Zonta Club of Central Tuguegarao launch project to support educational improvements in Tuguegarao

On June 1, 2020, the entire Zontian community entered the 2020-2022 biennium with the international theme “Transitions, Changes and New Opportunities” A very fitting theme considering that the novel COVID-19 health crisis was still ravaging communities around the world.

Driven by this theme, and faced with the trying times, the Zonta Club of Central Tuguegarao (ZCCT) stepped up to meet those challenges head-on. 
One of those challenges was easy an access to educational materials for poorer children in their community. This was a major source of concern for the club because, In the Philippines, there are millions of young students who are supposed to be enrolled for the school year but lack the resources to do so.

However, due to the shift to online education because of the lockdown, those who belonged to the marginalized community have fewer and fewer opportunities to study, because they cannot afford the equipment that is needed. 

Through the Z/Golden Z Club and the clubs educational committees, ZCCT launched the Gadget Mo, Sagot Ko Project (a Filipino phrase meaning “I’ll take care of getting you a gadget”), to help bridge the access to online learning for young students in their community. 

The Club utilized its Facebook page in soliciting fairly used gadgets to be distributed to the less privileged students in Tuguegarao. 
ZCCT  also partnered with the HacktheNorth.ph, home of the Tuguegarao Consortium (TCON) and the largest ICT IT Security Conference in Northern Philippines,  TCON ensured that all the gadgets were in safe and good working condition. 

The gadgets also came with a Learning and Hygiene Kit containing a Yokohama backpack, notebooks, face shield, Zonta facemask, dental implements, and even a cute little Zonta button pin that brought delight to the young beneficiaries. 

The Tuguegarao City – Cagayan Dental Chapter (TCDC) donated the dental implements such as toothbrushes, tubes/sachets of toothpaste, and leaflets promoting dental health.

As of September 30, 2020, the club has distributed around 75 gadgets in 7 different batches and even more, gadgets are on hand and ready to be distributed in the following months. Club members braved the heat and rain to distribute the items and give each child a fighting chance to succeed during this school year.