The document discusses the efforts of the Kaibigan organization in the Philippines, which recycles educational materials to help disadvantaged children access education and technology. It highlights the severe poverty and lack of education in the region, specifically noting high poverty rates among children and inadequate resources in schools. The organization aims to provide computers and internet access to enrich learning opportunities for the poorest populations, while emphasizing the need for broader systemic reforms to address educational and economic challenges.

1. KAIBIGANChildren of the PhilippinesFilipino American Student AssociationPortland State University1

2. AndRecycling for Disadvantaged ChildrenRDCCreated at PSU in 2009, and incorporated in Oregon in 2010 Applying for its 501 (c ) (3)Federal Tax Exempt StatusIn 20112

3. Introducing the CHANCE programChildren Helping Another Childs Education CHANCE, collects computers from colleges and universities (PSU) from the Untied States that are being discarded because of upgrades and sends them to the Philippines to support Angeles City National Trade School (ACNTS) and GawadKalingas (GK), iGK Smart School Programs. The individuals that it serves are the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. Our programs main concern is teaching the young Computer Information Technologies, and serves children, adults, women, the elderly, and physically challenged individuals. The target population is helped by supplying them free access to computers, the internet, and educating them in their operations and functions. This helps the students and other indigent people of the Philippines to gain an education and learn self-values and self-leaning methods3

4. Smart School ProgramsWe support ACNTS, Smart Communications Inc, and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Smart School Program, and other programs, we also assist ACNTS new sister-sister Adopted-A-Community through Transformative Education program with GK’s, iGK program, which also has a Smart School Program at GK Pinagsama village in Taguig City, Western Bicutan. With this support, RDC advances, the education of the indigent (poorest) population of the Philippines.4

5. Children of the PhilippinesOur target population is the poorest of the poor of all ages and genders. The Philippines had a population around 90.3 million in 2009, and their average family income was 147, 0000 pesos. which in American dollars is around $3062.00. The age structure is 0-14 years: 34.5% (male 16,043,257/female 15,415,334) 15-64 years: 61.3% (male 27,849,584/female 28,008,293) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 1,631,866/female 2,128,953) estimated in 2008. 5

6. Poverty remains a serious problem in the Philippines, which is the only populous country in East Asia in which the absolute number of people living on less than $1 a day remained constant, according to figures compiled by the World Bank. That body estimates that, even if the Philippine economy posts a 6 to 8 percent growth , it will still not be possible to bring the poverty level below 15 percent. Economists believe that it may take some 20 years of continuous economic reforms and implementation of social programs before the country can match the single-digit poverty figures of it wealthier neighbors. 6

7. A lack of an education leads to continual cycles of poverty in families. This poverty leads to begging, crime, violence, and prostitution. With an education, these cycles can be broken with a new generation of educated children working as responsible citizens of the nation of the Philippines. Poverty among children shows that the incidence of poverty among children aged below 15 years is far higher than the national average. Poverty among children aged between 6 to 15-years accounts for more than 30% of aggregate poverty.7

8. RDC, is your organizationOur Mission: is to recycle any educational materials that can be used to advance the education of disadvantaged youth throughout the world. Our goal: is to make the necessary tools available and accessible to all children, indigent individuals, and the physical challenged who wish to gain an education.8

9. Our Vision : That all children of every nation receive an education in order to be good stewards of the world that they will inherit. We Believe: All Children deserve a good home and an education adequate to meet the challenges of the world. 9

10. PovertyAmong the poorest Filipinos, most family income is derived from entrepreneurial activities such as selling food on street corners or collecting recyclable materials to sell at the junkyards. Most of the poor are lowland landless agricultural workers, lowland small farm owners and cultivators, industrial wage laborers, hawkers, micro-entrepreneurs, and scavengers. Most poor Filipinos live in rural areas, where they are subject to the low productivity of agricultural employment. 10

11. Urban poverty is caused by low household incomes and the internal migration of poor rural families to urban areas. Poverty incidence increased to 26.9% for families in 2006 compared to 24.4% in 2003. This is, however, lower than the 27.5 % poverty incidence in 2000. In terms of poverty incidence among a population, out of 100 Filipinos, 33 were poor in 2006, compared to 30 in 2003. Preliminary indicators showed no improvement in the poverty rate in 2009 from that of 2006, when the poverty rate stood at 33 percent of the population, said NSCB Secretary General Romulo Virola11

12. The proportion of the population living below US$1.25 a day in 2006 was 23 per cent or around 20 million people. At the same time, about 44 per cent or over 40 million Filipinos were living on less than US$2 a day. While the Philippines was able to reduce poverty incidence from as high as 30 per cent in the early 1990s, the actual number of people living in poverty has increased over the last two decades. 12

13. The global food and fuel price crises in 2007 and 2008, and the global economic crisis that followed, are estimated to have pushed even more people into poverty. The economy took a further hit in late 2009, as the worst typhoon season in 40 years devastated Metro Manila and the agricultural heartland of the country.13

14. Even during periods of stronger economic growth, such as 2004-2008, poverty continued to rise. Various factors have contributed to the lack of progress on poverty reduction in the Philippines. Some of these are: An agriculture sector that has performed weakly and failed to raise the incomes of the rural poor Growth that is primarily based on consumption and not creating employment opportunities for the poor14

15. High population growth, which averaged 2 per cent annually over the past decade, and places additional strain on the cost of household living and demand for basic servicesIncome inequality, which increased in the 1990s and remains relatively high—the poorest 20 per cent of the population accounting for only 5 per cent of total income or consumptionInability of the government to provide sufficient basic services, especially to people in poorer remote regionsVulnerability of poorer communities to natural disasters and civil unrest which adversely affects livelihoods15

16. EducationThe Government of the Philippines' Midterm Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows the country is on track to meet 2015 targets on reducing child mortality, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation. However, the country needs to increase its efforts to meet universal primary education and maternal health goal16

17. About 74% of children not attending school are found to be living below the national poverty threshold. This suggests that children are not attending school primarily due to their lack of resources to afford schooling, directly or indirectly, and due partly to supply-side factors such as unavailability of nearby schools. 17

18. Several comprehensive assessments of the Philippine educational system have been conducted in the last decade. Most notable of these are the review conducted by the Congressional Commission on Education, the Philippine Education Sector Study, conducted jointly by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank , and the Education for All assessments. A Presidential Commission of Educational Reform was constituted to review these and other similar studies and to make recommendations for the improvement of the quality of education in the Philippines. 18

19. All of these assessments have characterized the Philippine educational system as one in crisis. Recurring themes 1) the inadequacy of the national budgetary allocation for education; 2) the inefficient management of the educational system; 3) poor infrastructure—lack of school buildings, laboratory facilities, libraries, etc.; 4) the lack of qualified teachers—this coupled with the lack of classrooms results in class sizes of up to 110, with 60 being the norm; 5) deteriorating student performance, most significantly in science, math and English; and 6) the need for quality assurance in teacher education institutions and for improved in-service training.19

20. ComputersThe Infocomm Development Authority estimates that PC penetration in the Philippines is at 1.9/100 persons, while Internet penetration is at 6/100 persons (or 4,590,000 of the 76.5 million population) and that only 2% percent of schools nationwide have Internetaccess. Of the public secondary schools with Internet access, only 9% use the Internet forinstructional purposes. Furthermore, 44.5% of public secondary schools that use the Internet for instructional purposes only have one computer that can access the Internet.20

21. About half of these schools access the Internet for an average of less than an hour per day. Most have a dial-up connection with a maximum speed of 56.6kbps. Connectivity adds great value to a school’s computer resources. With email and the Internet, teachers and students can, among other things, communicate and collaborate with peers, colleagues, and experts anytime, anywhere and can access a wealth of learning resources online. Whether or not a school has Internet access therefore is another indicator of how much technology is being used to enrich the learning process. 21

22. Only 13 out of the 100 respondent schools can access the Internet and even then only for a limited time and not exclusively for educational purposes. Of these schools, only nine and eight allow teachers and students, respectively, access to computers that can go online. Three schools dedicate internet time to administrative tasks while another has internet access only for the personal use of one of its staff. Only one school uses its internet time exclusively foreducational purposes. In most cases, Internet access is shared between administrative and educational use. 22

23. Respondents to a survey were asked to rank what they perceived to be the five biggest obstacles to their schools use of ICT for teaching and learning. Lack of enough computers is the single biggest obstacle according to the respondents. 23

24. Lack of enough technical support for operating and maintaining ICT resources and the lack of teacher training opportunities are considered barriers to change as well. So too are the lack of space for computers and the general lack of funds for operations, including maintenance of equipment, purchase of supplies, and electricity.24

25. Schools with Internet access rarely employ a full-time information specialist who can provide support to teachers and students for online research. A member of the teaching staff, the principal or non-teaching administrator, or the computer coordinator performs this function for the school. Some schools provide no research support to their teachers and students at all.25

26. When asked to recall the last time a computer in their school broke down and to estimate the amount of time it took for the computer to be repaired, respondents in 42% of the schools said that it took a month or more. 19% claimed that the computer has never been repaired. The two most common problems encountered by schools when computers or any hardware breaks down is first, the lack of funds to pay for the repairs and second, the absence of anyone in or near the school who has the expertise to diagnose and fix the problem.26

27. Natural DisastersIn the Philippines natural disasters are a real and recurring danger. The country is hit by frequent seismic activity and by around 20 tropical cyclones a year. Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, which struck in late 2009, were sharp reminders of the high exposure and vulnerability of the country to the devastation of natural disasters; directly affecting 9.3 million people and driving almost 500,000 more Filipinos into poverty.27

28. The combined impact of the storms left almost 1000 dead, displaced millions of Filipinos, damaged thousands of homes and other infrastructure, and destroyed crops. The Philippines incurred a damage bill equivalent to 2.7% of GDP; a substantial set-back to the cause of Philippine development and undermined its progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The Philippines is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.28

29. Please Invest By Giving These Children A CHANCE29If you give a child a home you give them hope, if you give a child an education you give them a CHANCE.Volunteers and/or donations can be made through:KaibiganOr Recycling for Disadvantaged Children

30. KAIBIGANFilipino American Student AssociationE-Mail: kaibigan@pdx.eduPhone: 503.725.2964Office: Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm M103Mailing Address: Student Activities and Leadership ProgramsPortland State UniversityP.O. Box 751 - SALPPortland, OR 97207-075130

31. Recycling for Disadvantaged Children175 North 13thSaint Helens OR, 97051(503)397-5844Email: recyclingforchildren@gmail.com Website: http://recyclingfordisadvantagedchildren.giving.officelive.com/ 31

32. 32ReferencesMusic : Bring ME To Life by Various artist, A Tribute to EvanescenceADB Economics Working Paper Series(2008). Ex-ante Impact Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Program on School Attendance and Poverty. The Case of the Philippines No. 142. Hyun H. Son and JhiedonFlorentinoAspen Institute’s Nonprofit Sector Research Fund. INDEPENDENT SECTOR. United Way of AmericaNational Information Technology Council, “IT21 Philippines: Asia’s Knowledge Center,” October 1997. Available online http://www.neda.gov.ph/Subweb/IT21/it21.pdf . Accessed on 20 August 2002.Castro, Lina V. OIC-Asst (2009). Secretary General National Statistical Coordination Board.Retrieved from: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/poverty/2006pov_asof%2025jun09/Final%20-%20presentation%20on%20the%202006%20basic%20sectors,%2025jun09.pdfEncyclopedia of the nations, Asia and the Pacific, Philippines (2008), Philippines Poverty and wealth, Retrieved From: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Philippines-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.htmlINCOME POVERTYAND INEQUALITYIN THE PHILIPPINES(2004).Mangahas The SWS Survey Time Series on PhilippineINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY USE IN PHILIPPINE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS (2000). Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo. Department of Information Systems and Computer Science. Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City

33. ReferencesMONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ICT IN EDUCATION PROJECTS. A Handbook for Developing Countries. Daniel A. Wagner Bob Day Tina James Robert B. Kozma Jonathan Miller Tim Unwin. www.infoDev.orgNational Statistics Office, Republic of the Philippines (NSO) (2009, May 12). National Statistics Office of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from Census Web site: http://www.census.gov.ph/New technology effectively addresses lack of computers in public schools (2009).Rhodina J. Villanueva Poverty and Hunger, 1983–2003, paper presented at the BMZ/GTZ/CEPA/ADB Regional Conferenceon Poverty Monitoring in Asia, 24–26 March 2004, Manila, Philippines.PHILIPPINES CHILD LABOUR DATA COUNTRY BRIEF (2006).In international Labor Office Human Development Report. Human Development Indicator.Victoria L. Tinio (2002), Director for e-Learning, Information & Communication Survey of Technology Utilization in Philippine Public High Schools, Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, Commissioned by theCenter of International Cooperation for Computerization, Government of Japan (March 2002)Victoria L. Tinio (2004 ), ICT INTEGRATION IN EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINESVICTORIA L. TINIO is Director for e-Learning of the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED), a non-profit organization based in Metro Manila, Philippines. 33