(UPDATED) A Palaweña, wellness travel, and real estate business have given prepaid mobile load cards to chosen Western Philippines University (WPU) rural students to help them with their online learning.
The load cards, which seek to help students who belong to marginalized communities in remote islands, were handed out on September 23, 2021, during a virtual meeting. The initiative intends to help struggling students overcome learning odds in the distance education system amid the pandemic.
“They have been most challenged financially, with Internet connection being cost-prohibitive in the Philippines. Palaweña is happy to be able to make a small difference to these students’ school lives and daily challenges and urge other companies with the means to do the same during these very challenging times. These are our future industry leaders and we have a responsibility to do what we can,” Palaweña founder and managing director Wineth Malvar, a Netherlands-based Filipina entrepreneur, stated.
WPU Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ma. Lourdes Marzo and College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Rosario Bundal both expressed gratitude for the generosity, stating that it will significantly benefit students who are already in a tough position that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
They said that the good deed is more important than the load card contributions, which they hoped would be duplicated and serve as an encouragement for others to do the same.
Malvar came upon a column piece at Palawan News titled, “Ramil left the group.” Moved by the story of Ramil (alias), who had to drop out of the university because of financial and connectivity problems, Malvar pledged to support some students who share similar circumstances.
Palaweña and WPU agreed to forge partnerships in the field of agritourism to contribute further to the development of the province.
