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In an effort to bring attention to a serious social problem in the Philippines, Kraft Foods Phils. has undertaken a worthy corporate social responsibility project called Cheez Whiz Palamantasan ng Sarap, Sustansya at Saya. In coordination with the Department of Education, this nationwide campaign was launched in Davao City last 17 July 2010 to help address the problem of under- and malnutrition among Filipino children.

“Palamantasan ng Sarap” — a witty play of words, don’t you think? The idea, according to Cheez Whiz senior brand manager, Paolo Serrano, is to make an educational campaign more fun so that kids will take to it and, thus, learn from it. If you take a look at the Palamantasan website, you’ll know what they mean by engaging kids in a way that’ll get their attention.

At the launching of Palamantasan in Davao, which was held at the Buhangin Central Elementary School, several local grade schools participated in competitions that were designed to create awareness of nutrition issues. There were the usual contests, such as the Sabayang Pagbigkas (group speech contest), cheering, and essay-writing. There was also a unique event called “Jarchitecture“, where participating pupils unleashed their creativity in crafting buildings or robots made of empty Cheez Whiz bottles and caps.

The contest that I liked, though, was the Mom & Child Sandwich-Making Contest. There were three teams that competed at Buhangin Central, and it was fun to watch the pairs (two mom-and-daughter and one mom-and-son teams) concoct fancy- and yummy-looking healthy snacks.

“These schoolchildren are at the stage of developing a sense of responsibility,” explains Serrano. “This is why we want them to realize the significance of proper nutrition themselves — through a series of fun, creative and learning activities.”

Studies by the Philippine government have shown that millions of Filipino children are malnourished. That’s why, among the poorer sectors of society, it’s not uncommon to see ten-year-old kids looking like they were barely six. This could stem from the lack of education about proper nutrition in many Filipino families. What Kraft Foods has started, therefore, is worthy of praise.

I hope that many more big corporations, especially those involved in the food industry, will take it upon themselves to help eradicate the country’s nutrition problems. Better yet, it would be great for other companies to get on board and make a pledge to theh Palamantasan initiative. It will ultimately benefit them, too, because they would be ensuring a healthy workforce for the future.

As for schools that aren’t yet part of the program, they would do well to urge their students to join Palamantasan. I remember when I was in Grade School, it was always fun to take part in those fun-filled activities that involved food. Little did we know that we were in fact learning from the experience already! As Palamantasan has reminded me, the best way to get kids interested is to get their attention through exciting and challenging activities — and with a full stomach in the mix, the Cheez Whiz Palamantasan program certainly concocted the best formula!

A few months back, and up until 31 May 2009, adidas Philippines had a very attractive sales promo: Wanted Old Shoes. Shoppers were given a ₱500 to ₱1,000 discount on adidas purchases, provided they brought in a pair of old sports shoes for donation. adidas was able to collect thousands of pairs via 100+ participating stores nationwide.

These shoes were donated recently to the Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Education in Mintal, Davao City. In simple rites but in a festive setting, adidas executives, led by Country Manager Nolet Puno, turned over the shoes to the students of Pamulaan. All who study at Pamulaan are children of indigenous peoples from all over the country.

adidas assets graced the event, among them Purefoods cagers, Enrico Villanueva and Peter Jun Simon, who hails from Davao City.

Pamulaan, the first of its kind in Asia, is established in the Mintal campus of the University of South Eastern Philippines, which is about half an hour’s drive from downtown Davao City. At present, there are about 100 students taking up courses in education, agriculture and anthropology. At the turnover ceremony, students from various cultural minorities honored their guests with traditional dances: Manobo, Matigsalog, Mangyan, Ifugao, Teburay, and others.

The students, as well as everyone else in attendance, were treated to the antics of VJ Drei of MYX and the presence of TV idol Rayver Cruz, both of whom are also adidas assets. I’m sure that for both parties — the Pamulaan family and the adidas entourage — it was a first-of-a-kind encounter.

adidas chose Pamulaan as sole beneficiary of their corporate social responsibility project, according to Jillian Panganiban of adidas Philippines, because of the center’s uniqueness and worthy objectives. Pamulaan (from the Matigsalog word for ’seedbed’) is currently home to about 31 different indigenous peoples groups from all over the archipelago.

In his acceptance speech, Pamulaan founder Benjamin Abadiano stressed that this generous donation from adidas will benefit thousands of cultural minority students, a lot of whom walk to school across great distances. Pamulaan is based in Davao City, but extends its helping hands to indigenous peoples all over the country.

Davao-based bloggers were invited to the occasion, held last 19 June 2009 at the USEP campus. I’m glad that the PR agency hired by adidas, Primetime Creatives, made sure to get members of the Mindanao Bloggers Community involved. For one, we bloggers are now aware of Pamulaan and its highly-commendable activities.

In behalf of my fellow bloggers, I’d like to extend sincere greetings of congratulations to adidas Philippines for the very charitable contribution it has made to our indigenous peoples.

Here are photos of the event, courtesy of Chattee Lara.

Copyright © 2009, Oliver Robillo.
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It was a very engaging dinner and get-together I had last night with Nick Wilwayco and her colleagues in Smart Communications. They were in town for a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project by Smart, and Nick took the opportunity to meet me and discuss a SmartBro issue I had raised earlier. She made good on her word to help me follow it up with the SmartBro people.

Being part of a different department within Smart, Nick really went out of her way to address my problem, and I really appreciate it. Thank you very much, Nick, Judee and Haydee for that wonderful evening!

At Krua Thai last night, I was also apprised of some of what Smart is currently accomplishing in terms of CSR. Coincidentally, their ongoing project involved a blogger friend of mine, Kring Elenzano, who delivered a presentation to a group of Visayas- and Mindanao-based teachers and students on Internet videography. Smart is conducting a nationwide series of educational programs that hope to enable disenfranchised students and educators to get up to speed in the world of Internet citizenship.

What I find admirable is this telecommunications company’s commitment to conduct outreach programs that benefit the less fortunate. I wholeheartedly agree with what Nick and her colleagues said about developing the talent of schoolchildren in underdeveloped areas: that they can very well be the source of wonderful ideas. Who knows what these kids can accomplish given the right resources?

But what I find even more admirable is the dedication that I could clearly see in the three smart women I was with last night. Smart’s CSR programs are certainly in the right hands!

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Copyright © 2009, Oliver Robillo.
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