Roots of Health  provides women with reproductive health education and services, and has partnered with Connected Women to upskill women in disadvantaged situations under the Elevate AIDA program.

(Manila, March 21) – Twenty-five Palaweñas are now a step closer to remote employment opportunities, now that they have acquired important skills on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This was made possible through Connected Women’s  Elevate AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation). 

The Elevate AIDA program’s participants go through 15 days of training where they are introduced to artificial intelligence and basic remote working skills. They are taught how to work with AI programs, specifically data annotation, so that they can apply for remote jobs utilizing this skill. 

The training of these 25 women was organized by Roots of Health (ROH) / Ugat ng Kalusugan), a grassroots organization working directly with women in marginalized communities in Palawan. ROH was able to secure grant funding through The Women’s Rights, Action and Advocacy Project (WRAAP), an initiative of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). When they heard of Connected Women’s ELEVATE program, a blended-learning course that teaches future-proof skills such as data annotation, they knew they had to take action. 

Amina Evangelista Swanepoel, ROH’s Executive Director, said that they were inspired by CW’s founder, Gina Romero’s stellar reputation in opening doors to multiple opportunities for women. 

“With our shared vision for empowering women, we also wanted to do the same for Palaweñas. So we jumped on this opportunity to give them a legitimate, honest, and productive way to earn money at home and build better lives for themselves and their families, especially after the economic crisis brought by the pandemic, and recently, by Typhoon Odette,” Swanepoel said.

Innovative training, engaged participants       

The training was concluded on the 18th of March and these Palawanas, under the guidance of ROH and CW, became part of the 16th batch of graduates of the Elevate AIDA program. 

One of the participants, Zaynah Suizo, a 36 year-old single mom, said that this opportunity is a huge help for her, given her circumstances. “I’m learning a lot of skills so far, such as using Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive. I’m also getting a better understanding of artificial intelligence and data labeling,” she said.

Another participant, Rufizah Hayre, a 24-year old graduating student, praised the program’s comprehensive and clear instructions, despite the limited amount of time. “Because I’m pretty young, I thought I already knew all about Google Drive and using email, but thanks to this training, I discovered that there’s a lot more to learn, lots of other functions that can make our work easier. The amount of tasks and activities are also reasonable, especially for busy people like me,” Hayre said.

These sentiments were echoed by another participant, Geralden Gabay, a mom of 2 kids who participated in the program to earn extra income. She noted that they were given a copy of the training sessions to rewatch after the sessions. “The facilitators are very accommodating, especially when they entertain questions and clarifications during the sessions. I love the opportunity to earn extra income after coming home from my day job,” Gabay said. 

Swanepoel said that she is grateful for the opportunity and the training that CW gave their community in Palawan as it aligns with ROH’s vision of self-reliant women and young people. 

“I have known of Connected Women for a long time and had been hoping for the chance to work together. I’m so delighted that their innovative and empowering program has now reached some of the women of Palawan.” 

Other groups and businesses are welcome to partner with Connected Women to replicate the success of Elevate AIDA in different parts of the country. 

Gina Romero, Connected Women’s CEO and Co-founder said, “The work that Amina and her team do at ROH supporting young women with reproductive health and education is so important. Working together means we are able to provide women with essential non-judgemental healthcare support and access to opportunities in the future of work. We are extremely grateful to PBSP and WRAAP for their support in making this collaboration happen.”

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About Roots of Health:

ROH was established in 2009 by Dr. Susan Evangelista and her daughter, Amina Evangelista Swanepoel. Susan was teaching at Palawan State University (PSU) in Puerto Princesa and was concerned about unplanned pregnancies and the lack of reproductive health knowledge among her students. This inspired them to create a group that teaches and treats women in matters concerning reproductive health.

About Connected Women:

Connected Women is the leading community in the Philippines for women’s empowerment in the digital economy. Creating opportunities for women through entrepreneurship, freelancing and remote work. Our mission is to empower women with skills and opportunities that drive the growth of the digital economy. Connected Women is proud to be recognised for creating meaningful progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals: Finalist – MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (ASIA), Finalist – RSA Future Work Awards (UK), Champion for e-Employment – WSIS (Geneva), Finalist – COVID-19 Action, UN Women, WEPs Awards (Philippines).

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