CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

For the year 2023, the program provided financial assistance to a total of 10 indigent college students attending universities in the Philippines. Three of the 10 students were new to the scholarship program in 2023. All 10 students were required to submit their transcript of records to ensure they passed all their classes and fulfilled the requirement set forth by the COED Board of Directors. Of the 10 students, four attend the University of the Philippines majoring in Fine Arts, Math and Journalism and 2 attend the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, one student attends Mapua Institute of Technology, one attends Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and one attends PAmantasan ng lungsod ng Marikina. By the end of 2022, one of the 10 students graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts while the 9 remaining students were achieving excellent grades.

In 2019, COED initiated an effort to reach out to the indigenous tribe of the Philippines, the Aetas of Tarlac. The tribe lives in the mountains of Tarlac and education is very hard to achieve. There are very few children who finish elementary school, let alone high school or achieve a college degree. As it stands right now, there is only a school there up to 3rd grade, then after third grade, the students will have to walk for about 10 km to attend 4th grade up to high school. In addition, since the members of the tribe look physically different from the children of the lowlands, they are discriminated and bullied in school. In 2020, COED successfully recruited 4 high school graduate from the community to attend college who are willing to serve the community by their majors in Education and Criminology. In 2021, COED added another student from the community who is pursuing a degree in engineering. They are now the beacon of hope for the tribe and the community for a better future. The Board members communicate with the student coordinator regularly to provide guidance on the financial assistance the students are receiving for their studies. In late 2022, classes to meet face to face has resumed so they had to give up their apartment and stayed in dormitories close to the school they are attending. Three of the Aeta community scholars unfortunately did not continue their studies in 2023 but there remains 4 students from the community. They are continuing to pursue their degrees in education, agriculture and criminology. By mid 2024, three of the students will be graduating.