DETAILS
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY
In the Philippines, underprivileged school kids have to walk several miles to go to school, carrying as much as 22 books. This leaves them exhausted and unable to focus in class. E-readers could be a solution, but even the cheapest tablet costs more than a Filipino family’s monthly income. One piece of technology that is indispensible to all families is the cellphone. Imagine if we could turn old phones into a new kind of textbook. Smart Communications Inc., the Philippines’ largest telco, had an abundance of older generation SIM cards. School texts were condensed and pre-programmed into these cards turning even the oldest phone into an e-reader. We called the low-tech solution “Smart TXTBKS”. The campaign was launched in 4 public schools. The objective: lessen the physical load on kids. With TXTBKS, the overall weight of school bags was reduced by almost 50%. No one could foresee its ripple effects. The Department of Education is studying implementation in more schools, covering more subjects. We have expanded its use to children’s storybooks for orphanages who have embraced the project. With interest from countries like Japan, Oman, India - TXTBKS is going global. In fact, it debuts in South Africa in March.