(L-R) Huawei Officials: Mr. Key Wang, Director, Mr. Kelvin Xie, Executive, and Mr. Ray Zhang, Chief Executive Officer, with PLDT, Smart President and Chief Executive Officer Alfredo S. Panlilio and PLDT-Smart Foundation President Esther O. Santos
PLDT and its wireless communications unit, Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) recently turned over more School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) units to PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF) as part of Huawei Philippines Inc.’s (Huawei) 20th anniversary and PLDT and Smart Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s 76th birthday celebrations.
Heeding the call to assist in the needs of communities, PLDT and Smart have been working with the Department of Education to create alternative solutions to enable students to continue learning, and to assist teachers and other members of the education sector in the face of challenges.
Each SIAB package includes a Huawei laptop, tablets pre-loaded with #LearnSmart applications and other learning content, and a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi. PSF will deploy these Huawei-sponsored SIAB packages to last-mile schools across the country.
PLDT and Smart have already deployed over 500 SIABs to last-mile schools all over the country, reaching almost 98,000 students and 4,000 teachers, which was made possible by likeminded organizations like Huawei.
PSF President Esther O. Santos and PLDT, Smart Stakeholder Management Head Stephanie V. Orlino
“Our group’s core value of malasakit has inspired us to reach out to various sectors in communities, especially the underserved, the underprivileged and the vulnerable. We are deeply grateful to Huawei for collaborating with us in bringing inclusive quality education to Filipino children all over the country through technology, and ensuring that there is no learner left behind,” said Esther O. Santos, PSF President.
Last year, Huawei sponsored 13 SIABs which were deployed to areas hit by super typhoon Odette. To celebrate another milestone with PLDT and Smart, Huawei will donate 20 more SIAB packages bundled with Huawei printers this year.
“Part of our mission at Huawei is to help the Filipino youth, the future of the nation, get quality education through innovative solutions. We are grateful to PLDT and Smart for being our partner in building a digital society in the Philippines,” said Mr. Rey Zhang, Huawei Philippines CEO.
“Through our partnership with Huawei, PLDT, Smart and PSF are able to provide Filipino learners with quality education through using reliable devices like Huawei powered by stable connectivity,” Santos added.
SIAB is an integral part of PLDT and Smart’s broader commitment to help the country achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4: Inclusive Quality Education.
