DRIVING THOUGHTS
Pinky Concha Colmenares
The stories of scholars who have stepped out of poverty and are now proud breadwinners whose families live better lives tell of how education can break the cycle of poverty.
Those stories of past interviews with graduates from the various automotive mechanic courses funded by auto companies came to mind one lovely afternoon in conversation with Mr. Hajime Koso, Isuzu Philippines Corporation president. Mr. Koso had invited me to a day trek in the mountains, his way to say goodbye to friends after a seven-year assignment in the country.
It had rained cats and dogs days before our planned trek along Tinipak River in Mt. Daraitan, Tanay, we could not cross the river to reach the trail head. We canceled the plan and settled to a most pleasant day at Camp Well, a new campsite in the area. (It’s well-recommended by friends and has glowing reports of an idyllic location – framed by a river and a forest.)
It was a day to tell many stories. The most inspiring were the stories of the graduates from the 14-year-old Isuzu TESDA Automotive Mechanic School in Tacloban. I’ve attended many events marking the school’s progress –from its inauguration in 2008 to the 2019 graduation. I can write a book about the way that facility has changed the lives of more than 300 families.
That’s how many graduates it has produced, most of them employed in automotive dealerships. A few have chosen to be entrepreneurs and have chosen to open their own businesses.
What’s significant about the scholars is that they come from the seven poorest provinces of the country.
I asked the top student in the first graduating class years ago how she (yes, a few of the graduates are female) had known about the scholarship program of Isuzu. She had read it in a poster on the wall of a sari-sari store in the barangay where she lived. Back then, she had never seen the engine under a motorized vehicle’s hood. After graduation, she was hired by Isuzu, and has worked with many diesel engines.
A year after graduation, a graduate told me he was sending a sibling to school, and a proud smile colored his face. Years later, another graduate said he had his family house “fixed” (renovated) and it now had two rooms. In the 2019 graduation, I sat with the family of a graduating student. The mother said they are planning to rent an apartment after her son starts on a new job which he will be going to in the big city two days after graduation.
The “heart” of Isuzu’s automotive mechanic school actually is Mr. Yoshinori Ida, former chairman of Isuzu Motors Limited, Japan. You can say he established the school and poured his attention to get it going. He and his wife always visited the facility until 2018 when he retired. The establishment of the school was under the “Heart and Smile” project of IML.
There are more stories of better lives from the graduates of other automotive company-funded scholarship programs.
Toyota Motor Philippines also funds an automotive education program which started in 1990, and has graduated hundreds of students who now hold well-paying jobs as auto mechanics in Toyota dealerships.
I cannot forget the story of one of the graduates working at a Toyota dealership, who I interviewed in 2018. Before the free auto mechanic course, he was living as an informal settler on a property that was cleared for a property development project. He was living with his mother who washed clothes even on Sundays, just to feed him and his sister.
It was only about 18 months from his graduation. I asked him when he knew that he was on the way to a better life. His reply: “When I could buy groceries good for a week’s supply.”
What did he buy with his first Christmas bonus – a smartphone; with his second bonus – a motorcycle.
(He said he now owns two motorcycles.) And what is he most proud of doing now? He is paying for his sister’s tuition. What is his favorite Sunday activity? Shopping for groceries.
All that came from a scholarship grant.
Isuzu’s “Heart and Smile” program was recently the recipient of the 2022 platinum Driven To Serve Award in the education category, given by the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ). Toyota’s Automotive Education Program was awarded in the same category in 2019.
Mr. Nobuaki Kosugi, general manager, sustainability department, Isuzu Motors Limited, Japan, accepted the award and gave the acceptance speech. The school is a special project funded and supported by IML Japan.