Eleven TVIRD scholars graduate from college
Marilou Bason is a Subanon from Barangay Tabayo, the host community of TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (TVIRD)’s Canatuan Copper-Zinc Mine in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte. At 30, Marilou just recently received her college diploma after completing an Agriculture degree at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU) with the help of a scholarship grant from TVIRD. She relates that before the operations of TVIRD in the area, students were considered lucky if they reached high school. “Now that I’ve graduated from college, I hope to be able to land a decent job soon so I can send my ten siblings to school,” she says.
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Thank you, TVI! Scholarship grantees (left to right) Marilou Bason, Analyn Dandana, Aisa Tabo-tabo and Awee Ansani jump for joy after graduating from college with the help of TVIRD. A total of 11 TVIRD scholars graduated from college last March, eight of them received their diplomas from the Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU) in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
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Like Marilou, 23 year-old Awee Ansani, comes from a poor family. He is the son of a Subanon farmer in nearby Barangay Candiz, whose income is barely sufficient to feed the family. That is why sending Awee to college was almost impossible. “In fact, I stopped studying a couple of times before I was accepted as a scholar of the company,” he says. “Had it not been for TVIRD’s subsidy for my tuition, it would have been unthinkable for me to finish college.” He graduated Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology also at JRMSU — the only one among five siblings who set foot in college.
Marilou and Awee belong to the latest batch of 11 TVIRD scholars who finally achieved their dream of completing their tertiary education. These 11 scholars bring the total number of TVIRD scholar-graduates to 21. Getting a college degree is a significant feat rarely achieved by children of families in this part of Southern Philippines whose only source of income is farming. These TVIRD scholars come from poor families who simply could not have sent their children through college without the help of the company.
Six of the 11 TVIRD scholars graduated from JRMSU this year. They are Analyn Dandana, 22 years old, from Sitio Canatuan, Tabayo who graduated BS Agriculture; Aisa Tabo-tabo of Barangay Siay, Midwifery course; Glenn Patoh, 23, of Barangay Makiang, BS Criminology; Rubelie Tii, 25, of Barangay Reconalia, BS Agriculture; Misowari Lomunah of Barangay Siay, Associate in Industrial Technology; and Jerodel Guinja, 22, of Barangay Tabayo, BS Industrial Technology.
Meanwhile, three other scholars graduated from different schools in the region. Cris Bangue finished Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City; Marilou Bulagao, Information Technology from Philippine Technological and Maritime School in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay; and Reynan Tee, Computer Engineering from University of Zamboanga in Ipil.
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Jimmy Daig (left), JRMSU Director for Student Services says, “The scholars of TVIRD are really fortunate.” At right is Jane Manaog of TVIRD’s Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO). Below, some of the graduates with Daig and Manaog.
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Jimmy Daig, Director of Student Services at JRMSU, said, “most of the students’ families in our school belong to the below-average income bracket and they find it hard to sustain their children’s schooling through college with tuition fees of up to P10,000 (around US $230.00) per semester, in addition to having other expenses like board and lodging. That is why there are some who dropout halfway through the semester. The scholars of TVIRD are really fortunate.”
Each of the TVIRD scholars receive P5,000 for matriculation per semester. In addition, they are given P2,500 for books and miscellaneous expenses, and P2,000 per month for board and lodging.
“Aside from those who graduated this year, there are still 38 college scholars being supported by the company at present,” said Jane Manaog, Information, Education and Communications Officer of TVIRD’s Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO). Manaog, who was once a scholar and a graduate of Social Sciences in the Philippine Normal University, is in charge of the Responsive Education component of TVIRD’s Sustainable Development and Management Program (SDMP).
Despite the rich natural resources in the areas surrounding TVIRD’s Canatuan Mine, the inhabitants, mostly members of the Subanon indigenous tribe, were previously deprived of basic social services because of the remoteness of their communities. Before legitimate large-scale mining came to Canatuan, very few children attended classes in the lone dilapidated classroom of Canatuan Elementary School. With TVIRD’s help, the new multi-classroom Canatuan Elementary School, as well as the Canatuan National High School can be considered at par with other public schools in the Siocon town proper.
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Students and teachers pose for a photo at the Canatuan National High School after one of their school activities. Below, students proudly show the netbooks that TVIRD has provided for their use in school.
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Responsive Education is an integral part of TVIRD’s Corporate Social Commitment initiatives for its Subanon hosts, along with Health and Sanitation, Infrastructure and Sustainable Livelihood. The company views education as an important component in the advancement of human rights, gender equity, social justice and healthy environment. Not only has the company consistently partnered with the government and the private sector in providing the children of its host community all their needs for quality education, it also provides an Alternative Learning System program for adults and college scholarships to poor but deserving students in host and impact communities.
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Subanon schoolchildren line up to board the school bus provided by the company. The daily school bus service ensures that even children in remotest areas of Canatuan are able to attend school.
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Aside from constructing additional school buildings, the company has equipped the schools with books and other educational tools such as computers and projectors. TVIRD likewise pays the salaries of additional school teachers assigned in the two schools. But unlike other areas, schoolchildren in this mountain community are being ferried by a school bus to and from their school.
Recently, Manaog and 20 of the company scholars started a Summer Literacy Program at the Canatuan Elementary School. The scholars provided one-on-one tutorial sessions with the children. The month-long program aims to enhance children’s reading and writing skills before they enter Grade 1 this coming school year.
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TVIRD Scholars teach incoming Grade 1 pupils how to read and write in the Summer Literacy Program spearheaded by TVIRD’s CReDO.
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With TVIRD by their side, hope springs eternal for the Subanons of Siocon. And because education is now within their reach, the people of Canatuan and neighboring communities believe that no matter how hard life had been in the past, they can always hope for a better future.