Gizelle Camua, Pru Life UK Vice President of Community Investment and Advocacy (3rd from left), Francis Macatulad, ASSIST Executive Director (2nd from right) and the ASSIST team is joined by Bantayan, Cebu Mayor Arthur Despi 3rd from right) during the Padayon Bantayan Island launch.
Leading life insurer Pru Life UK and Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential plc in Asia and Africa, have joined hands with the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) for Project Padayon Bantayan Island.
The project which is funded by Prudence Foundation’s COVID-19 Recovery Grant aims to help uplift the lives of residents of Bantayan Island, Cebu through a series of community-based training and development programs.
“We’ve been supporting the Bantayan Island community for almost a decade now and we are happy to see how it has grown. With Project Padayon, we are positive that it will bring transformative improvements, enabling the residents to thrive in multiple aspects of their lives,’’ says Marc Fancy, Executive Director, Prudence Foundation.
Project Padayon will run from 11 July to 1 December 2023 and include workshops focused on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) empowerment, family health and nutrition, jobs and careers, disaster risk preparedness, and climate change resilience. Participants will receive modules that will be cascaded to up to 2,000 students and community members.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner once more with Pru Life UK and Prudence Foundation. This partnership aims to empower the residents of Bantayan Island through a comprehensive learning program that will touch on different topics like financial well-being, health, and disaster resilience to help them prepare for the future,’’ says Francis Macatulad, Executive Director, ASSIST.
The project will culminate with an appreciation and recognition program in December, followed by a Pamaskong Handog with Habitat for Humanity communities that Pru Life UK and Prudence Foundation helped build after typhoon Yolanda
Transforming lives in Bantayan Island
The project was launched at Beach Placid Resort in Santa Fe, Cebu and was attended by local government unit representatives and community leaders of Bantayan Island.
“We are happy to be back in Bantayan Island and see familiar faces. At Pru Life UK, it is our mission to help Filipinos get the most out of life. This project is a big opportunity for us to fulfill our commitment to help Filipinos lead healthier and wealthier lives,’’ says Gizelle Camua, Vice President for Community Investment and Advocacy, Pru Life UK.
Close to 100 micro-entrepreneurs joined a workshop with the theme “MSME Empowerment.” Attendees received modules on business management, finance, and digital marketing materials, which will also be cascaded to 1,000 other micro-entrepreneurs. They also learned best practices from young local entrepreneurs that shared their real-life experiences.
In addition, over 80 mothers with their newborns were given free PRUMedCare Select Infectious Disease coverage plan as part of the PRUBabies campaign. The coverage offers cash assistance for diagnosis and death due to any of the four common types of infectious diseases: dengue, typhoid, measles, and malaria.
Propelling impactful conversations
Project Padayon is a continuing initiative rooted in Pru Life UK and Prudence Foundation’s commitment to developing Filipino lives through impactful conversations on the importance of financial literacy and health awareness.
Pru Life UK has been actively involved in aiding Bantayan Island since 2013 by means of humanitarian initiatives, including gift-giving programs, the provision of essential food packages, and the establishment of water supply networks alongside the deployment of portable ultrasound machines.
The same year, Pru Life UK and Prudence Foundation launched Build Better Now. The project brought PRUVolunteers all over Asia and the United Kingdom to build 126 disaster-resilient homes and disseminate 183 motorized boats with fishing nets and 140 cycle pedicabs to Yolanda survivors on the island.
Build Better Now ran until 2017 and earned the Award of Merit under the Communications Management – Corporate Social Responsibility category.
