Gift of brightness brings hope

Epson’s Gift of Brightness to Tuloy Sa Don Bosco in Alabang is received from the Epson team by principal Jose Perez (standing, rightmost), Inquirer in Education partner teacher Ryan Lorenzo Singson (fourth from right) and some students. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Words are not enough to express our gratitude, says partner teacher Evangeline Sason (second from left) who, together with Malabon City Mayor Antolin Aquino Oreta III (center, back row), principal Marissa B. Cristobal and students of Ninoy Aquino Elementary School, received the Epson gift. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

In celebration of its 15th anniversary last November,  Epson Philippines Corp.  launched its Gift of Brightness program, which involved donating a package of their products to selected public primary and secondary schools to help boost education.

Let me stress here that Epson was giving away not just one product. In this generous program, each of the selected schools would receive three kinds of printers: a high-volume Epson L-Series printer, an Epson M-Series dot matrix printer and a label printer. On top of this assortment of printers, the company would also donate a projector and a scanner. In total, a package of five brand-new computer peripherals.

Epson would also train the teachers on how to operate the equipment and get maximum use from them because, really, the most frustrating part about having these newfangled things around is not knowing the many wonderful uses you can get out of them, let alone how to run them.

When the Epson team came to talk to me about their Gift of Brightness program, I could not contain my enthusiasm. They had me at “gift” and by the time they said they would throw in a year’s supply of ink and ribbons for the printers so that the students could readily print their written masterpieces, I’m telling you, I was putty in their hands.

EPSON GM for marketing and customer support Donna Ferro. ARNOLD ALMACEN

PR manager Mark David sign the memorandum of agreement. ARNOLD ALMACEN

Epson gave me the honor of nominating some of our partner public schools in the Inquirer in Education (IIE) program that I thought would benefit the most from their Gift of Brightness.

I’ve been visiting our IIE partner schools since we launched the Bench Serial Reading Program in 2008 and it has often crossed my mind how much more their students and teachers can achieve if they just have the right tools.

I’ve been to a school in Naga City where an English teacher determinedly carried on with the day’s lesson using a banged-up projector. About 90 percent of our partner educators don’t use projectors for everyday teaching and instead create jaw-dropping visual aids out of rolls and rolls of Manila paper.

Of the works of the students submitted to me, very few had been printed. The students made up for the lack of technology with creativity— sequined covers for handwritten reports, oversize scrapbooks, the colors of the rainbow so pretty around their hastily scrawled writings.

I knew all too well that most of our partner schools could brighten up with a donation like Epson’s, so it was agonizing for me to have had to choose which ones to place on a short list. I left it up to the Epson team to make the final decision.

THE PARTNERSHIP with the  Inquirer through the Learning section editor (left) and Business section assistant editor Corrie Narisma is sealed; partner teacher Carol S. Andres receives the Epson gift for  Gabaldon Elementary School in Laoag City. ARNOLD ALMACEN 

Now we have heard of so-called donations that turned out to be all hype, with their intended beneficiaries receiving nothing in the end. Lots of photo-ops with no deliveries … you know, almost like the ghost projects of Janet Lim-Napoles and her Three Stooges in the Senate.

This was different. To begin with, Epson is a globally reputable company and renowned brand, a leader in high-precision printing and digital imaging products.  Also, education and youth advocacy is a time-honored tradition at Epson.

But what impressed me most about Epson’s generosity was the quiet way the team accomplished its mission. The deliveries to the schools were done without fanfare. Nobody called me to request coverage. I only found out through the Facebook postings of our partner teachers that their much-awaited gifts had arrived.

The lucky IIE partner schools who have received the Epson packages are Gabaldon Elementary School (Laoag City), Nellie E. Brown Elementary School (Olongapo City), Ninoy Aquino Elementary School (Malabon City) and Tuloy Sa Don Bosco (Alabang).

 CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

According to Donna V. Ferro, Epson general manager for marketing and customer support, 15 schools nominated by their partners in trade and media have received the Epson Gift of Brightness packages.  She said the company would expand the program and increase the number of beneficiary schools “to promote better learning for students and provide better teaching tools for the teachers.”

Thank you, Epson, for shining a light on education and sharing your amazing brightness with our partner schools. And now it’s time to put this appreciation in print.

(For product inquiries and technical support, call Epson Customer Care at Metro Manila (02) 441-9030; toll-free 1-800-1069-37766 or 1-800-3-0037766. Visit https://customercare.epson.com.ph. For more details, visit www.epson.com.ph or its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/EpsonPhilippines.)