Public school students receive needed boost to excel

MANILA, Philippines - Diamond Hotel Philippines recently turned over a cash donation to Synergeia Foundation to help children in two public elementary schools in Manila read better, be more adept at Math and Science, have parents that are more involved in their education, and to develop values that would mold them into better individuals and citizens.

School administrators joined Diamond Hotel and Synergeia Foundation officials during the turnover of the check worth P516,550. The donation will benefit the Fernando Ma. Guerrero Elementary School and Rafael Palma Elementary School, both in Manila.

“It’s very exciting to have partnerships between the private sector and schools and have officials of the companies involved directly with the activities,” said Milwida Guevara, Synergeia president and chief executive officer.

Ateneo de Manila University president and Synergeia Foundation chairman Fr. Bienvenido Nebres said collaboration between the donor and the schools are important. “Beyond the money, making time and effort to join the school activities are vital to making things work.”

Nebres and Guevara noted the need to first improve the present education system in the country by providing the needed inputs such as classrooms, reading materials, and teacher trainings as well as encouraging the active participation of all stakeholders. This should be done before even looking at adding two more years to the elementary and secondary school cycles.

“We need to address the basic needs of the students first when giving assistance; as simple as toilets in the schools,” Nebres said. “We also have other initiatives such as feeding programs and provision of eyeglasses to improve the students’ eyesight.”

Aside from the financial assistance, Diamond Hotel general manager Vanessa Suatengco pledged the company’s active involvement in the program and activities in both schools.

“There are so many things we can do together. We encourage our employees to join activities at the school and I know that the general staff would be happy to help and be involved with the programs,” Suatengco said.

Principals of the two schools thanked Diamond Hotel and Synergeia for their efforts to assist their institutions.