SingTel and Optus join nation-building initiative

MANILA, Philippines - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) and its Australian unit Optus deployed employee volunteers to help build houses for displaced residents in Ormoc City, six months after donating funds and satellite phones via Globe Telecom to assist victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

The 22 employees from SingTel and Optus together with 50 volunteers from Globe worked together the Tattoo-adopted Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village in Brgy. Tambulilid under their 2014 Oversees Volunteering Program.

Tattoo donated P15 million to GK to build 100 houses at P125,000 per house with the remaining P2.5 million earmarked for livelihood assistance.  An additional P1.2 million was also collected by Globe from an internal fund-raising activity to be used in building 10 more houses.

“We are happy to be back in the Philippines for the third time and be able to help underprivileged families especially those affected by Typhoon Haiyan.  We saw the massive destruction the typhoon had caused and we want to contribute to the nationwide rebuilding effort through Globe Telecom’s Project Wonderful so we can make a difference in their lives.  It is also very heart-warming to see how much the community appreciated what we have done,” said Andrea Buay, vice president, SingTel Group Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Fernando Esguerra, director, Globe Corporate Social Responsibility said:  “Globe is thankful to SingTel and Optus’ for joining the company’s Project Wonderful, a journey towards rebuilding communities via sustainable development.  We believe that to create a sustainable value for the company, we should also help the communities where we operate.”  

The arrival of SingTel and Optus employees was also in support of the 2014 GK Bayani Challenge, which aimed to gather one million volunteers across 12 provinces to make it the most massive showcase of volunteerism in the country.  The SingTel team also joined the GK Bayani Challenge in Bantayan Island, Cebu and in Compostela Valley in 2011 and 2013, respectively.