Bridging Barriers to Learning: Christian’s Coin Grant Story

Christian, 19, has always been fascinated by technology. No wonder he enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) at Central Philippine State University (CPSU) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, where he is now a sophomore. His childhood curiosity about how websites and systems work has grown into a passion for programming, cybersecurity, and system development.

Belonging to a family that upholds a Christ-centered mission, he grew up with a modest and often uncertain income in a small mountain community. His father, a pastor who leads a small mission-stage church, receives no fixed allowance and often gives what little they have to members in need. With his grandmother as the sole breadwinner for a family of six, and 10% of the income regularly set aside for the church, their ₱10,000 household budget is always stretched thin.

Given this financial reality, purchasing a laptop with the right specifications is far beyond their reach. Christian relies on the university’s computer lab, which he can only use once a week during the allocated three hours for his laboratory class. In this class alone, 29 students share 15 computers, leaving each student just one (1) hour and 30 minutes to do their outputs. Many days, Christian leaves the lab feeling frustrated, unable to finish his tasks or fully understand the lesson. With persistence, he budgets his ₱100 allowance to avail minutes in a pisonet computer shop to finish his requirements. When the shop is closed, he borrows his uncle’s laptop, though it is slow, meant only for light office tasks, and not always available.

The Coin Grant from Create Foundation gives Christian the opportunity to access the technology essential to his education. He could complete his projects on time and strengthen the skills needed for future work. It would allow him to do more rigorous research about coding, study independently through online learning materials, and prepare for the major requirements , including website development and his capstone project.

The Computer and Internet (Coin) Grant—a key initiative under our Create ASPIRE program—is designed for students, home-based workers, and community leaders. The Coin Grant provides laptops or desktop computers along with internet subsidies to individuals who are digitally literate but lack the means to purchase.

Learn more about the Coin Grant today. Click here to start.