Philippines. 1987. Dilapidated shanties. Civilian unrest. A society recently marred by the harrowing aftermath of Martial Law. Reforms were just in the pipeline after a historical People Power. The sight was haunting to anyone who watched a country of then 57 million Filipino people struggling to get back to their feet from unspeakable poverty and political oppression. While others spoke of the terror, one man spoke of change. Blessed Alvaro del Portillo.
CHALLENGE TO HELP THE POOR
During his 1987 pastoral visit to the Philippines, Don Alvaro, the first prelate of Opus Dei, was baffled by the paradox of socio-economic plight that beset the country. He witnessed a social fabric torn asunder by inexplicable disparity between the rich and the poor resulting from chronic corruption. In his visit to the Philippines, he said “I have seen enormous wealth and enormous poverty,” while addressing a throng of audiences who attended his get-together. It was a challenge well accepted by the audience comprised of people who ran personal undertakings in poverty reduction programs and civic groups that addressed socio-economic concerns. They all agreed on one thing: poverty alleviation must start with education and not on a shortsighted solution.
In a study conducted by UP School of Economics, educational attainment is seen to be an important contributor of differences in the living standards of Filipino households. The Philippine Human Development Report in 2000 found out that 33% of Grade 1 pupils in public schools dropped out before reaching Grade 6 and relatively the same percentage of high school students dropped out before reaching fourth year. Most of the dropouts come from families belonging to the least economically advantaged sector who prefer food than books on the table. The World Bank then concluded that “because of the decision to drop out of school is permanent, a new generation of undereducated adults may well result”. This vicious cycle brought about by the lack of education has now put 37% of our younger population at a losing streak.
While the figure of poverty incidence reached sky high at 29.7% in 1991, an increasing number of out-of-school youths or OSY have forfeited their opportunity to earn a better education let alone lead a better life. Some OSY are in the thick of the race with those who have remained unemployed due to the lack of entry-level skills resulting from proper training and education. Sixteen percent of the estimated 39 million Filipinos 6 to 24 years old are Out-of-School-Youth (OSY), according to the results of the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey or APIS. The report refers OSY as family members 6 to 17 years old who are not attending formal school and family members 18 to 24 years old who are currently out of school, not gainfully employed and have not finished college or post-secondary course.
Among the regions, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the highest percentage of OSYs of about 24 percent of the population aged 6 to 24 years, followed by Davao (19%) and Caraga and Central Luzon, with 18 percent each. One-fifth of the total OSYs belong to the bottom 10 percent per capita income stratum.
CITE CAME INTO BEING
Back in Rome, Blessed Alvaro has sought the help of an Italian organization of international cooperation to study the possibility of helping to start a school in Cebu, Philippines. Four years later, in June 1991, the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise or CITE opened its door to 97 students .
CITE’s unmitigated passion for excellence and commitment to help the underprivileged have earned recognition from its peers. Its undertakings have caught the attention of national and local organizations that put premium on technical-vocational education and training. In 2008, CITE became a two-time recipient of the Kabalikat Award from the country’s national regulatory board for its successful implementation of the Dual Training Program. CITE was also recognized as a center of excellence by the Association of Southeast Asian Nation HRD Working Group for its implementation of youth programs. The local government where CITE is located considered the school as outstanding institution in the field of technical vocational education. These awards among others have drawn partnerships and grants for capability build-up from various funding institutions both local and international.
CITE IMPACT
We at CITE are anything but baffled how a small school like ours has withstood the odds and setbacks despite the trying times that saw us buried neck-deep into our relentless struggles for funds and lack of resources just to stay afloat. Anyone would still wonder how a simple request from a soft-spoken prelate, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, became a marching order for us to respond to the needs of those who have less. His words still resonate until now on the lives of its stakeholders who draw inspiration from him.
First, CITE continues to stand by his words and continues to do what it does best. It has realigned its program and quality management system to the standards of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to send a strong message of credibility and reliability to our partner industries and prospect partners. In so doing, CITE increases the chances of its graduates to leap in the workforce.
Secondly, CITE has been part of the poverty alleviation program by providing one family at a time a technical-vocational graduate equipped with competitive skills and good work values who can readily fill talent-hungry industries. These graduates would have a profound impact on national competitiveness.
Lastly, CITE is able to develop multi-stakeholder system in training students by involving the parents, industries, teachers, benefactors in the holistic development of our manpower resources who are molded into good citizens.
Philippines. Food on every table. Opportunities for the poor. Quality education for the youth. All is possible as shown by an ordinary man who stood by his passion to serve the poor, moved people into action, and inspired everyone to live a life of fortitude and trust in Divine Providence in order to make a difference.
SOURCES
http://www.cite.edu.ph
http://opusdei.org
http://www.census.gov.ph