Educational Assistance for Inigan Elementary School
Brother International Philippines Corporation
Students were left amused, excited and grateful for the opportunity granted to them as well as for the new experiences encountered. BICP’s outreach had a significant and enlightening impact on the lives, educational and otherwise, of these children.
INTRODUCTION
Brother strongly believes in being a responsible corporate citizen, reflected in a broad range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and programmes mainly to do with environmental protection. Their impacts also extend to other social programs, including educational outreach activities through social contributions programs worldwide.BICP has contributed to the improvement of the education system in the Philippines by helping a school in a remote area, the Inigan Elementary School, which receives no, or a lack of, assistance from the private sector. The institution is a public elementary school located in the isolated area of Montalban Rizal, where community residents have to cross a river to get to the actual school site. Resources are limited, finances are limited and basic electricity is not even provided.
BICP engaged with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and supported their education platform that focuses on bringing and keeping the children in school and improving their quality of education. Brother volunteers trekked uphill lands and crossed rivers to reach Inigan Elementary School.
Here they spent their time with the young school kids to provide educational assistance to more than 86 students and 5 teachers.
FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY
The Educational Assistance for the Inigan Elementary School comprised of:- donations of school supplies and ICT tools;
- employee volunteering;
- a learning session about the environment;
- an educational field trip to Lakbay Aral.
ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT
At the end of one school year (2012-2013) the following objectives were achieved: 86 students were provided with school supplies, bags, slippers and uniforms; 5 teachers were provided with Information and Communication tools through the provision of netbooks used for research, visual aids and school reports; a Generator Set and PA system was provided for to improve the staging of school programs and activities; 1 learning session was conducted about the importance of recycling and taking care of the environment; 86 students were sponsored to Lakbay Aral in the Mind Museum; 3 volunteering events were organized (e.g. Gift-Giving, Brigada Eskwela and Lakbay Aral); and more than 40 Brother employees were mobilized to volunteering events.Especially with the trip to Lakbay Aral, the students were left amused, excited and grateful for the opportunity granted to them as well as for the new experiences encountered (based on a Testimony provided for by Lorena Cruz, an adviser of Grade 5 and 6). BICP’s outreach had a significant and enlightening impact on the lives, educational and otherwise, of these children.
FUTURE DIRECTION
This project is one of the multiple educational outreach programs by BICP.On a whole, The Brother Group abides by its Global Charter, established in 1999, recognizing the role of its corporations to become more significant in achieving a sustainable society, the demands and expectations of stakeholders towards the Brother Group. In response, Brother has adopted “Principles of Social Responsibility” to express the fulfillment of its social and ethical duties.The Brother Group believes in being a good corporate citizen, sharing social, economic and cultural resources in all the communities where the Brother Group operates.
Brother International Philippines Corporation is one of the sales subsidiaries of Brother International Singapore, Pte. Ltd. Incorporated in the Philippines in 2000, the company today manages an extensive network of provincial offices.
