Desktop Publishing Training held at TelOf CeC in Butuan City in celebration of ICT Month

Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No.1521 declaring the month of June as “National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Month”, the Telecommunications Office (TelOf) in CARAGA, in partnership with the local government unit (LGU) of Prosperidad, concluded the month-long celebration with a blast.

A two-day training on Desktop Publishing from June 28-29, 2010 was conducted in one of the telephone exchanges of TelOf in Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur through the expertise of Engr. Annabel L. Vidal, ITU Chief of LGU-Prosperidad. Thirty-one participants from various offices, schools and Prosperidad's neighboring municipality, Talagocon, attended the training, including a 12-year-old who was all eagerness to learn about ICT.

The training encouraged the participants to adapt and appreciate the advantages of ICT by learning more about it. In a short span of time, the participants were able to grasp the idea on how desktop publishing can benefit their lives. With desktop publishing, one can easily make ads, logos, posters, brochures, and greeting cards which can be distributed online or used for commercial printing.

"Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan". Translated to English word for word: "The youth is the hope of the nation". Jose Rizal is convinced t'is to be the destiny of the Filipino youth. More than a hundred years later, somewhere in the municipality of Boac in the island province of Marinduque, two out-of-school youth learners have come back to “school” through the eSkwela Center - doing their best not to disappoint him.

Boac eSkwela learners Paula (L) and Darrel (R)

Before eSkwela

Darrel Laririt simply was not that interested in attending classes. It also did not help that he worked during weekends: he helped out in construction work in every way a thirteen year-old could: he sifted sand, plastered walls, mixed cement and gravel in order to help his family bring food to the table (his father works at a hog farm, while his mother stays at home and tend to household chores). Soon enough, he dropped out of school completely and was not able to finish high school.

Now twenty-three years old, he has been doing odd jobs here and there: apart from going back to construction work, he once mounted preserved butterflies in wooden frames, apparently a specialty souvenir item in Marinduque. Outside of work, he moonlights as a drummer for a local rock band and loves to cover Pinoy alternative songs.