Lighting the path for children: The journey of Teacher Kiersty Zabala

In the islands of Dinagat Province in southeastern Philippines, classrooms are tucked away in remote barangays and children cross the sea just to learn. Teachers demonstrate great resilience to keep the hope and spark of learning alive among learners. And one teacher’s story of dedication shines as a testament to this. 

Kiersty Zabala, 32, has spent six years navigating the challenges of multigrade teaching. Married and with four children of her own, she has endured long travel from her native Surigao City to mold young minds in places where resources are scarce, but dreams are abundant.

She became a teacher in 2017 at Manoligao Elementary School, an entirely multigrade school in Barangay Del Pilar, Cagdianao, on a small island within Dinagat that is accessible only by boat. At a multigrade school, children of different ages and grade levels learn together in a single classroom. It is a model used by the Department of Education (DepEd) in remote and sparsely populated communities to ensure education reaches every child. As one of only two teachers at the school, Teacher Kiersty was tasked to handle Grade 3 to 6 learners. 

With limited resources at the school, every lesson demanded extraordinary effort. Teacher Kiersty spent weekends traveling back to Surigao, not for rest, but to download videos and materials she could use in class. She even bought her own laptop, believing that visuals could help learners understand difficult concepts in Math, Science and English.

After three years, Teacher Kiersty was transferred to Nueva Estrella Elementary School and later to Tigbao Elementary School, which was still in Cagdianao but closer to her home. Tigbao is a mixed multigrade school where she handled only Grades 5 and 6, making her workload lighter. But the bigger transformation came with technology.

In 2022, Tigbao Elementary School received the Learning Passport and School-in-a-Bag from UNICEF.  And as enrollment continued to grow, the school was given another School-in-a-Bag package in March 2026 to ensure that more learners could benefit and further develop their digital skills.  

UNICEF’s Learning Passport is a digital learning platform that provides children—especially in low‑ or no‑connectivity areas – with curriculum‑aligned educational materials, while School‑in‑a‑Bag is a portable digital classroom containing tablets and a laptop with pre‑loaded learning resources designed to bring interactive learning to remote and hard‑to‑reach communities. 

“At Tigbao Elementary School, technology makes teaching lighter and learning brighter. With the Learning Passport and School-in-a-Bag, every lesson becomes more meaningful,” shares Teacher Kiersty. 

“Children’s right to education means making sure that learning continues wherever they are, even in the most remote and hard‑to‑reach communities. Tools like the Learning Passport and School‑in‑a‑Bag give teachers the practical support they need—providing offline, curriculum‑aligned digital lessons and ready‑to‑use interactive materials that help them manage multigrade classrooms, keep students engaged, and deliver quality education despite limited connectivity or resources,” UNICEF Philippines Education Chief Akihiro Fushimi says.

UNICEF’s School-in-a-Bag programme, supported by the Committee for UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein, brings hope to multigrade classrooms where one teacher must guide two or more grade levels at the same time. By placing digital tools and resources directly into the hands of teachers and learners, the programme not only strengthens everyday teaching but also opens doors for children to build essential digital skills—skills that will help them thrive in today’s fast-changing world.

With these new tools, classrooms came alive with excitement. Children eagerly engaged with gamified apps like Oy-oy, which explained correct answers and made learning interactive. "What’s wonderful about the Oy-oy app is that children can choose a character to be their teammate in answering questions—so they never feel alone. And when they select the correct answer, the app explains why it is right. That way, the children gain not just the answer, but a deeper understanding of the lesson,” says Teacher Kiersty.

Using interactive resources from the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute’s Science Mathematics Courseware and DepEd, Kiersty recalls teaching Grade 6 about the volume of a cylinder while Grade 5 learners independently solved Grouping, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction activities. The tablets even gave instant feedback, helping her to monitor both classes at once.

In August 2025, Tigbao Elementary School also received Starlink internet. For Kiersty, it was life-changing. She can now access modules online, download DepEd resources, and integrate the learning materials offered by the Learning Passport directly into her lessons. Teaching became smoother and, most importantly, fun for learners.

Today, Kiersty feels a deep sense of relief and gratitude. Technology has helped her teach more effectively, and her learners are more engaged than ever. She acknowledges that challenges remain, especially in maintaining and troubleshooting devices, but her optimism is unwavering. 

Teacher Kiersty’s journey is one of perseverance and transformation, from Manoligao – which also received its own School-in-a-Bag and Learning Passport in 2022 – to Tigbao where she was able to fully utilize digital tools. She embodies the quiet heroism of teachers in remote communities – those who sacrifice comfort, innovate against the odds, and prioritize education where it is needed most.  Her journey reminds us that while technology can change classrooms, it is the dedication of teachers like her that truly changes lives.