Shell Companies in the Philippines (SciP) has donated health kits and office equipment to 15 schools in Batangas to help them prepare for the new remote-based mode of education as part of the new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The donations were coursed through the Department of Education’s Brigada Eskwela program, an annual nationwide initiative originally intended to maintain and refurbish school facilities but now repurposed to strengthen the schools’ capacity to provide students with self-learning modules.
Among the recipients are the elementary schools of Tabangao, Ambulong, Libjo, San Isidro, Malitam, Wawa, Sta. Clara, Bolbok, Sta. Rita, Calicanto, and Julian Pastor Memorial. The national high schools of Libjo, Malitam, and Sta. Rita also benefited from the donations along with the Tabangao Integrated School.
“Pandemic or no pandemic, the students in these schools represent the future of our nation,” said Pilipinas Shell President and CEO Cesar Romero.
“At Shell, we believe in the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, and it’s only right that we do our part as members of the community to help in every way we can.”
Romero said it is important to safeguard the future of the country by ensuring the uninterrupted educational development of young Filipinos.
For 106 years, Shell has remained committed to this future by being a partner in nation-building, working to help the country address present challenges for a brighter tomorrow.
Each school received an Internet modem as two printers and 15 boxes of bond paper.
Shell also donated 16,118 face masks for students and 611 health kits inclusive of face masks, face shields, PPE suits, and Messy Bessy dishwashing products for teachers to ensure that all health, safety and sanitary protocols are observed as protection against COVID-19.
The face masks and the PPE were produced by members of the SIBBAP Multipurpose Cooperative, beneficiaries of a livelihood development program of the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) that retrained seamstresses from Ambulong, Batangas to help bolster PPE supplies during the pandemic.
“Asahan po ninyo na pagyayamanin po namin to. Ito ay makakarating sa mga kinauukulan at pakikinabangan ng aming mga mag-aaral ng at lalo po namin pagbubutihin ang aming paglilingkod sapagkat kami ay nai-inspire sa inyo (You can be sure that we will value these gifts. Not only will these items reach the intended recipients and benefit our students, your act also inspires us to better serve them as educators),” said Dr. Victoria Fababier, DepEd chief education supervisor for the School Governance and Operations Department as she thanked Shell, PSFI, and the Malampaya Foundation, Inc. (MFI).
Despite the ongoing transformation of Shell’s Tabangao Refinery into an import facility, similar to Shell’s existing Northern Mindanao Import Facility that services the southern parts of the country, the company remains committed to supporting the local community.
“Kung anong adjustment ng company, kami ay taos pusong nagpapasalamat dahil hindi namin akalain na ang Shell ay makakatulong sa transition period, pero hindi nawawala sa inyo ang pagtulong, kaya lubos po ang aming pasasalamat (We are very thankful that despite any adjustments that the company must be undergoing during the transition period, Shell continues to help us),” Fababier added.