Outreach to Elementary Schools and Out Of School Youth

Two issues that face the world today are the environment and the digital divide. A group of students decided to confront these issues and conduct a Saturday program for youth in the community that teaches the basics in computer knowledge while at the same time discussing environmental issues. Due to the fact that students at MORMS have access to technology that other youth in the area do not, the goal if for MORMS to be a center of ICT knowledge in the region. In connection with the outreach program, a mural competition with the theme of making a difference in the environment was held in October. Elementary and high school students participated.

Trainings and Demonstrations

To show how MORMS students are spearheading two projects to share a greener awareness of our environment, we invited officials from the local and provincial government, Dep of Education, and the Dep Environmental and Natural Resources to attend demonstrations of the projects. The first group presented their project on recycling of plastic waste into economic opportunities for the community while the second presented their project of rain water harvesting which can be adapted in the community to collect clean water especially after typhoons when safe water is scarce. We received positive feedback and have since also presented at a training for school and community leaders sponsored by UNICEF.

Power Users Collaboration

Since this environmental crisis we are facing now is a global issue and technology is the key to connecting people, the students of MORMS are also incorporating Power Users of ICT into their initiative, which is an online distance learning program that will allow the students to connect with other youth from different regions and around the world to collaborate about environmental issues. With our synchronous web conferencing tool, it has dissolved the boundaries among different regions in the country.

 Plastic Education for Elementary Students,

Out-of-School Youth and Peers

As the concern over global warming and the environment increases, so does the need for education. Official figures show that plastics make up around 25% of the garbage that Metro Manila churns out. Since the youth are the future, the plastic education to the community began with an outreach to the local elementary schools, out-of-school youth, and students from MORMS. The presentation included the harmful effects of plastic, what an individual can do, and environmental web resources for the Philippines.

Learning About the Water in Our Commmunity

To learn about the water that is available in our community, we conducted tests on the water and interviewed various members of the community.