TUBIG FOR TOMORROW: ENSURING CLEAN WATER FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN ONE DROP AT A TIME

Amid the murky issues of corruption, inequality and poverty flooding the country today, a new generation of changemakers is making a difference in the lives of their less-fortunate peers.

- CHING M. ALANO

Tubig for Tomorrow is a youth-led advocacy founded by International School Manila student Jacob Tay to ensure that every school child across the Philippines has access to a most basic need: clean, safe drinking water.

101 ON IOT & WHY WATER MATTERS

According to the Department of Education, nearly 4,000 public schools in the Philippines still lack clean water: One in three schools struggles to provide safe drinking water, putting students’ health and learning — and their future — at risk.

With their young hearts set on change and a passion for technology, Tubig for Tomorrow’s can-do team of teens is on a mission to bridge the gap in school water infrastructure by raising awareness of water access challenges, engaging communities and partners to support long-term solutions, and using IoT (Internet of Things) technology to optimize water systems. They designed and deployed an IoT device to monitor water fountains in school, ensuring that every drop is clean, safe and accessible.

ABOUT DIGNITY AND UNITY

And now, meet our inspiring, untiring, unrelenting team: Jacob “Jet” Tay, organization founder; Maia Gamboa, social media; Blivia Zhang, engineering and web design; Fernando Padilla, engineering; Ti Chung, business; Kei Kobayashi, public relations; Lex Chung, secretary.

These teens are driven by their passion for technology, and moved by their unflinching spirit to give more to those who have less.

But it’s not just about technology. Tubig for Tomorrow is about dignity and unity, it’s about communities coming together and reaching out.

Taking time out from their busy school schedule, members of Tubig for Tomorrow connect the dots and pour their hearts out to answer life’s most pressing question: What are you doing for others?