Mark Zuckerberg the founder of the giant social networking site Facebook was inspired by a story of a Filipina named Riza Mae Tachado, a citizen of a small island in Antique, Philippines.
Despite the hardship of going to school, Riza Mae have been able to finish her course in computer science by riding a boat everyday just to be able to attend class in town.
On Tuesday, Zuckerberg shared the story of Tachado, who uses the free internet services of internet.org to succeed in her studies.
RizaRiza lives on a small island and commutes to school by boat. When she was writing her final thesis, a typhoon hit and made travel impossible. With Facebook and Free Basics, Riza was able to communicate with her classmates during the storm and finish her thesis. #connecttheworld
Posted by Internet.org by Facebook on Friday, October 2, 2015
“I could not leave the island for weeks,” she said.
“My phone became a classroom to communicate with my groupmates. We used Facebook through Internet.org to write our thesis,” she added.
Tachado and her groupmates were able to finish their thesis titled “Automated Water Billing System of Culasi Water District.”
Riza was only collecting seashells for a living, yet she was determined to help her family.
“I am proud to be the first person in my family to earn a computer science degree,” she said.
Internet.org offers free data connectivity through service providers like Smart, Globe, and Sun Cellular.
First Filipina to be hired by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg?
Zuckerberg’s post on his official facebook account gained so much attention to the Filipinos. Many was touched with the inspiring video that went viral and gathered thousands of likes and comments.
One of the top comment was from Mr. Renee Gertjejansen Briscoe who suggested that Mark should hire her, which Mark eventually replied, “That’s a good idea.”
Should Mark Zuckerberg hire her? Share us your thoughts in the comment section below.
Well just the undying determination and perseverance is more than enough to be her ticket to
success.
I am sure there are more Filipinos who possess a spirit like hers but unfortunately, in a country whose technology advancement is behind and being controlled by a very few business giants, those young would be technocrats are not given equal opportunities.
Mai Mai’s luck was different, thank God. Let’s all pray that she be given all the opportunities she deserves.