The COVID-19 pandemic is today’s biggest global health crisis and the universe’s greatest threat. A virus that posed a serious threat to global health and claimed the lives of thousands of people across the world. The NSTP students from the Asian International School of Aeronautics and Technology congregated together to bring awareness to those who have been adversely affected by the pandemic; as a community, they have become relevant in this trying time.
Mr. Andrei Catulpos and Mr. Ryann Belhida, with the help of selected NSTP students from AISAT, organized a donation drive called Munting Barya para sa Kapwa Mag-aaral. The operation began in the third week of March and finished on the 13th of May 2021.
The leaders of this fundraiser both believe that it is time for us to engage and extend our hands to students who are struggling in both modular and online classes at a time when most of us are struggling with a new normal learning system. As Mr. Catulpos once emphasized in an infographic post “We’re all in the same storm, but not in the same boat. No student should be left behind.” Mr. Belhida even supported this sentiment through a monologue for the fundraiser’s infomercial, “Our education is one thing that can never be taken away from us. And we should not deprive nor take this away from them. As today’s generation are the hope of our future.”
Since we discovered how severely the pandemic had impacted the education of many, we selected two students from Bangoy National High School to be our beneficiaries. One student is said to be struggling because she does not have a mobile device to attend her online classes because she only borrows from her father, whereas another student is said to be struggling because of her daily needs, causing her to have low stamina in completing her modules at home. As a result, we devised a strategy to reach out to these students to the best of our ability.
In just two months, the team was able to accumulate over 12 thousand pesos. GCash became a pillar to this activity because it was used to foster cash flow and seamless transactions between donors and sponsors.
The team was divided into three subgroups: Marketing, Accounting, and Infographics Team. The marketing team was tasked with promoting the donation drive by crowdfunding and sharing and updating information on all social media platforms. The accounting team focused on managing the money that had been collected. As a result, the sub team’s backbone became liquidation and transparency. All of the posters, infomercial videos, and promotional videos were produced by the infographics team. With the support of these innovative ideas, hundreds of people were able to participate in the activity.
However, notwithstanding the pandemic, the NSTP instructor ought to continue to conduct the operation and reach out to the selected beneficiaries.
Furthermore, the aforementioned team’s gatherings have been canceled. The money collected will only be transferred to the beneficiaries’ accounts for security purposes. As a result, only the instructor was able to communicate with the student’s teacher and parents in person. To summarize, all donations will be sent to the teacher who has been appointed to collect donations for the students, and the teacher will then contact the students’ parents to officially administer our donations.
Both the NSTP students and teachers from Bangoy National High School signed a letter after the donations were transferred to the teachers to show the openness and good relationship between the two. The letter and signatures of the respective teachers are evidence that they had honestly and sincerely acknowledged and accepted the donations.
Munting Barya Para sa Kapwa Mag-aaral was thus a resounding success. We may able to solve this crisis if we work together. We must rely on one another because we are stronger as a team and can make a difference when we work together. You won’t be left behind in AISAT because in AISAT we are ONE.