Through casual games head Carlo Ople, I was recently invited to the anniversary celebration of TULAY, a project in cooperation with the OWWA (Overseas Welfare Welfare Administration), Microsoft, and the Blas F. Ople Policy Center.

The TULAY project, which started in 2004, initiates teaching computer literacy courses to dependents of overseas Filipino workings. According to Labor Secretary Roque. “It has led to the empowerment of thousands of overseas workers and we intend to sustain and strengthen this computer literacy program by constantly updating our software and hardware for the benefit of our OFWs and their families.”

This is where I really saw the power and value of computer literacy and information technology when applied to everyday life. Through the mini-celebration/dinner, I was able to chat with recent graduates of the the TULAY program and here are capsule version of their stories;

The Power of Communication- Lilybeth Dorenia is the wife of an OFW based in Vietnam. She said that her husband used to call her only thrice a week using his mobile phone. And that was expensive for both of them. Through the TULAY program, she learned about Skype and Facebook, they are now able to communicate three times a day. “He would chat with me in the morning before he leaves for work. Then we find the time to chat during his lunch break. At night, we use Skype so we could talk sometimes until the week hours of the morning.”. Lilybeth has also learned about the power of social network sites and now she has hundreds of friends. She claims that she even found long lost relatives, old classmates and even old neighbors through her SNS sites such as Friendster and Facebook.

It’s Never Late to Start – The eldest grad of the Tulay program is an 80-year old woman named Buhay Tan. Buhay said that age is not a hindrance to gaining computer knowledge. “I want to learn more and more that is why I still go to the Tulay center every Friday so my teacher can help me practice.” Mrs. Tan has nine children, all degree-holders, with some of them working abroad too. “I want to communicate with tehm that is why I enrolled in the Tulay program.”

According to Buhay’s trainor, Wadi Mutia, his student now knows how to use Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and MS Publisher. She, like Lilybeth, is also into social network sites like Facebook.

The Tulay Program

Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center said that “based on our experience with the Tulay program, if you give an OFW family a computer, a webcam, a digital camer, broadband and sufficient training in computer and Internet use, you help empower them to stay close, be informed and to think global instead of local. Their horizons and opportunities to learn and earn immediately expand once they cross the digital divide.”

That’s the power of information technology and we see it changing lives through the Tulay program. I wish all the organizers, teachers and students best of luck in the years ahead.

You have my support and I promise to help in everything I can. 

For more information:

• Tulay Workshop Video
• Blas F. Ople Policy Center