Smart Communications (Smart) Dragon Boat Team (SDBT), Smart Football Team, and Samahang Mananakbo ng Smart – sports teams composed of Smart employees – recently donated 275 kilos of rice to the Philippine National Dragon Boat Team through the telco’s Buy Local campaign.

Darwin Flores, a member of the SDBT and Head for Community Partnerships at Smart, said that this is part of Smart’s continuous mission to enable communities using technology, including sports and agriculture. 

“Buy Local is one of the ways to show how simple solutions can make a difference in the world. And we can do this together, forged by our connections, while also pursuing independent initiatives that help make our homes, our communities, our country, and the world a better place to live in for us and for the future generations,” Flores said.

The “Buy Local, Buy Smart” initiative that enjoins employees of Smart and their families to buy their rice directly from local farmers via https://store.cropital.com to help increase the income of supported rice farmers. A portion of the sales also goes to a sustainability fund that provides farmers access to capital that will allow them to continue planting for the next cropping cycle. 

Mabeth Caranto of the Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragon Boat Federation, which facilitates the training of the Philippine National Dragon Boat Team, thanked the SDBT for their support. “Isa itong malaking tulong para sa team, para magbigay lakas sa bawat training namin,” she said. The national team is currently preparing to represent the Philippines in the upcoming Asian Games in 2022.

This assistance to the Philippine National Dragon Boat Team aligns with the broader program of Smart, parent company PLDT, and the MVP Sports Foundation, to support Filipino athletes and national teams. 

“Buy Local, Buy Smart” is a livelihood program of Smart Communities, under the framework of Technology for Development to narrow down the digital divide. The program is also aligned with the commitment of the PLDT group to support the 17 Sustainable Goals of the United Nations, particularly No Poverty (SDG 1),  Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).

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