Alcantara Foundation
http://www.alcantaragroup.com/clafi.php

C & L Alcantara Foundation Inc. (CLAFI) is the social responsibility arm of the Alcantara Group of Companies, a provider of industrial, agricultural and other economic infrastructure in the country, particularly in Mindanao. It has programs in education, training, health, environment and livelihood. CLAFI implements community development programs and helps organize community-based cooperatives and foundations in Mindanao.

CLAFI partners with the local governments from Iligan City, and municipalities from Sarangani in sustaining the gains of children in learning outcomes.

Children’s Hour
http://www.childrenshour.org.ph

As a fundraising and grant-giving non-profit organization, Children’s Hour Philippines, Inc. calls on companies and individuals to donate at least one hour of their earnings to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged Filipino children. Children’s Hour has helped finance 545 projects and help over 609,617 children since its first campaign in 1999. Children’s Hour supports the reading program in Alabel, Sarangani, Libon, Albay, and helped improve the learning performance of children in Iriga City.  Children’s Hour recently gave a grant to support a Reading Program in North Upi, Maguindanao.

Philippine Business for Education
http://www.pbed.ph/

Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) is a response of the business community to address the needs of the education sector. It spearheads policy reforms and the 1000 Teachers Program that provides scholarships to graduating high school students who have the potential to become good teachers.

PBEd provides scholarships for Synergeia communities especially from Tawi Tawi and Sarangani province

Zuellig Family Foundation
http://www.zuelligfoundation.org/

Zuellig Family Foundation focuses on promoting efficient healthcare systems in the Philippines, particularly in the rural areas of the country. It aims for better health outcomes through training programs, community disaster response programs, community health partnerships, health research and health outlook forums.

ZFF supports the education programs of municipalities from Samar, ARMM, and the Visayas.

Juan and Isabel Zapanta Foundation (ZIZF)

https://www.facebook.com/

ZIZF generously supports the construction of school buildings that are complete with facilities (toilets, desks, blackboards, tables, and a library) in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.  Its first project is the Tudok Mamot Elementary School in North Upi, Maguindnao  which will be followed by another school building in Kabakaba Elementary School in North Upi.

The Foundation completes its gift with a reading program through the donation of school supplies and reading books for children.

SGV Foundation

www.sgvfoundation.com.ph

The SGV Foundation gifted Mr. SyCip, its founder with  playground equipment that are installed in public elementary schools.  Synergeia receives application for the donation and administers the playground construction.

Washington SyCip Family Foundation

Mr. SyCip endowed Synergeia with ten million pesos (P10.0 million) to support programs that will  increase participation rate of children in schools, bring dropout to zero and increase the cohort survival rate.  Access of all children to quality education is his favorite advocacy and he never fails to influence his friends to support Synergeia’s programs.

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For the rural towns of Masbate and Camarines Norte, one of the biggest reasons why children stop going to school is the far distance it takes to get there. In contrast, distance is not be a problem for more urbanized cities like Quezon City but due to over-populated classrooms in public schools, children similarly become discouraged from attending. These are some of the challenges discussed by local government heads early this month during Synergeia’s local school board workshop that was co-funded by Synergeia and Unicef.

Ideally, the smaller the town, the better the participation rate. However, many children who reside in far-flung areas need to walk for many kilometers to get to the nearest school, according to Mayor Isabel Magbalon of Milagros, Masbate. The heavy rainfall season between October to November discourages them even further, more so if they have to cross a river along the way. “What we do is build schools in every barangay,” said Mayor Enrico Capinig of the Municipality of Aroroy, Masbate. “Pero ganun pa din, malayo talaga.”

In Quezon City, public elementary schools are far more accessible but the large population of students creates a serious congestion in classrooms. Building additional schools also proves difficult because of unavailability of space, according to Quezon City 5th District Councillor Aly Medalla.

The local leaders also discussed common problems confronting education such as child labor and poverty. In sharing best practices, they agreed that a concerted effort must be made by the local government and the community to bridge the gap not only in logistics but also in communication between stakeholders.

“We hope to make a difference for the future,” Puerto Princesa City Councilor Victor Oliveros said as he shared his plans in addressing the issues that prevent children from going to school.

Padre Garcia Vice Mayor Noel Cantos proudly related how all the barangay captains in his municipality committed their full support to his education program.

The close interaction between the local heads were presided by Synergeia president Dr. Nene Guevara, Cong. Sherwin Gatchalian and Synergeia Mentor Mayor Bambi Villarosa of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. Other LGU representatives from Masbate, Camarines Norte, Puerto Princessa City, Quezon City, Pasay City and Padre Garcia, Batangas engaged in their own discussions and workshop activities in an effort to improve the standard of education in their areas. The 2-day event was held on June 18-19 at Ateneo Professional Schools in Makati.

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