COMMUNITY | Tacloban schools strengthen mental health and crisis readiness
The initiative brought together the Department of Education Region VIII, the DepEd Schools Division of Tacloban City and St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban Inc. (STEFTI) under Smart’s #KonektedforResilience advocacy.
Students and educators in Tacloban City participated in three days of wellness and resilience-building activities organized by PLDT Inc., Smart Communications Inc. and education partners to strengthen mental health support and emergency preparedness in schools.
The initiative brought together the Department of Education Region VIII, the DepEd Schools Division of Tacloban City and St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban Inc. (STEFTI) under the telecommunications companies’ #KonektedforResilience advocacy.
Grade 9 and 10 students from San Jose National High School joined mental wellness sessions focused on managing personal challenges, responding to crises and maintaining psychological well-being. The program also reached junior and senior high school students at STEFTI.
Through discussions and interactive activities, students learned about common stressors, healthy coping mechanisms and mental health misconceptions, as well as appropriate responses to difficult situations.
“With the recent crisis faced by our division, we found it timely and necessary to provide psychosocial support to our learners and empower our school heads to become psychological first aiders,” said Sherlita A. Palma, DepEd Tacloban City schools division superintendent.
“Beyond building knowledge and skills, this effort helps ensure that our schools remain safe and inclusive spaces for all Taclobanon learners,” she added.
The initiative also included a training-of-trainers session on Psychological First Aid (PFA) for school heads from DepEd Tacloban City and teaching and nonteaching personnel from STEFTI. The training equipped participants with tools to provide immediate psychosocial support during emergencies, with the aim of extending the knowledge to other teachers and staff.
Mary Bernadette Palami, STEFTI school director, said the partnership helped the school involve students and personnel in the activities.
“While we are trained as educators, understanding mental health and helping students care for their well-being requires specialized expertise,” Palami said. “We greatly appreciate and welcome every opportunity to strengthen our capabilities and provide better support to our students.”
As part of the program, DepEd Tacloban City and STEFTI also received copies of Ang Paglalakbay ni Tala (The Adventure of Tala), a book from PLDT and Smart intended to promote internet safety among children and encourage responsible digital citizenship.
“Children and the youth are among our most important stakeholders, and their safety and well-being, both offline and online, remain among PLDT and Smart’s priorities,” said Marylou B. Gocotano, stakeholder engagement Visayas relations head at PLDT and Smart.
Gocotano said the companies were working with DepEd and STEFTI to reach students and help create school environments where they feel safe, supported and empowered.
The activities support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3 on good health and well-being and Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
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