THE sun wasn’t even out yet when 47 Globe volunteers arrived at the SM North Edsa Skydome in Quezon City one early morning on a special mission: to help turn senior citizens into #SeniorDigizens.
Throughout the four-hour “Teach Me How To Digi” Learning Session on Jan. 25, 2024, the volunteers assisted some 200 seniors as they went through lessons on digital skills, including Smartphone 101, and using email and life-enabling apps such as the GlobeOne app, GCash and KonsultaMD.
One of them was Jerome Callueng from Globe’s Channel Management Group, a “lola’s boy” who signed up because he knew how seniors struggle with using digital technology.
“Lola’s boy kasi ako (I am a Lola’s boy). So before my lola died, she ventured into iPads and other devices. I found out nahihirapan siya (that she was having a hard time). I wanted to help the senior citizens given na alam ko ‘yung hirap ng senior citizens natin when they’re dealing with technology or digital electronics,” said Callueng.
Giving back to community
Janette Patricia Guillen from Globe’s Information Systems Group, meanwhile, volunteered so she could “give back to the community.”
“Not through money, but through time, effort and skills. Di ba kasi maraming klase ng giving back to the community or volunteering? For me, I wanted to give my time and effort,” she said.
Guillen’s colleague in the ISG, Joseph Manalang, said volunteering for the #SeniorDigizen campaign was an opportunity to support seniors given their vulnerability to fraudsters.
“Of course, para hindi sila maloko ng mga (so they will not be duped by) scammer[s],” she said.
Pinky Salvanera, a developer at Globe’s Frontstage Engineering and Enterprise Intergration, said she wanted to see for herself the challenges that seniors encounter in using apps, including GlobeOne, which she helped develop.
Meanwhile, Joycelyn Mendoza from Globe’s Customer Experience Management Team said that through volunteering, she learned the importance of building trust with customers.
“I joined the volunteer program with the intention of learning how to effectively introduce digital literacy to individuals who may not be technologically savvy, particularly our senior citizens. Participating in this event allowed me to directly assist our customers, enabling me to gain insights into their struggles and perspectives. This knowledge can help us become better in advocating improvements and crafting customer education initiatives tailored to their needs,” Mendoza said.
Hands-on support
Volunteers were crucial in the #SeniorDigizen learning session as seniors needed hands-on support during the tutorials.
“We are grateful to our volunteers who gave their time and energy to help our seniors during the #SeniorDigizen Learning Session. They put customer centricity to action by providing immediate support to participants who had questions and clarifications during the session,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Group chief sustainability and corporate communications officer.
The #SeniorDigizen campaign aims to ensure that Filipino seniors are not left behind in the digitalization journey. By improving their digital skills, Globe aims to help them overcome apprehensions and misconceptions about digital technology, and protect them from fraud and other risks that lurk online.
To learn more about Globe’s initiatives for digital inclusion, please visit https://www.globe.com.ph/.