another school in Tacloban where they can donate tablets.
Killed
Tacloban was devastated by typhoon Yolanda, which killed more than 6,000 people across the Visayas. Several infrastructures, including schools, were destroyed.
Department of Education Tacloban City Division Assistant Superintendent Carmela Tamayo said 60 percent of students have gone back to school so far.
Legarda said the P&G has been distributing kiosks stuffed with their products to small store owners who lost their livelihood to the typhoon.
The company has also partnered with the USAid to restore 500 sari-sari or small stores in Tacloban and the neighboring towns of Palo and Tanauan.
The P&G provided the store owners with P1,000 to P2,500 worth of starting goods.
It also donated products to the Red Cross Philippines for the latter’s relief operations following the typhoon.