Caritas Manila, the social services arm of the Archdiocese of Manila has recently graduated 1,604 collage and vocational-technical scholars for the school year 2021-2022 under its Youth Servant Leadership and Education Program (YSLEP). This is the largest batch to date since the program started almost 70 years ago.
The breakdown goes at 565 scholars from Luzon, 511 from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila, 279 from Visayas, and 249 from Mindanao.
Among the YSLEP graduates are six Summa Cum Laudes, 54 Magna Cum Laudes, 140 Cum Laudes, 78 special awardees, 68 with academic excellence and 779 in the Dean's List. The 2021-2022 batch finished courses in Business, Education, Economics, Engineering, Social Sciences, Information Technology and Agriculture.
Caritas Manila recognizes each and every YSLEP scholar during a special event called Kairos. The word means the opportune time or the appointed time in the purpose of God. Each scholar receives a certificate of recognition and an Outstanding Youth Servant Leader Medal. A total of 18 Kairos events were held nationwide from June to September this year.
YSLEP prioritizes disadvantaged youths from the poorest provinces, indigenous groups, those who are victims of calamities and those affected by war and conflicts.
According to Executive Director of Caritas Manila, Fr. Anton Pascual, "Walang nagtatagumpay na nag-iisa. The more you help, the more it will come back to you. Ang sabi nga sa Bible, do not be afraid to help. Either give your time, talent or treasure, babalik iyan. Magbigay ka at ika'y bibigyan hustong takal, siksik, lilig at umaapaw (No one succeeds alone. The more you help, the more it will come back to you. The Bible says to not be afraid to help. Either give your time, talent or treasure. It will come back to you. Give and you shall receive, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over)."
As of Aug, 2022, Caritas Manila has allotted ₱107.5 million to support the tertiary and vocational-technical education of 4,639 currently enrolled YSLEP scholars.
All YSLEP graduates automatically become members of Caritas Manila Scholars Association (CAMASA) to give them the chance to pay it forward. Last year, Caritas Manila scholars completed 93,940 hours of social apostolate work and 99,033 hours of church involvement. Caritas Manila continues to monitor scholars after graduation to ensure that they are gainfully employed and that they remain active in church and community services.
For school year 2022-2023, Caritas Manila aims to provide scholarships to an additional 5,000 poor and deserving youth nationwide. It only takes P30,000 per year to support one Caritas Manila scholar.
For more information on how to donate, visit https://www.caritasmanila.org.ph/online-cash-donation. To know more about Caritas Manila, log on to www.caritasmanila.org.ph.