Ever since community quarantine measures were enacted back in March of this year, super service app MyKuya has found itself constantly evolving alongside the needs of its users. After all, popular services from the app such as grocery and medicine delivery have shifted from simply a convenient option to a near-necessity when people are encouraged to stay at home.
Recently, however, MyKuya has once again found itself taking on a new role. It’s through MyKuya that students can get the school supplies that they need from the comfort of their own home.
With some private schools having already started the 2020-2021 school year and the start date for public schools just around the corner, it pays to look at just some of the ways MyKuya can make life easier for the nation’s students. For instance, although classes have indefinitely been moved online all around the country, that doesn’t mean students no longer need the usual school supplies like pens, notebooks, and folders. While children’s schools should provide them with supplies, MyKuya’s Kuyas and Ates (the name for the app’s partners) can help students safely restock on school supplies if they ever find themselves short.
For example, MyKuya has partnered with retail giants SM Supermalls and Robinsons Malls to easily hire personal shoppers that can go around their stores. This means MyKuya users will not only have access to these brand’s department stores but also concessionaires inside them such as Watson’s, Ace Hardware, Sports Central, and even the ubiquitous National Bookstore. With just a few clicks, students can easily get whatever supplies they need from these stores – -whether a brand new set of pens to take notes with for their online lecture or even a replacement pair of rubber shoes for their Zoom-held PE classes.
“We’ve always been a company that’s about providing a valuable service to the Filipino people, so we recognize that this time around, it may be students all around the country who need our help,” says Dennis Bunye, the country head for MyKuya. “So we’re glad to be able to provide a service that enables them to stay home while getting what they need. It’s a tough time for students everywhere right now, so anything that ensures they can stay focused on the learning process is a must for us.”
Bunye cites the example of users who would call on MyKuya’s services to quickly buy things like phone and laptop chargers. “It’s not really the kind of item you can wait to be shipped,” says Bunye. “Especially when you’re taking your classes online and have to be connected almost all the time.” Thus, there were times when Kuyas arriving with chargers at user’s homes were treated almost like saviors. “What we did there was a prime example of how MyKuya can help the learning process be as smooth and seamless as possible.”
Of course, MyKuya already has a solid record of extending a helping hand. With the company having gone on a hiring blitz since the initial declaration of enhanced community quarantine back in March, many of their Kuyas and Ates are actually former workers from industries most affected by the pandemic (restaurants, hotels, tourism, etc). Working at MyKuya then served as an opportunity for these people to continue providing for their families while providing a valuable service for people stuck at home.
MyKuya is also set to expand beyond Metro Manila in the coming months. Initially, the company is set to roll out some of its most popular services (grocery delivery, hiring a personal assistant on a motorbike, parcel pickup/drop-off) in the nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Zambales, Quezon, and Rizal. Eventually, however, MyKuya hopes to start operating in urbanized areas of Visayas and Mindanao.
Overall, although helping out in education is a whole new world for MyKuya, they’re hardly strangers to working for a good cause. The company was founded on the desire to resolve social ills like poverty and underemployment, with the company even aiming to generate 1 million new job opportunities by the year 2022.
Bunye acknowledges that the task ahead of them is not easy, but also emphasizes they aren’t fazed by it in the least bit. “At MyKuya, we’re about so much more than just offering convenience,” he says. “We want to actively build a better tomorrow for Filipinos- -whether they’re a student, a worker, an employer, or what have you.”
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