The University of the Philippines Men’s Basketball Team, through the NowheretogobutUP Foundation, and its newest supporter, Converge ICT Solutions, have pledged to help scholars from the National Capital Region and other parts of Luzon cope with the demands of remote learning.
Officers of UP’s Kaagapay Sa Pag-Aaral Ng Mga Iskolar Ng Bayan program, the UP College of Human Kinetics (UP CHK), and the UP Varsity Council have helped the fastest growing fiber internet service provider in the country to identify deserving students and student-athletes who will benefit from the project.
Kaagapay Sa Pag-Aaral Ng Mga Iskolar Ng Bayan or #KaagapayUP is a fundraising and resource generation campaign of the UP System that aims to help more than 5,600 UP students who are in danger of not being able to continue their education because of the COVID-19 crisis due to the demands of remote learning. Converge ICT will subsidize the internet connection of UP scholars from the NCR and Northern and Southern Luzon.
“We plan to support the most challenged UP students throughout the duration of the remote learning setup, or at the very least, for two semesters. Phase 1 of the initiative will provide internet connection to 30 student-athletes for the whole academic year. As the first semester has already begun, we will begin installation of pure fiber internet in their homes, as soon as possible,” said Converge ICT Solutions Founder and CEO, Dennis Anthony Uy.
UP, alongside other universities in the country, shifted to remote learning and online classes this school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and some students have expressed they are having a hard time adjusting to the new set up, largely due to lack of connectivity.
“The transition to remote learning is no easy feat, especially for those who lack the ample resources to study from home. We hope to ease the burden of those Iskolars ng Bayan who are most in need, some of whom are student-athletes, by providing them with fast and reliable internet connection so they can adjust well to remote learning. This is one way of showing our commitment to uplifting Filipino lives, by helping them #ExperienceBetter. This is why we are supporting #KaagapayUP,” said Uy.
“We hope that, through this project, we can make this academic year more productive for the students. We at Converge and the UP Fighting Maroons have the students’ welfare in mind and we will join hands so we can all get through this hard time together.”
UP CHK dean Francis Diaz thanked Converge and the UPMBT for their thoughtful initiative to help student athletes. “Converge ICT’s offer to help is laudable and very well-timed because of the crucial need for connectivity during this remote learning phase of our new normal. Internet connection is at the heart of today’s learning process and is key to achieving institutional and personal educational objectives. This development is definitely deeply appreciated and most needed. The generosity of Converge will directly benefit a number of UP student-athletes who badly need this connectivity for their remote learning,” said Diaz.
For his part, UPMBT manager Atty. Agaton Uvero thanked Converge for their generosity to the UP community and their support for the Maroons. “We welcome Converge ICT as a new sponsor of the team and we thank them for thinking of the needs of many students and scholar-athletes during these trying times. The team is very happy to be a part of the project because they can directly help UP students and their fellow student-athletes. This is just the start of a fruitful partnership between the UPMBT, Converge, and the UP community,” Uvero said.
