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A note for the future - Wyeth Nutrition commits to support Philippine education of underprivileged youth

Wyeth Nutrition launched  Nurture.Inspire.Give  campaign  last  June 6, 2013  at   Chateau 1771, Greenbelt Makati.

It was Pablo Picasso who said_ "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." He may have said this decades ago, but these words still ring true until now. After all, how many children - all brimming with promise and creativity - just fade away when they grow up?

Today, Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation are working hand-in-hand to do their part by nurturing future generations through education. And they're doing it through a simple but ingenious way - by giving notebooks to thousands of underprivileged schoolchildren all over the country.

"A notebook may not seem anything special to some, especially for kids who have had the benefit of growing up with cellphones. tablets and gaming consoles; but for a same-aged child who's not as fortunate, a simple notebook can represent his canvas for the future," says Richard Arboleda, Associate Director for Communications, Wyeth Philippines.

Arboleda shares that what makes the notebooks extra special are their designs, which were specially made by three gifted artists who are schoolchildren themselves. The child artists are Allie Arroyo who began painting at 5 and is now improving her craft under noted artists Bambi Manosa and Elaine Herbosa; Antonio Tordesillas, who has already had a solo exhibit at the age of 14; and Marco Flores who hails from the art capital of the Philippines, Angono Rizal.

Our aim is to promote literacy and to encourage children to be creative and value education; we are able to achieve that through the gift of these three children. Access to notebooks leads to more writing and reading, which then fosters an increase in proficiency," says Arboleda.

From June 15 to August 15, Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation will be launching the Nurture.Inspire.Give. campaign.  Here, any purchase of Aqiva (900g), Progress Pre-School Gold (900g and 1.6kg), Promil Pre-school (900g and 1.6kg), Bonakid Choco Boost (800g), Bonakid Pre-school (900g, 1.2kg and 1.6kg), Enercal Plus (900g), or Promama (900g) comes with free limited edition notebook and a scratch card. The scratch card has a promo code, which one can use to register through SMS to be eligible for the raffle promo and to enable a child to receive his/her own notebook.

Wyeth Nutrition will give away P20,000 worth of gift certificates for school supplies and an educational gift pack worth  P5,000 to 50 raffle winners on July 17 and another 50 winners on August 16.

Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation pledge to give away notebooks equal to the total number of registrants. 10,000 registrants would mean 10,000 notebooks to be given away to less fortunate schoolchildren in the Philippines.

"No one understands children better than children themselves; and it is because of this that we chose to have Marco, Allie and Antonio design the notebooks," notes Arboleda. "Looking at their designs, it's no exaggeration to say that we may be very well looking at the future of Philippine art."

Arboleda is also proud of Wyeth Nutrition's partnership with Synergeia Foundation, which implements programs to improve basic education to nearly 1.5 million schoolchildren in 240 municipalities in the Philippines. Since 2011, the organizations have collaborated to implement feeding programs and inspire employee volunteerism. "What they do is travel to the remotest barangays in the country to work with communities in order to upgrade basic education - and that's why we're sure that help really reaches those who really need it.

Students of  Bagong Tanyag Elementary School as they presented  a song  number,  "Yesterday's Dream."

"It's our hope that this initiative will serve to inspire and somehow influence the future of children. This is, after all, what Wyeth Nutrition is all about - nurturing generations after generation of Filipinos."

For more information, visit www.wyeth.com.ph.  Per DOH-FDA No. 0801 Series of 2013

P&G's e.Studyante Program

P&G Philippines in partnership with Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and the Synergeia Foundation successfully launched e.Studyante program, an e-learning advocacy last Friday, December 2 . Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School marks the beginning for this program called, "Isang laptop. Mas malawak na kaalaman. Mas magandang bukas."

One of my readers recently commented in my blog and shared her story on how she swam the river going to school during her elementary days and how she struggled when the high tide comes in the afternoon. This is just one of the many challenges that many Filipino children face in going to school. Aside from that, there are lot more challenges when they reach the school like overcrowded classrooms and outdated or lack of school supplies. Filipino children value their education so much and this is the only legacy that parents can pass on to their children.

Today, P&G's e.Studyante program will help the Filipino students to become globally competitive in today's fast paced technology. The program will provide beneficiary school children with child-friendly laptops from the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Association and internet connectivity from Smart.

“These child-friendly laptops were designed for use in developing countries to help empower the world’s poorest children through education. They are not only very durable and energy-efficient, they also come with learning software for kids. Through these laptops, students become more engaged and involved in school. The learning process becomes more student-focused as they learn to discover new things for themselves and share ideas with each other,” explained Chad Sotelo, P&G Country Marketing Manager.

“We intend for this to complement traditional learning methods and tools instead of competing with them. A laptop and internet connectivity becomes their window to the world’s knowledge and places it at their fingertips real-time. People and places they had no access to before are now within their reach. These tools expand their horizons and minds, and encourages them to dream and attain a brighter future,” Sotelo said.

The students of Manuel L. Quezon were surprised to see the first message shown when they received their laptops, an email from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.


With the guidance of P&G employee volunteers, the kids also experienced the thrill of learning about email with the exercise of sending their very first email message as a reply to President Aquino.

“This is not something we can do alone,” Sotelo said. “To help us reach our goal of 1,000,000 laptops, we would like to invite moms and Filipinos all over the country to support the e.Studyante program by buying P&G promo packs and spreading the word about the program to family and friends.”


People can support the e.Studyante program by buying specially marked P&G promo packs available nationwide. You can save up to 40% on your favorite P&G products and contribute to making students’ education more engaging and fun through laptops and the internet.

“We are committed to this program. In the next few months, we will give out a total of 400 laptops to five schools nationwide. But we hope that with your support, we will be able to give even more laptops in the coming years so we can reach the goal of providing 1,000,000 laptops to school children,” said Sotelo.


“We are very honored to be part of this initiative,” said Ramon Isberto, head of Smart’s Public Affairs Group. “Smart has always been supportive of programs that aim to improve the quality of education through ICT. We hope the Internet connectivity we provided makes learning easier, and information accessible to more children.”

I am supporting P&G e.Studyante program to help each student achieve a brighter future! Support this program and help build a better future for the children.

Website:

https://www.facebook.com/e.StudyantePH




Participating P&G brands: Safeguard, Tide, Pampers, Downy, Ariel, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Joy, Rejoice, Whisper, Olay, Gillette, Vicks and Ambi-Pur.

RT: Sesame Kid Street Ako

Are you a Sesame Street Kid? I am not but I am supporting this campaign. I bought this Sesame Street Kid Ako (I am a Sesame Street Kid) the other week. Recently, the producers behind Sesame Street Show and Rico Blanco launched a new education campaign called Sesame Street Kid Ako to encourage young children to learn at an early age.

It's a fun way of learning with Elmo and Cookie Monster to join the education campaign. The ambassador of the project, Rico Blanco, is a Sesame Street Kid and he considered it as a blessing to be part of the project. For him, the campaign is a great chance to help and share the love of learning to the young minds/children.

My entry for Ruby Tuesday.
Please visit other entries by clicking on the link above.

School/Tuition Fee Increase

Daughter just told me last night that the school administrator issued a new memo about the tuition fee increase for the next school year. With the increasing prices of goods, the school cannot control anymore and will have to take necessary adjustment with the tuition and school fees to maintain a quality education through financial support. I have no idea yet on the percentage increase because she was already in her bed when she told me the news and was already in a half sleep mode. She forgot to give me that memo this morning but I am posting it here anyway just so my husband will know and will have an idea about the increase making it easier for him to plan the fees ahead. The cost of education increases every year.

Edited:

I just read the memo and it says that parents are invited for Tuition Increase Consultation next week. There is no figure yet or percentage increase indicated in the memo.

Cheap Textbooks for College

Sending my older daughter to a secondary school drained much of our savings. Her tuition fees eat a big chunks of our budget. It is not only the tuition that keeps getting higher but also miscellaneous fees. Almost two hundred dollars for this school year went to books and textbooks alone and she's only in secondary level. I wonder how much would it costs us to send her to college and that will be two years from now. Finding cheap textbooks for college would surely lessen the burden in her college expenses. As early as today, I'm already planning on how to save for her education. I know in two years time, tuition fees will become higher again. I don't see books getting cheaper as what I see in price trending but I do hope I'll get the best deal on textbooks by that time.

Education is the the best foundation for our child's future. Thus, we must invest and give priority for their future and make sure that they are getting the best quality education that they deserve.