Pomp and Circumstance [2013-03-24]
The last day of School Year 2012-2013 was last Friday, so there has been a constant hum in the Compostela municipal gym of graduations and recognition ceremonies. Our trip was timed carefully this year such that we could be here for the graduation rites for Compostela National High School and Compostela Science and Technology High School.
Education here is “free”, but an annual PTA fee of about $8, the expense of school uniforms, the daily few pesos for test papers and projects, and daily transportation costs all combine to make education unaffordable for many children. Thus it was that four years ago we joined with the pastor and congregation of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Compostela to begin a scholarship program for high school students. Neal and I (Rene) solicited donations in America, and a dedicated committee at the UCCP administered the program. The committee has put in an incredible amount of work, selecting the students based upon grade point average and financial need, monitoring the students’ progress over the years, and handing out the weekly allowance to the scholars each Sunday. The records are reconciled to the centavo. A few students have dropped out of the program, but we were thrilled to watch eight of the UCCP scholars (six from CNHS and two from Sci Tech) receive their high school diplomas last Monday. And most exciting of all, the CNHS valedictorian was a UCCP scholar!
We would like to acknowledge the donors who began contributing to this project even before Reneal IEO was incorporated. It has been a truly inspiring experience to see those generous donations get managed so carefully and faithfully by the UCCP committee and pastor, and then to see it all culminate in these eight young people successfully finishing high school. At a cost of about $120 a year per student, it’s been an investment that has paid off handsomely.