A program of a Philippine Rotary Club, in partnership with a Rotary Club in Texas, USA, is starting to provide pupils of the Dumaguete City public elementary school system with advanced computer training.

The program was made possible by a $33,780 grant from the Rotary District 5800 of Texas to the Rotary Club of Park Cities Dallas USA and the Rotary Club of Dumaguete South in the Philippines District 3860.

The grant bought P4 Dell desktop computers that are now being installed in the City public elementary school system, while a pilot program is ongoing at the North City Elementary School “to iron out any kinks,” said BadeehNaifeh, a Rotary ambassador from the RC of Park Cities Dallas.

RC Dumaguete South immediate past president Alfredo Bustamante III, who forged the partnership with Naifeh and his club, said teachers are also being trained to impart computer-aided education to their pupils.

PILOT LAB

The North City pilot virtual lab will have 50 desktop workstations equipped with their own hard drive, CD roms and earphones. These are controlled by a server dishing out software under the supervision of the classroom teacher.  The virtual lab also has an LCD projector on a 70x70" screen for mass instruction where the 2000 elementary students of North City elementary will have at least 3 hours of computer access a week.

Naifeh said they already have computers good for four schools, but they would need to campaign for more computers from corporate donors for the 12 other public elementary schools in the City. Schools Division Superintendent Ramir Uytico said there are 14,000 pupils in the City public elementary school system.

“Getting computers are the easy part. The other part is getting the computers to continue to operate,” Naifeh said.

The program includes an introductory course on basic English and computer skills, as well as the usage of math and science software as the basic thrusts in computer-aided teaching. 

There is also a special training on computer repair, where a full time instructor will be assigned to monitor, teach, and assist the children on proper IT education and educational software.

BEGINNINGS

The program had two beginnings.  In 2006, Naifeh was assigned as a Peace Corps Volunteer to the Department of Science and Technology in Negros Oriental where he and DOST Provincial Science and Technology Director, Gilbert Arbon, developed a concept to provide computer literacy for financially-challenged students.

“Breaking the cycle of poverty is a complex issue, but maybe something could be done to prepare poor children to enter the work force armed with skills which would help them compete for good jobs,” Naifeh said.

The Rotary Club of Dumaguete South, on the other hand, initiated a project in 2005 to provide old computers to children in public schools through a corporation called the Training Little Cyber-Learners Inc., with three of its members providing the needed push for the project – then City Councilor and now Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, Negros Oriental State University president Dr. Henry Sojor and engineer Gregorio Uymatiao Jr., who became TLC president.

Naifeh and his wife Stella, who had gone back to Texas after his term as a PCV ended in 2007, became a host to Bustamante’s daughter Mariella, who was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Texas. This gave Naifeh and Bustamante many opportunities to chat and they discovered their shared passion for education and poverty alleviation.

This led to the partnership between the two Rotary Clubs for this project. As soon as the computers arrived by container van from the U.S.A. last April, Rotarians volunteered their resources to bring the computers to Dumaguete City.  Past vice president WilkieMatiao had the computers shipped by Matiao Trucking Inc. and IT educator Randy Bandiola planned the design and setup of the laboratory, as well as sourced for freeware for the students’ and teachers’ use. Arbon volunteered his legal services

“We’re happy that things are turning out as we had hoped,” Bustamante said, as he expressed hope that this initial “germ” will spread eventually to each elementary school and enable every pupil to develop computer skills that will help them survive in a competitive environment.

Naifeh, on the other hand, keeps his eye on the future. "While we have an amazing start, the project will require long term, broad support from the community." He, however, is optimistic that the success of the project will be ensured once the Dumaguete community takes ownership of their own children's future.*AP

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