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FITS-Banga Aklan Success Story: Knowledge and skills are our best arms against poverty

Thursday, 04 February 2010

Father and daughter with PC background I am Kenneth T. Susano, 38 years old, married with one daughter. I am currently residing in Ibajay Province of Aklan. I love doing things that are challenging.

I worked as an electrician for several years in different companies in the Philippines and abroad. In my 15 years working in the electrical trade, I met different people in different places. I’ve learned and developed my skills from them. But one of the best teachers I had was the computer, especially the Internet and World Wide Web.

I had my first hands-on experience with a computer when I visited the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in Banga in 2002. I was interested to try out the computer keyboard and was shown how to access the Internet as well. From then on, I was a frequent visitor of the Center, until I got a job abroad. While still using the FITS services through the Internet, I learned how to troubleshoot a computer.

eSkwela: Inspiring education for the differently abled

Friday, 20 November 2009

With no school sufficiently prepared to accept a student with muscular dystrophy, Phil Ray Neri absorbed everything he can from his first teacher, his mother. At nine years old, he began to read and dreamt of going to school one day. His disability never hindered him from pursuing an education and a normal student life.

Now, the boy who was once deprived of education is already taking up Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) at the Mindanao University of Science and Technology (formerly Mindanao Polytechnic State College) through a scholarship grant from Congressman Rufus B. Rodriguez.

Phil Ray Neri shared this and more to the participants of the eSkwela session during the recently concluded Cagayan de Oro leg of Convergence 2009 last November 12-13, 2009.

Phil Ray got his elementary credentials from the Individualized Curriculum for Educating Children with disability (ICEC), a curriculum established and developed by his mother and his doctor, Dr. Enrique Ampo in Cagayan de Oro Public Library with the approval of former city mayor Hon. Vicente Emano.

A learner's take on the eSkwela Project

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

eSkwela learner Wilfredo Reyes (center) shares his success story at the 5th Knowledge Exchange Conference on Community eCenters

Mr. Wilfredo Reyes, an alumnus of the eSkwela Center in Quezon City, was invited to speak at the 5th Knowledge Exchange Conference on Community eCenters last September 23, 2009 at Seameo Innotech. He talked about how eSkwela helped him get a secondary education, jumpstart his e-trading business, and compelled him to give back to the eSkwela Project.

Watch the video courtesy of http://eskwela.wikispaces.com.

(Source: eSkwela Website)

ICT for food sufficiency

Friday, 15 May 2009

Rice after recovery from infestation. (Photo inset) Rice farmer on video conference.

Banaybanay, a third class municipality in the province of Davao Oriental, is noted for its product trademark IR-64, otherwise known as “Banaybanay Rice”. This rice variety has become popular to consumers in the local as well as the national markets because of its quality.

The government’s Rice Hybridization Program established the reputation of Banaybanay farmers not only as hybrid rice seed producers but commercial rice producers as well.

Given this reputation, Banaybanay has promoted rice as the town’s OTOP (One Town One Product) and the focus commodity of the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) of the Techno Gabay Program of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD). Rice being one of the most important commodities in Philippine agriculture because it is the staple food of the Filipinos, it has become a major source of income for Banaybanay farmers.

A Filipina finds her long-lost family thru cyberspace

Wednesday, 10 September 2008
The following story released by the Philippine Information Agency of Region VIII depicts how technology, coupled with a CeC manager’s goodwill and commitment, can touch the lives of people within and outside the community. The official website of the local government of Tanauan, Leyte, which was instrumental in locating the Filipina's family, is designed and maintained by the Tanauan CeC ICT Team. Tacloban City (September 9) -- Losing contact with her family due to Pinatubo eruption, a Filipina found her family through cyberspace after her 18-year search. Maria Christina "Christy" Saldana Warren, 44, of Galena, Missouri, lost contact with family members in Angeles City, near Clark Air Base when Mount Pinatubo erupted. "My husband and I got orders to report to Japan only days before Mount Pinatubo erupted. I heard all the horrible stories and saw some pictures of the ash in Angeles City. I tried everything to find my family. I talked to any Filipino or Fililpina who mentioned that they had been to Angeles City hoping against hope that they know my family. I wrote letters that were not answered and didn't get returned," Christy said. Christy didn't lose hope. She routinely visited Philippine websites trying to find a clue about any member of her family. One day, she found the Tanauan, Leyte government website.
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