For Imelda Constantino, practicing typing for hours on end in a cramped computer lab is her idea of a perfect Sunday.
With her eyes fixed on a computer monitor, the Filipina caregiver tried hard not to look down at her fingers as they danced across the keyboard while typing words as fast and accurately as she possibly could.
? am here because I know learning more about computers will help me in the future,?she said shyly, whipping her body around to get back to her typing.
Constantino is one of the 50 of overseas Filipino workers enrolled in E-PC, a data processing and computer literacy center established in 2003 by Roy and Heidi Villaluna, who said that knowing their compatriots are benefitting from the class is all the reward they need for the painstaking efforts of maintaining the center.
Roy is a project manager at the notebook division of one of Taiwan? best-known computer companies who speaks with a soft yet determined voice, especially when talking about the center.
?y wife and I just want to help our compatriots. This is something we can do to help them. These people are like family to us,?said the computer engineer.
Nestled in the heart of Little Manila off Zhongshan N Road in Taipei, the 30-plus ping (100m? second-floor center is located a block away from St Christopher? Church, a home away from home for many Filipinos.
The center is divided into three sections. In the back is a small makeshift mini mart full of Philippine treats and items. Next to it is a lecture area where Roy can often be seen standing in front of a white board scribbling down computer jargon.
Then the most popular hangout: the computer area, lined with 20 computers all assembled by Roy, bustling with eager students who can? wait to get on the Web cam to chat with their friends and families.
The center is open on Sundays from 8:30am to 6:30pm and offers an array of courses ranging from computer fundamentals to Windows to troubleshooting all for NT$1,800. The fee includes a lifetime EPC membership and unconditional hospitality from the Villalunas.
For those who can? pay, Roy smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, ?hat? okay, what we really ask for is their dedication and sincerity. If they want to learn, then I will teach. They can pay whenever they can. If they can? pay, then never mind.?br />
?e really see them as our families. I always cook enough so anyone who doesn? have lunch or dinner is welcome to eat with us. Many of them also tell me about their troubles at work and I give them advice and encourage them not to give up,?said Heidi who holds a bachelor of science in information technology
Caregiver Norma Benevista, who has been coming to the center for two years and is learning about spreadsheets, said her dream was to open her own business when she gets home.
? know what I learn here will be very useful for me in the future to help me and my family,?she said.
Heidi said that a former student who has since returned to the Philippines had opened an Internet caf?in her home town. Several others, thanks to their computer knowledge, had found better jobs in Taiwan, Canada and Hong Kong, she said.
The next step for the Villalunas, she said, was to follow the suggestion of Representative Antonio Basilio of the Manila Economic and Culture Office to organize a volunteer group with the skills to teach computer literacy to Filipinos who cannot travel to Taipei.
In addition to tutorials, the center also offers computer services at a low price such as Windows OS and software installation, personal computer upgrading and assembly, network layout and laptop and PC repair.
For more information on the center call (02) 2592-5926 or e-mail epcdpc2003@yahoo.com
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS