equal access to education

Education for the Deaf Thailand (EDeaf)

Volunteer (Research Unit), Learning and Development (LD) Team, 2021-2022

Joining EDeaf Season 4 was the final highlight of my experience as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) teacher in Thailand. I was the first and only Filipino volunteer to join the Bangkok-based nonprofit organization that promotes equality and support for deaf children to reach their full potential, live in dignity, and achieve their goals. It was a fun and incredible opportunity, where I learned Thai Sign Language (TSL), gained new friends, and valued the importance of teamwork in an intercultural setting.

Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)-Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST)

Project Technical Staff (Communications Officer/Writer), Advocacy and Promotions Unit, Mar-Oct 018

After I gave my talk at the First ASEAN Student Mobility Forum in June 2017, co-organized by CHEd and SHARE (European Support for Higher Education in the ASEAN Region), I was offered a job at the government agency's central office in the National Capital Region (NCR). In late February of 2018, I moved to Metro Manila to join the young workforce in the commission's unit that oversaw the government's financial educational assistance programs, including the newly passed Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA). 

My short stint at CHEd-UniFAST allowed me to work as a writer and communication officer under the Advocacy and Promotions Unit of UniFAST. I was part of a team called Task Force for Advocacy and Information (TFAI), which handled the design and dissemination of all the information, education, and communication (IEC) materials about the Free Tertiary Education Law. In addition, I had the opportunity to observe government proceedings such as the grueling annual bicameral budget hearings at the Philippine House of Representatives and Senate of the Philippines. 

As part of CHEd's communication campaigns on UAQTEA, the task force collaborated with the production team from TVUP, the internet TV network of the University of the Philippines, to produce a video infomercial to be presented online and during the information caravan in NCR, which included filming an interview with Philippine senators and representatives who authored the law.