Education Philippines Project #33682

Send Vulnerable Filipino Children to School

by Fundacion Ponferrada Van Stone (FPVI)

Project Report | Sep 18, 2018
FPVI Students Assist Japanese Researchers

By Leonor Ponferrada | FPVI Trustee

FPVI students assist Japanese researchers

Typhoon Mangkhut (local name: Ompong) ripped through the northern part of the Philippines over the weekend ((Sep 14-15). Originally forecasted as a super typhoon with winds of 220 miles/hour, it packed a 550-mile rain band resulting in casualites and signifcant devastation.

Fundacion Ponferrada Vanstone (FPVI) is based in Leyte, in the middle islands of the country and not directly in the path of the typhoon, although peripheral winds and heavy rains were experienced in other parts of the country. Interestingly, this past week, FPVI was host to a team of researchers from Kyoto Sangyo University in Japan who was in Leyte for a research survey on disaster preparedness and resiliency, especially as it applied to survivors of super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013. The researchers observed first-hand how the municipal government in the municipality of Tunga coordinated with the provincial government and various regional government agencies such as the Department of Education in conducting disaster preparedness procedures. Even though there were no storm signals or warnings over Leyte, as early as Thursday, September 13, (two days before the typhoon entered the Philippine area of responsibility), the municipal government had been on alert and as part of its preparedness exercises. Community leaders were going around town warning people about the storm's coming. Classes were also suspended from Thursday, Sept 13th and so some of our FPVI students had time available to support the Japanese researchers with the interviews and acted as intermediaries in some of the communities they visited, gaining further awareness in the local government unit's (LGU) program of disaster preparedness and resiliency and acquiring a new set of skills in community relations.

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Sep 10, 2018
New School Year, New Start

By Belen Ponferrada Thirkell | Trustee, FPVI

I am happy to be part of the FPVI family. From the Sunday sessions, I learn how to make beautiful sentences and my fellow students and tutor help me to become a good person.---Lucky, age 12

FPVI now has 10 high school students in its care. They are enrolled in the new school year (June 2018-March 2019) and have been provided with school supplies and necessities. They are now immersed in their respective school programs and extra-curricular activities.Two are members of the school band, some are actively involved in sports, one excelled in a radio broadcasting competition and three won medals in science and technology reporting, in editorial writing and in collaborative writing. The students in the program were selected on the basis of dire family and living circumstances. Not all of them have a record of high achievement but diligence and determination have allowed them to thrive and achieve the short-term goals they have set for themselves. First Term grades and teachers’ reports have been encouraging.

While the basic needs and requirements of the children for the school days are met, what is equally important for the FPVI is the pastoral supervision in the absence of family structure and support. Sundays are devoted to supporting each other on school projects and homework, preparing and sharing meals together and monitoring the general well-being of each child. Parental abandonment has been deeply traumatic for some of the children and the friendships forged, and the guidance and care they receive on a sustained basis are as crucial as the meal and transportation allowances they get weekly. Self-confidence is slowly emerging in the children as evident in their homework, presentations, writings, poems, drawings, paintings and the way they conduct themselves.

Thank you for making all these possible.

Sunday is a day I look forward to each week. Sunday gives me happiness being with my friends at FPVI, working together on homework and projects, or just reading. FPVI is important to me. The Program helps me pursue my dreams and goals in life.---Jhonrey, age 13

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