PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. embolden their digital wellness and child online protection initiatives by holding the Better Today Psychological First Aid program in Visayas, in partnership with Football for Humanity.

Over 200 senior citizens from Carcar City, Cebu, participated in a mental health awareness and digital literacy training session conducted by PLDT and Smart in partnership with the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs and Passerelles Numériques Philippines.

PLDT and Smart recently supported the mental health initiative of Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology. Attended by over 400 youth participants, the uplifting conversations were part of NEUST’s student government-led effort titled “I Matter: Building One’s Mental Health Across Different Bridges.”

“Soccer helped me cope, because after I became an amputee, I lost my confidence. That was the time when I really doubted myself. Soccer helped me build my confidence,” she said. Now, the athlete from Cebu is a member of the World Amputee Football Federation.

Iya is part of PLDT and its Smart’s Better Today: Power Move Project, which aims to champion mental health and wellness through sports and features inspiring stories of Filipino para-athletes and coaches who embody the true meaning of persistence, bravery, and mental resilience.

Community is important in the growth of a person. Like what writer, educator, and humanitarian Helen Keller said, “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” This is particularly true for para-athletes, whose respective communities have been their support as they strive to become better each day.

In collaboration with PLDT Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), the city government of Cagayan de Oro recently conducted a mental health training and self-care orientation for Kagay-anon youth leaders.

PLDT and Smart, through their Better Today program, partnered with Passerelles numériques Philippines (PNPh) to launch a three-part mental health awareness conversations series for the benefit of the student-scholars of PNPh.

In celebration of the National Mental Health Awareness Month, PLDT and Smart, through the Better Today program, featured advocates in a conversation episode, including Mark Averilla or “Macoy Dubs”, Riyan Portuguez or “Your Millennial Psychologist”, Ali Sangalang of Linya-Linya, and General Santos Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President John Demdam.

PLDT and Smart supported the Provincial Government of La Union’s capacity-building mental health program through the Psychological First Aid (PFA) training.