There is hope

Filipino businessmen have to do business under constant siege of government and corporate corruption, both perceived and actual. The Philippines has dropped from being in the bottom 35 percent to the bottom 30 percent in the latest corruption poll of Transparency International. We have a hard time trusting our police and legislators as we suspect them to be the source of crime and corruption. It is unfortunate that a few bad apples create this perception. It is very hard not to be depressed. But in every cloud there is a silver lining. I’m citing three in this article.

A New and Better Tomorrow. This was a recently held music concert organized by Beacon School’s fifth-grade class. Beacon is a small international school patterned after the philosophy and educational approach of a New England private school. It was formed in early 2000 by like-minded parents who were looking for a better alternative for their kids. Under Ms. Chiqui Colet, one of Beacon’s academic coordinators and her fifth grade teacher/mentors, the fifth grade students had to do a personal or community service project as part of their requirements to move on to middle school.

A group of kids organized this concert by asking high school bands with names like Katol and Hibiscus to donate their time and service. (Hmm, maybe they knew about the mosquitoes coming that night). This concert raised more than P30,000 to help fund musical instruments for a school in Tondo for gifted students. If these kids can do this in fifth grade (aged 11 to 12), just imagine what they can do when they are in their early twenties. (Watch out Trump! Here come your new recruits for season 20.) There is Hope.

GILAS. GILAS or Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students is a multisectoral consortium that has set for itself the goal of wiring up the more than 5,000 public high schools in the country.

To survive in this increasingly Internet-dependent world, Filipinos have to be Internet-literate. The Philippines only spends 2.9 percent of its GDP on education (hmm, I wonder what the other emerging countries spend on education), which means only P3,400 ($63) per kid is available annually to cover teacher costs and school operations. Sadly, out of the 5,400 public high schools, less than 40 percent have computer labs, of which only four percent have Internet access or training. A massive blood transfusion from the private sector is needed.

In an effort to bridge this digital mega-gap, and building on previous initiatives to address computer literacy (then again, basic English is also a concern), GILAS was created with the ambitious goal of connecting all the 5,400 public high schools.

The consortium is led and supported by the top CEOs of the land. JAZA of Ayala serves as co-chairman, with Mr. Nazareno of PLDT, Mr. Ablaza of Globe, Mr. Lopez of Bayantel, Jajo Quintos of IBM, Ernest Cu of SPI, Ricky Banaag of Intel and the list goes on. Sen. Mar Roxas co-chairs from the public sector, with Usec Mike Luz of the Department of Education and Ric Santos of the American Chamber of Commerce. The list grows as the mammoth task unfolds.

They recently recruited an old friend of mine to help with the effort. I am encouraged that there are still people out there who care less for themselves and more for others. There is Hope.

FEU Business Team. In a small article I picked up from a competing broadsheet, a team of business students from FEU (Far Eastern University) recently topped the Harvard 2005 Entrepreneurial Idol Business Plan Contest. They were up against 49 other teams worldwide. The team, which called itself Boardtech, proposed the construction of panel boards from recycled aluminum foil packs, solving both the housing backlog and solid waste disposal. Boardtech won "Most Likely to Have Global Impact" Award and the "People Choice" Award. I congratulate Michael Moro, Diana Chebat, Dean Cabulay and Professor Gerald Villar. Thanks for making us proud. There is Hope.

My Two Cents. I am sure there are more stories of hope out there! Every little bit helps. Happy Easter!!

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Dickson Co is CFO (C is for Cheap) for Dfnn, Intelligent Wave Philippines and HatchAsia.com. For comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected].