RFK is only six months old. Founder is Mitzi Sobiron-Keiser, wife of Robert F. Keiser (fondly called Bob) whom she met and fell in love with through the Internet. Bob came to the Philippines to marry Mitzi and help her bring her cyber café dream business into reality. Both recoverinng from a deep personal loss (Bob's wife died of bone cancer; Mitzi separated from her husband), Mitzi and Bob found a "new life" in each other, rediscovered their life's purpose when they decided to put up the RFK Internet Center at the Subic Freeport.

"Bob and I are so happy each time we see students experiencing the Internet for the first time… Napapasigaw sila!," ("They scream in delight!") recalls Mitzi. "Others more experienced can be seen banging the keyboard, siguro nagagalit sa ka-chat nila," (maybe fighting with their chat mates) Mitzi laughed. "I feel young and just one of them, they call me Ate…"

Only in her late thirties but with some 15 years of marketing background, Mitzi really knows how to run her business, specially how to attract more visitors to RFK. She is constantly forging partnerships with co-locators at Subic, foreign investors, the government sector including the DECS and DOST and other departments. "Actually, RFK is the first project supported by SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) Chairman Felicito Payumo," Mitzi said.

Bob supports her wholeheartedly. He was granted a permanent resident visa because of his substantial investments in the country. School principals only have to drop hints about their damaged school fences and Bob would generously provide for the repairs. Many public high schools at Subic now have computers provided by RFK for use by the students. Students can access the Internet with their prepaid P 100 RFK cards worth six hours of Internet access. Budget snacks are also available for those who come to RFK to surf, search, chat, email, or play cyber games.

There are instances some students won't leave the computers even though its lunch time. Fernan (Fernandito Lanada, RFK in-house Consultant) would literally drag a young boy to eat for free. "Ang payat-payat mo na, hindi ka na ba kumakain?," ("You're so thin, don't you eat anymore?") Fernan would chide the future knowledge worker.

Mitzi and most of her staff are used to only 3-4 hours of sleep in a day. "About twice a week, I go out for some fresh air," said Fernan. "You can't be working 18 hours on the computer all the time." Mitzi and Bob plan to visit US sometime soon to recharge energies.

"They're more popular than any of the locators here," said Oscar Angeles, a stocks trader retiree now SkyBiz associate who has also relocated to Subic from Manila, referring to the Keiser husband-wife team. "The students, teachers, and principals here love them. They are narrowing the great digital divide and they are nurturing the knowledge workers of the future," said Angeles.

The Filipino is the top knowledge worker of the world, followed by the Australians,

Americans, Canadians, and French. As of now there are 4,500 workers of the SBMA and

35,000 Subic locators' employees. FeDex was the first locator to enroll their employees in RFK's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enabling and enhancement courses. As of this writing, Oracle, the leading database system company has relocated to Subic and incubating a project with SBMA. Oracle will be providing training courses to knowledge workers being recruited to work abroad and will be paid a monthly salary that's equivalent to some P 400,000.

But the students are Subic's most valuable resources. They are RFK's babies who are being nurtured to attain their fullest potentials. The RFK Portal on the Internet is now on the drawing board, aiming to provide subscribers with distance learning education, initially with an interactive writing book that enables high school students to begin writing creatively on their own terms. It will have reading activities, writing tips and guides, animated graphics, spaces for students writings, and a directory where to save their works. RFK will encourage the young writers to submit their works for possible publications in the interactive book, which is to be revised and kept fresh with new materials every three months. Authors of published works will receive gift items from RFK. This RFK web and e-commerce site will also offer online tutorials about how to use the Internet, and a chat room where cyber surfers and searchers can form friendships and lifelong commitments.

Mitzi is engaging the expertise of three IT consultants and 17 programmers, web designers, and animators. She has just embarked on a joint venture with another company that will take charge of the contents of the RFK Portal.

The SBMA is transforming the Freeport into an information technology center to develop a seamless integrated IT culture and lifestyle among enterprises and residents. This is initially being met through the Geographic Information System used in 911 rescue operations, Investor Handling System, ID Badge System, Inter Office Computer Networking, Lotus Notes for e-mail application, and the SBMA web site. Speed of optic fibers reaches 100mbps. The Internet connectivity has 128 kbps line with 13 powerful Unix servers running twenty fours daily. The Wide Area Network environment has more than 300 users with unlimited access to the Internet. The SBMA Data Center is evolving into a world class computing and IT resource center.

Research centers and IT specialists complemented by an enhanced IT infrastructure such as communication links, power and additional back-up servers are essential elements that will ensure CyberSubic's success.

The theme parks make Subic a destination of excitement. It is a perfect site for recreation, educating tourists with the value of biodiversity of Subic's forests, swamps and marine life.

Amidst this very conducive investors' haven in a pristine environment throbs RFK. Starting small but surely, in the hearts of students, teachers, and principals, RFK is actually leading the cyberport initiative in a very dramatic way. RFK has chosen to focus on the youth and the ordinary person. RFK is closing the huge gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" and for this they are loved by many in Subic. Principals of Gordon Heights High School, Baretto High School, and Regional Science High School had tears on their eyes as they narrated on "How RFK made a difference in our students' lives" during the "e-enabling" seminar that RFK and other locators had sponsored recently, held at the 2000-seating capacity George Dewey Convention Hall.

Mitzi can only quote what her in-house consultant does… "We live and talk here as if there is no tomorrow… We want to do many things here and now! The future cannot wait."

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