Smart Communications recently held a webinar billed #WeHealAsOne which included local governments and communities in 32 provinces of Luzon that participated to help them respond to challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussions included education, livelihood, and agriculture.
Pandemic-resilient education
The first partnership program presented was the Dynamic Learning Program (DLP) of the Central Visayan Institute Foundation (CVIF), an innovative learning system that has been accredited by the Department of Education as a supplementary resource for its blended learning strategy.
The DLP works whether the schools adopt printed modules, or online learning, or radio and television to teach students.
“Designed to encourage students to become independent learners, DLP is well suited to the current situation because it does not require close teacher and parent supervision,” explained Smart Assistant Vice President for Community Partnerships Stephanie Orlino.
The program was developed by renowned Filipino Theoretical Physicists and Ramon Magsaysay Awardees for Education Dr. Christopher Bernido and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido.
DigiPalengke for micro-entrepreneurs
Quarantine protocols made going to wet markets and grocery stores more difficult. Startup developer Mark Colentava has developed a hyper-local e-commerce solution called DigiPalengke to help through this.
The app enables smartphone users to browse through a catalog, purchase items, and pay for them through multiple digital options like PayMaya.
Retailers benefit from the system’s intuitive ecosystem that makes fulfilling orders, managing inventory, and coordinating delivery hassle-free. Colentava assured merchants that getting onboard is seamless with the help of Smart’s mentoring program. He added that local tricycle groups will have the opportunity to augment their income by providing logistics services. DigiPalengke has been embraced by four LGUs in Bataan.
Promoting food security
The province of Bohol has developed an initiative called “Grow My Own Food: Bohol backyard garden Content” to help with food security concerns. It aims to inspire displaced workers and other people in need to become food self-sufficient by growing vegetables in their backyard.
The program is supported by the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Training Center in Bohol, the AGREA Farm School, and KABOOM (Kapunungan sa Bol-anong Orgranikong Mag-uuma), in addition to the Bohol provincial government. Smart is exploring long-term plans to develop this ecosystem further and keep it sustainable.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
