LIFE Scholarships

Twelve Real LIFE Scholars graduate this school year: eight from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig, three from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and one from STI-Global City. One of these scholars, Jasmine Inocencio, a Hospitality Management major, graduated cum laude.

The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig scholars who also graduated last March 20 at the PICC, Manila, are Narine Canales, Osmar Canales, Cathy Ledesma, and Cherrylyn Tañafranca, Business Administration majors, and Dolly Broncano, Jae Maravillas, and Maria Arleen Cecilia Bituin, Nursing majors.

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines scholars, led by Raquel Bag-o, and Accounting major and running for honors as well, will graduate this May, 2007. Other scholars from the said school are Olivert Ong and Fernalyn Dadula, who are both Accounting majors as well.

Anthony Aguilar, an Information Technology graduate and sole scholar from STI Global City, also graduated with special awards.

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig (PLnP) is the City University of Pasig City. There are about 3000 students here, and enrolment increases every year because as a city university, tuition is affordable and intentionally kept low so as to enable the majority of students to have a college education. Most of the Rizal High School graduates flock here, and some of our RealLIFE scholars are enrolled here.

Tess and I teach part time at the College of Nursing at PLnP. Tess teaches nursing care, and I teach pharmacology. We do not just help students to learn. We also learn important lessons ourselves.

I realize that today, many young people lack vision, direction, guidance, and encouragement. Most of our nursing students here don’t really want to become nurses. They want to become successful but they don’t know what they want to become. They want to be instrumental in lifting up their families someday, but they don’t know exactly how to do that. They say this upfront and with no pretensions. They are only there because someone else wants them to be — parents, relatives, and friends. That will quite make a big difference as to their level of performance in their field and their future success.

That is why I make it a point that every meeting, I want to give an encouraging word, a reassuring remark, a little nugget here and there on purpose, destiny, honor, integrity, and discipline. I want them to know that grades matter, but it’s not the only thing that matters. It is a joy for me to see faces light up when I say: “You can do it!”, “I believe in you!”, “What you thought was meant for bad, God can turn into good”, “You are valuable!”, “You have a great future ahead!”

Several years from now, no one quite remembers the academic lessons taught them: technology advances, processes change, medications come and go, but a timely word rescues, brings joy, and changes lives.

Three years into the scholarship fund and we now have 18 graduates, all but one of whom now have jobs and are blessings to their families, employers, and friends.

Worthy of note is Mimi, who works as an administrative assistant with a local company here. Her immediate superior describes her as hard working and efficient and full of surprises. Lately they discovered that she was a great artist and was talented in design. They were supposed to employ an artist but since discovering her talent, they decided they need not.

Also among these 18 graduates, we found out that 4 of them ( Mimi included) were giving regular monthly support for our local campus ministers in VCF Pasig. Several words that could describe them:

1. Grateful. I guess that the best proof of gratefulness with a student is that he excels and becomes a productive individual and is able to apply his education in life. We don’t need thank you cards from these. We already know they are.

2. Generous. Even with a lot of opportunities these days for employment, very few would immediately, in the first year of employment, assure financial stability. The majority of people give because of an excess in revenue. Not these young ladies and men. What makes them give is the heart of generosity and a deep desire to be a blessing, as they have been blessed.

3. Guided. I believe thankfulness and generosity are not natural for a lot of us if not rare. What makes them give is the weekly training and the discipline of being told to give as you were freely given, to sow in order to reap, to realize more and more in their lives that indeed no one can outgive our God.

These are the kinds of leaders that we want to see come out of the RealLIFE Scholarships — not just college graduates but 3G leaders and more.

Dutch artist brothers Alex and Hans Van Hagen exhibit their artwork at Makati Shangri-la for a week and have committed the proceeds to the scholars of Real LIFE Foundation.

The exhibit features Alex’s wonderful photos of common things made extraordinary by his skill with lenses, the shots of which show scenes from all over the world. Hans’ masterpieces feature etching artwork which reveal magnificently fine and intricate detail on every piece.

Alex has lived in the Philippines for more than 20 years and attends Victory - Fort Bonifacio.

It’s very encouraging to see the blessing LIFE Scholarships has been for the many students it has supported. Despite the growth, sometimes the stories of poverty can be overwhelming. Sometimes the need just seems too large to meet. It’s easy to accept the circumstance as a part of the way things are.

Here are some things we need to recognize to help us keep plodding even when we are facing circumstantial giants:

1. Recognize the immensity of the need - when we have an appreciation of the full scope of the need we are able to determine how to defeat it.

2. Recognize you have to act - don’t wait for the need to shrink to a handy bite-sized problem. Needs don’t shrink on their own, on the contrary, they grow naturally. We need to realize that unless someone does something nothing will change, and even more importantly, realize we are that someone.

3. Recognize that you need others - as I like to say during talks and meetings with partners “It is both arrogant and foolish for any organization to think they can fill the needs of the world by themself.” Instead find your strength, and link up with others who have complimentary strengths.

I recently attended a business conference hosted by the Asian Institute of Management, and one of the speakers said something, I believe, we can learn from. He said, “Pessimists may be better at predicting the future, but it is the optimists that shape the future.” If we allow ourselves to be pessimistic and apathetic we will no doubt be accurate in predicting a discouraging future. I’d rather be part of those that shape what’s ahead.

When the need seems too big, recognize its scope. Recognize that you are a part of the solution. And finally, recognize that you need partners in order to succeed.

Dr. Joey Castro was recently featured in Pastor Joey Bonifacio’s blog.
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Who Cares for Pasig’s Poorest?

Rizal High School (RHS), located at Dr. Sixto Antonio Avenue, Caniogan, Pasig City, Metro Manila, is mentioned by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “largest high school in the world” since 1993. Today, it has a student population of more than 25,000.

Named after the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, RHS boasts of great men and women who wandered its rooms and halls. Some of these notable figures include former Senator Neptali Gonzales, former Senator Jovito Salonga, former Senator Rene Saguisag, Maestro Lucio San Pedro, and National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, to mention a few.

Miss Josephine M. Cruz, an alumna and a Rizal High School teacher once, is the school’s current and youngest principal to date. She leads a faculty of over 700 teachers, not to mention the non-teaching staff.

There are about 45 sections per year level here, and about 60 students per section. 85% of these can barely buy 2 sets of uniforms and a decent pair of shoes. Most of them walk to school and back, and go almost the entire day at school without food. A lot of them come from dysfunctional, if not broken families. Yet, in the midst of these, the school boasts of brilliant students who excel in National academic contests, Math and Science Quizzes, Arts, Journalism contests, Sports and Music. Among these seemingly financially deprived youth in RHS are the future leaders of Pasig City and our nation.

Our Every Nation Youth Student Center is just a stone’s throw away from the RHS main campus. EN campus ministers and ENY members roam the rooms of this school daily, connecting with students and teachers speaking purpose, destiny, hope and encouragement to one potential leader at a time. During Friday afternoons here are 2 youth services — one at 4 pm and another at 6 pm — attended by about 200-250 RHS students weekly. Highlights are fun, food, games, friendship, fellowship, teaching, and prayer — anything and everything we can do to touch this next generation of leaders and train them to be all that they can be for God.

People always ask me how they can get involved with LIFE Scholarships and the Real LIFE Foundation. And I’m sure there are a lot out there that are interested in serving (maybe for a different advocacy), but do not know how. Before I give some suggestions on how to get involved, I’d like to remind us of an important truth: we all have something to give. Whether you are young, old, smart, not-so-smart, tall, short, rich, poor, in between, or whatever your situation is, you have something to give. The question is, “What do you have?”

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Official sources say that a family of five in the Philippines needs to earn P65,565 a year or P5,464 a month to be able to meet their essential needs. What exactly do these figures mean? Is this really enough? Let’s look at what these “official” income levels translate to.

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Last 2006, LIFE Scholarships supported the education of 106 scholars. We’ve gone a long way from the original 21 students we supported when we first started. We’re looking forward to helping more students and developing them into individuals who will lead, have integrity, have faith in God, and practice a lifestyle of excellence.