Tacloban Learners and Educators Champion Safer, more Resilient Schools

As second homes to children, schools play a vital role in providing safe and nurturing environments where students can learn and grow. In times of crises, equipping school communities with the knowledge, skills, and resources to respond effectively is essential to safeguarding learners’ well-being and strengthening resilience.

Underscoring their #KonektedforResilience advocacy, PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) partnered with the Department of Education Region VIII (DepEd Region VII), the Department of Education Schools Division of Tacloban City (DepEd Tacloban City), and St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban Inc. (STEFTI) to conduct a three-day series of wellness and resilience-building activities in Tacloban City.

“With the recent crisis faced by our division, we found it timely and necessary to provide psychosocial support to our learners and empower our school heads to become psychological first aiders. Beyond building knowledge and skills, this effort helps ensure that our schools remain safe and inclusive spaces for all Taclobanon learners,” said Sherlita A. Palma, DepEd Tacloban City Schools Division Superintendent.

Grade 9 and 10 students from San Jose National High School participated in a mental wellness session that taught them practical strategies for managing personal challenges and responding to crisis situations they may encounter in their daily lives. The initiative was likewise extended to junior and senior high school students of STEFTI.

Through interactive discussions and activities, the learners gained a better understanding of common stressors, healthy coping mechanisms, and mental health myths, as well as learned appropriate responses to difficult situations while maintaining their mental well-being.

Meanwhile, a training-of-trainers session on Psychological First Aid (PFA) equipped DepEd Tacloban City school heads and STEFTI teaching and non-teaching personnel with practical tools to provide immediate psychosocial support during emergencies. Participants were also encouraged to cascade these learnings to their fellow teachers and staff.

“The partnership with PLDT and Smart allowed us to have students and representatives from our school to participate in these important initiatives. While we are trained as educators, understanding mental health and helping students care for their well-being requires specialized expertise. We greatly appreciate and welcome every opportunity to strengthen our capabilities and provide better support to our students,” said Mary Bernadette Palami, school director at STEFTI.

 

DepEd Tacloban City and STEFTI also received PLDT and Smart's “Ang Paglalakbay ni Tala” (The Adventure of Tala) books to help raise awareness on internet safety among children and encourage them to be responsible digital citizens.

“Children and the youth are among our most important stakeholders, and their safety and well-being, both offline and online, remain among PLDT and Smart’s priorities. We are grateful to work alongside DepEd and STEFTI in reaching students in Tacloban and helping foster environments where they feel secure, supported, and empowered,” said Marylou B. Gocotano, Stakeholder Engagement Visayas Relations head at PLDT and Smart.

These efforts are aligned with PLDT and Smart’s commitment to helping the country achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG No. 3: Mental Well-being and Health and SDG No. 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

School-in-a-Bag Reaches Far-Flung Schools in Southern Leyte

Students in remote schools in the province of Southern Leyte learn how to read and solve mathematical equations using interactive tech-powered educational tools found inside School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) packages. The latest deployment, sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), the Department of Education Region 8, and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), marks the global agency’s fourth and largest deployment of SIAB kits to date.

 

“Our mandate is to ensure that every child has equal access to quality education, especially those who are in the most marginalized communities. We hope this support will help drive meaningful changes in classrooms. These devices are not meant to add to teachers’ burden, but to help ease their workload and improve the overall teaching and learning experience for both teachers and students,” said Jieun Yoon, Education Specialist from UNICEF Philippines.

 

The recent turnover benefits 97 multigrade schools in hard-to-reach areas across the province. It underscores the long-standing collaboration between the UNICEF and the PLDT Group in making education more accessible and inclusive for Filipino learners. Since 2019, the partners have deployed more than 300 SIAB kits to last-mile schools across the country—bringing learning opportunities closer to children in remote and underserved communities. The initiative reflects a shared vision that every child, regardless of location or circumstance, deserves equal access to quality basic education.

 

“With the School-in-a-Bag, we aim to ensure that high-quality digital tools are within children's reach. We are grateful to have worked with UNICEF in reaching more remote schools in the region and bringing these portable digital classrooms directly to our learners,” said Roby A. Alampay, FVP and head of the Public Engagement and Corporate Communications Group at PLDT and Smart.

 

Benit Elementary School (Benit ES) in Malitbog, Southern Leyte, located about 38 kilometers from Maasin City, is among the beneficiaries of this year’s SIAB rollout. The support is expected to ease the burden of teachers due to personnel shortages.

 

“We are truly thankful to receive the SIAB funded by UNICEF. This is a big blessing for our learners, especially in multigrade classes where one teacher supports many students at once. With or without internet connectivity, teaching and learning can continue seamlessly because the kit also works offline. Our heartfelt thanks to UNICEF, PLDT, and Smart for helping us deliver accessible and continuous learning for our children," said Merry Ann B. Tagon, teacher-in-charge at Benit ES.

 

The School-in-a-Bag is PLDT and Smart’s portable digital classroom that carries a laptop, a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi with load allocation, ten tablets, a comprehensive teacher’s guide, and a collection of digital learning resources. These include contextualized Learning Activity Sheets (LAS) and #LearnSmart educational applications designed to build literacy and numeracy skills in the learners’ Mother Tongue.

Under its #KonektedForLearning pillar, the PLDT Group, together with institutions like UNICEF, continue to bridge the digital divide and champion inclusive education. The SIAB project also supports the country’s efforts to achieve UNSDG 4 on Quality Education by utilizing the power of technology to uplift communities and help create a future where no learner is left behind.