Support for Zero Extreme Poverty (ZEP 2030) advocacy reaches Bukidnon

Dualtech Center’s collaboration with ZEP2030 advocacy has continued to make progress in parts of Mindanao with Ibiden Philippines and Del Monte Foundation (DMF). Last January, Dualtech Center and Ibiden Philippines, Inc. visited Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon. The itinerary included meeting DepEd and ALS communities in Bukidnon; Local Recruitment Activities and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects of Ibiden and career Talks by Dualtech Center.

The  Zero Extreme Poverty PH 2030 (ZEP) is a multi-sectoral movement with various private sector and stakeholder convenors. The ZEP2030 has multiple clusters concentrating on different aspects of the local society, but all of which unite to alleviate extreme poverty in the country by the year 2030.

Visit to Del Monte Foundation

Dualtech and Ibiden visited Del Monte Foundation (DMF) in Bukidnon to see its training facilities and livelihood projects. Some of its projects include recycled materials from the canning plants so these can be converted to tables and chairs which they are donating to partner schools in the province.

DMF itself is a ZEP 2030 partner of Dualtech which has 6 scholars from Sumilao and Impasug-ong. They will send another batch of scholars from Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich who will also be sponsored by Lao Foundation.

Handover of Laptops

Advanced electronics manufacturer Ibiden Philippines held a turnover program of donations of laptops to the ALS community in Manolo Fortich. The ceremony held in Manolo Fortich Central Elementary School was attended by the Deped Officials, LGU representatives, and ALS learners. In a sharing, ALS in the municipality said it was their first time receiving donations of laptops as they said ALS is usually tagged as “least, lost, and last”. They also said that these laptops are not just gadgets but opportunities for the ALS communities to improve its learning materials and delivery for more ALS learners.

Ibiden then announced their upcoming local recruitment activities in Manolo Fortich and Libona to address their need for more operators and staff positions. Dualtech presented to the group its scholarship program together with the updates on the 6 current scholars from Bukidnon in Dualtech. They invited ALS learners from Manolo Fortich to enrol in Dualtech.

On another day, a similar laptop donation was the highlight of a meeting with ZEP 2030 scholars and their parents in Kibenton Integrated High School. Kibenton is a barangay in the municipality of Impasugong, province of Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao. The gathering was arranged by the principal and teacher of the school. The scholars are currently in their second month of training in Dualtech. Many scholars’ parents and guardians were also present in the meeting. They expressed gratitude to sponsors such as Del Monte Foundation and Lao Foundation so that their sons would have access to promising career paths through the 2-year Electromechanics course.

In the same meeting, Ibiden gave a laptop to Teacher Aira Mae. She was heavily involved in the coordination with DMF for the Kibenton scholars. The other laptop will be given by Del Monte to another school teacher in Vista Villa in Sumilao, Bukidnon.

During a subsequent trip, Dualtech Center, Ibiden Philippines, and DMF met another group of parents of ZEP2030 scholars in Sumilao. Parents of the scholars relayed the stories shared by their sons during their training in school. In a video presentation made by the Community Relations Office, the scholars explained to their parents their circumstances in their boarding houses and their training in school. An interesting update was that back in the province, they usually paid little attention to studying, but in Dualtech they exerted effort to actually have study habits. This made them absorb the learnings in the workshops more effectively. In fact, this batch is already assisting their fellow scholars.

Work and training opportunities for Communities

Meanwhile, Ibiden held Local Recruitment Activities in Manolo Fortich and Libona in Bukidnon. This was arranged through the DMF as part of its livelihood projects in Bukidnon.

In Manolo Fortich, the LGU invited applicants for either working in Ibiden or for scholarship in Dualtech. This was in coordination with the PESO manager of the municipality. In Libona, Ibiden met the PESO officer so the municipality could invite more applicants to the career opportunities in Ibiden. In these meetings, Ibiden explained the employment packages and benefits to applicants once they were successfully hired. Special assistance in the form of relocation allowance would also be provided.

An instance of an orientation gathering was one organized by DMF for Dualtech and Ibiden in Dahilayan Integrated School to meet the new batch of scholars who will go to Laguna on January 24, 2024. Dualtech gave an orientation about the scholarship program, boarding house, training in school, among others. Ibiden then talked about their experience training about 20 scholars in Batangas plant. They shared possible future opportunities if these trainees complete the program under the dual training system. For example, they could be sent to Japan for further training.

One last highlight of the trip was a radio guesting in Malaybalay Bukidnon Station. With DMF and Ibiden as fellow guests, Dualtech talked about the scholarship program and that Dualtech needs thousand of scholars in 2024; about the scholars of RNM Foundation in Dualtech some of whom are on their OJT stage; about the scholarship partnership with Lao Foundation and DMF under ZEP2030; and about Ibiden which hosts some of Dualtech scholars for training in Batangas plant.

For its part, Ibiden representatives talked about the partnership with Dualtech which includes CSR in partner communities. They also talked about the donation to DepEd ALS teachers and local recruitment activity in Manolo Fortich and Libona, Bukidnon.

Dualtech is grateful for the inspiring message of ZEP2030, and hopes to continue maximizing its linkages and partnerships and tapping its networks of communities in order to reach more areas in the country. The school looks forward to continuing to meet young scholars from all over the country who are interested to be trained to be skilled technical professionals to work locally or overseas.