RIYADH — The new Board of Directors of the Computer Society of Filipinos International, Inc. (COMSOFIL) was inducted into office on Feb. 10 by Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago before a large number of COMSOFIL members. Tago commended COMSOFIL, a 2010 Presidential Banaag Awardee, for their selfless services to the Filipino community in the Kingdom and thanked the society for supporting the Philippine campaign for the Puerto Princesa Underground River to become one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. He also urged the COMSOFIL to campaign and support the ongoing registration for Overseas Absentee Voting at the Philippine Embassy from Saturdays to Thursdays during working hours or on Fridays by special arrangement. COMSOFIL, formed in Saudi Arabia's capital 17 years ago, has come a long way since its inception and remains true to its purpose of sharing computer and technical knowledge among students, colleagues and peers. Founded on November 10, 1995, COMSOFIL and its volunteer mentors have been dedicating themselves to community service by providing computer literacy programs while working hand-in-hand with the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine national government in its overseas workers' reintegration program. Through the years, the society has been working to empower overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom in becoming professionally competitive in the international labor market. With skills acquired from various Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cluster courses offered by COMSOFIL, these OFWs can be rightfully called "co-partners in nation-building." COMSOFIL has a stable of experts and professional ICT instructors, technical support staff and officers who embody the spirit of volunteerism and "bayanihan" (communal unity and cooperation). These experts train OFWs through computer cluster-oriented projects and training seminars in Riyadh and other parts of the Kingdom. COMSOFIL has tried to expand its reach by establishing new chapters in the Eastern Region, specifically in Al-Khobar, in 2005 and most recently in Jeddah in the western region. To date, more than 11,000 OFWs have completed trainings conducted by COMSOFIL. Under its trimester curriculum, over 1,800 graduate from the various cluster courses every year, with an average of 600-800 graduates each semester. It currently has a total of 9,500 active and inactive members not only in the Kingdom but also all over the world. As part of its continuing educational campaign program, COMSOFIL has been providing free scholarship assistance every school semester to about 50 low-income OFWs in the Kingdom. Scholarship opportunities are also open to dependents of Philippine Embassy staff, technical support staff, officers and volunteer instructors and assistant instructors who want to upgrade their computer skills. COMSOFIL has designed an alternative short-term curriculum that would provide lucrative incentives and benefits among overseas workers in the Kingdom, providing them assistance in their eventual reintegration into the country. Among the ICT cluster courses that are in high demand among majority of OFWs are: Basic and Advanced AUTOCAD, Computer Fundamentals, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, PC Assembly, Laptop Repair, Close-Circuit Television CCTV, Basic Electronics, Cellphone Repair, Basic and Advanced Photoshop, Networking 1 and 2, Basic Digital Photography and Basic Digital Video Editing. As it continues to grow, and with the emerging rapid growth and development in cyber technologies, COMSOFIL is committed to carry on its goals to serve and share cutting-edge technology with the Filipino community in the Kingdom. — SG
