Generika Drugstore, Ayala Foundation’s Scholarship Program Empowers Next Generation of Pharmacists

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Scholars smile with Generika Drugstore and Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI) officials during a virtual meet-and-greet before their semester started in August.

Aspiring pharmacist Micaella Abedejos from Davao City is pursuing her degree for a deeply personal reason: she wants to help her sick grandmother, who is taking several medications.

"Whenever I come home from school, my grandmother would ask me about her medications, and being able to explain it to her made me happy," 20-year-old Micaella shared.

Her knowledge from pharmacy school empowered her to explain to her grandmother the purpose of each medication, helping her manage her health and avoid potential errors. To Micaella, this is the important role pharmacists play in the community—to educate and empower the vulnerable sectors of our society.

“This inspired me to share my knowledge about her medications because I didn't want her taking them without knowing what they were for. I felt motivated to help and make a difference,” she added.

Micaella’s mother is a housewife, and her father works as an informal electronics repairman. Due to their irregular and limited income, it would have been challenging for them to support her college education, especially with three other siblings also in school.

But with her academic excellence and determination, Micaella was one of the chosen beneficiaries of the Enrollment to Employment Scholarship Program of Generika Drugstore, in partnership with Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI).

This initiative responds to the demand for pharmacists, especially in rural areas, by making it possible for students to pursue their studies.

Atty. Yet Abarca, the President and CEO of Generika Drugstore, emphasized that the scholarship program is in fulfillment of its promise to provide ginhawa by giving Filipino communities access to quality affordable generic medicines. She noted that pharmacists often serve as the primary point of contact for healthcare, especially in underserved areas where drugstores outnumber clinics and hospitals.

“This is really a milestone for us as we embark on this program with Ayala Foundation. Central to our promise of ginhawa is the pharmacist. We take pride in our network of friendly and knowledgeable pharmacists who are at the core of delivering our ginhawa promise to the communities that we serve,” Abarca said.

Globe keeps Bayanihan spirit alive, allows customers to support distance learning

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As Christmas approaches, Globe aims to reignite the Bayanihan spirit among Filipinos -- allowing customers to contribute to its nation-building efforts through Globe Rewards.

Inspired by Globe’s most iconic prefix, 0917, the company dedicated the month of September to show its love and gratitude for customers by providing them with a platform to share their blessings with communities in need of support.

“Supporting communities to access basic needs during a pandemic or a disaster is a fundamental aspect of nation-building. Globe activates its ecosystem and provides channels to its customers to contribute to advocacies and respond to the urgent needs of our kababayans,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications.

Using Globe Rewards, Globe customers can donate to Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) to support public schools, teachers, and students with connectivity tools for the distance learning setup.

Through AFI, Globe has been helping the Department of Education (DepEd) Brigada Eskwela program, which pivoted to providing digital solutions to help teachers and students attend classes virtually.

Enabling the Philippine education sector through accessible internet and technology

Crisanto also highlighted how “Globe has been an enabler of e-learning” through the platforms and programs they’ve launched, including free data access to DepEd Commons and the Globe e-Library web-platform and mobile app.

With these, students and teachers are now able to upload and consume learning materials, as well as access age-appropriate and engaging e-books and e-learning videos on their devices.

Likewise, Globe has provided Ayala Foundation close to P10 million worth of connectivity tools such as preloaded SIMs, Globe at Home Prepaid WiFi Kits under the WiFi2Teach program, and monetary donations benefiting over 11,900 students and teachers.

Globe and TM customers have also supported through Globe Rewards and donated a total of P2.2 million from September 2020 to Q2 of 2021 - P1.15 million of which went to Brigada Eskwela; helping 221,123 students and 5,649 teachers. The remaining P1.05 million went to disaster response, benefiting 30,000 families or 150,000 individuals in 8 provinces across 7 regions.

Through Global Filipino Teachers (GFT) webinars, Globe continues to train educators on digital literacy, parental support on digital learning, responsible online behavior, effective 21st-century approaches to early language literacy, and psychological first aid. GFT recently partnered with DepEd – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Services for a 14-session webinar series on mental wellness.

Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 4 for quality education and UN SDG No. 9 for industry, innovation, and infrastructure. It is also committed to upholding the United Nations Global Compact principles and contributing to 10 UN SDGs.

To know more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.

Mobile learning package Text2Teach celebrates 10th Anniversary

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Ayala Foundation, DILG, DepEd, ULAP, Microsoft and Globe sign commitment to bring tech innovation to all Philippine public elementary schools.

Mobile learning package Text2Teach celebrates its 10th year Thursday June 19, 2014. In line with the anniversary, Ayala Foundation, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Education (DepEd), Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) , Microsoft, and Globe Telecom have signed a commitment to mainstream Text2Teach, implementing it in all 38,000 public schools across the country. Text2Teach uses Lumia Devices installed with the Microsoft Education Delivery (MED) software application. MED harnesses mobile devices, networks, applications and cloud technology to deliver more than 300 educational video materials on grade 5 and 6 Math, Science, English, and Values Education even in remote communities. It comes with a Globe prepaid SIM and a 32-inch LED Toshiba TV that will play the videos for classroom use.

To mainstream the program, Text2Teach works closely with ULAP and the DILG in advocating and sharing the program with local government units. ULAP will hold advocacy workshops with LGUs and highlight the benefits of Text2Teach.

In addition to this, Ayala Foundation, with its aim to reach all public elementary schools in the Philippines, will conduct capability-building training sessions for all 203 local DepEd divisions, which in turn will train teachers in their respective areas to implement the Text2Teach program.

In celebration of Text2Teach's 10th anniversary, representatives from the Text2Teach Alliance sign a commitment to mainstream the project into the public elementary school system. From left: Czarina Medina-Guce, Executive Director, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines; Ana Bonagua, Director, Bureau of Local Government Development, Department of Interior and Local Government; Dina Ocampo, Undersecretary for Projects and Programs, Department of Education; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation; Ernest Cu, President and CEO, Globe Telecom; Sanna Eskalinen, Global Lead for Social Solutions, Microsoft; and Rowena Lopez, Senior Director for Programs, Ayala Foundation.

As part of its mainstreaming efforts, Text2Teach will also have all its materials and content available for DepEd teachers, through DepEd’s Learning Resource Management and Development System (LRMDS) portal. Videos, teaching guides, and other Text2Teach materials will be made available online as supplemental guides for teachers.

Text2Teach will also receive a system upgrade using Microsoft’s new devices. Text2Teach schools will be using Lumia Devices, which run on Windows OS8.1. The MED application where the Text2Teach videos are sent and stored will be updated with a new user-friendly interface. Additional features also include the ability to comment and ask questions about the media files. Text 2Teach will also make use of the mirroring function of the Lumia Devices, with the help of a dongle connected to the television. This means that teachers no longer need to hook up the phone to the 32-inch LED Toshiba television through a cable connector. Through its mirroring function, teachers can wirelessly connect their phones to the television and play the Text2Teach videos.

Text2Teach is the Philippine name of the global program BridgeIT conceptualized by Nokia, Pearson, the International Youth Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme. The Philippines has the longest-running Bridge IT program from among 12 countries in the world. Last year it was hailed by Nominet Trust, a UK funder for tech projects, as one of the 100 most inspiring social tech innovations. It was also identified as one of the ten “Exemplary Information Communications Technology Innovations for Education” at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education held at Shenzhen, China last 2013. This year, Text2Teach received a Merit Award for Best Community Program at the 6th Annual Global CSR Summit and Awards in Bali, Indonesia.

The use of Text2Teach has shown improvement in student’s performance and National Achievement Test scores. It has fostered positive attitudes towards learning and the use of technology for teaching. The program’s impact can be seen in disadvantaged schools, thus helping bridge the social gap. To date, Text2Teach has served over 300, 000 students from 1,103 schools nationwide, covering a total of 78 cities and municipalities.

The mainstreaming of Text2Teach marks the fifth phase of the program, led by the partnership among DepEd, DILG, Microsoft, Globe, ULAP and the Ayala Foundation. The success of Text2Teach is also credited to Toshiba and Pearson Foundation who have supported the program in its earlier phases. Text2Teach also thanks the teachers, students, and volunteers who continue to believe in the program.

Be a part of Text2Teach! The program is open to groups and organizations who wish to become a partner in mainstreaming the program.

For more information on Text2Teach visit http://www.text2teach.org.ph/

or email info@ayalafoundation.org

About AYALA FOUNDATION

Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) envisions communities where people are productive, creative, self-reliant, and proud to be Filipino. As a believer in creating shared value and inclusive business, it has four key program areas— Education, Youth Leadership, Sustainable Livelihood, and Arts and Culture. AFI is a member of the Ayala group of companies.

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