Teacher Selen, A Volunteer Teacher From Sitio Liguma

Selen Amoy, 26, is a volunteer teacher at Liguma Mangyan Elementary School (LMES) in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro. After earning her degree in Secondary Education, she decided to return to Sitio Liguma, a remote upland community where access to electricity, let alone technology, is limited. She also serves as the sitio’s council secretary, a role she has held for one and a half year.

Despite serving only in a voluntary capacity since September 4, 2024, and receiving no monetary compensation, Selen does full-time work. She teaches 17 students across Grades 3 and 4, running simultaneous classes all day and covering all 6 subjects on her own. To sustain her work, she earns roughly ₱1,500 a month by selling bananas and helping her mother collect and sell recyclables. Much of what she earns goes straight back to her classroom, covering the basic materials she needs to teach her students.

Without a personal computer and with only one computer in the entire school, Selen prepares almost all administrative tasks by hand–from daily lesson logs, exam preparation, item analysis, and even monitoring and accomplishment reports. The lone laptop is shared by five teachers, often causing delays in meeting their deadlines. Inside the classroom, the limited access to electricity and technology leaves her teaching abstract lessons without visual aids, leaving students struggling to grasp key concepts and keep pace with peers in better-equipped schools and communities.

The Coin Grant from Create Foundation would support Selen in teaching more effectively. Moreover, the impact would ripple beyond her classroom. By owning a computer, Selen could further contribute to the community by performing her duties as the sitio secretary more efficiently.

The Computer and Internet (COIN) Grant under Create ASPIRE provides a computer and a year of internet access to digitally literate individuals who cannot afford them. It levels the digital playing field for students, home-based workers, and community workers to participate in school, work, and civic life fully, moving communities closer to true digital inclusion.

Donate a laptop for Teacher Selen. Click here to start.