Jay again. So if you didn't know already, this Friday, December 12th in Chinatown, NYC is our first SGWG event. The excitement wells up inside me like the howl of a desert coyote after watching Titanic and Sleepless in Seattle back to back.
With that in mind, I thought I might give you guys a look into the charities we're donating to for the December wave of SG shows. I thought I'd start with one near and dear to my family-- GILAS.
According to the website, "GILAS aims to provide Internet access to all public secondary school students in the Philippines, thus giving them an opportunity to a brighter future."At present, there are 6,373 public schools in the Philippines, and a little over 2,000 have been wired with Internet connectivity thanks to the initiative.
At first glance, it may seem like a strange thing to fight for in the Philippines, when issues like hunger and poverty are rampant in the country. In all honesty, that was my initial reaction as well. But then my father, who is an avid proponent of the initiative really broke it down for me.
My father's support of GILAS stems from his view of a bright future for the Philippines where the upcoming and future Filipino high school graduates do not find themselves drowning in the new wave of ever evolving technology. After my talks with my papa, I agree.
Alongside understanding new technology is the fact that with increased world connectivity comes the increasing of an individual's world view. GILAS, as well as myself, are hoping that this sentiment carries on to the students of schools they wire. Ultimately, I think the increased access to the world will give these kids a chance to dream bigger than the circumstances of their environment may allow them to. And those dreams can lead to change.
SGWG is happy to donate half of the earnings of the next two shows to GILAS. For more information, please go to http://www.gilas.org.
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