SAINT Isidore High School is a Catholic school in a remote agricultural village called Zamboanguita in Bukidnon. It is situated more than 50 kilometers from the nearest city, Malaybalay, and almost 140 kilometers from the city. Getting access to technology that can aid learning is thus difficult. But with the help of generous sponsors, the students – some of whom belong to lumad tribes – can now use digital tools and content to enhance their education. An executive of Smart Communications, Debbie Tan, used her budget for Christmas gifts to donate a School-in-a-Bag to St. Isidore High School. Launched early this year by Smart, the School-in-a-Bag is a backpack containing a solar panel for electricity, a laptop, tablet, mobile phone, pocket Wi-Fi with starter load, LED TV, and digital learning modules. The School-in-a-Bag is one of Smart’s initiatives under its umbrella corporate social responsibility program, Smart Communities. This aims to use technology to develop different social sectors, including education. “We are truly grateful for this early Christmas gift to our school. With the School-in-a-Bag program, our students and teachers here in Zamboanguita are able to expand their horizon of knowledge. Our lessons become more relevant and interesting,” said the school director, Fr. Ernald M. Andal, S.J. “As in all gifts, we receive it with a responsibility to share its benefits to the bigger community. We hope to strengthen a culture that sees technology not just as a vital tool for today’s academic instruction, but as a link for those in the peripheries to reach out to the center,” he added. (pr)