FROM THE MARGINS

I believe that people are put in our lives for a reason. Throughout my life journey, I had been blessed by people who led me through paths that helped me touch the lives of countless others.  I have been working with the poor for decades and have seen hope — and hopelessness — in different forms.  None reverberates as much as seeing it in the faces of young children. Social inclusion. Financial inclusion. Social justice. Call it what you may, but to me, the end-goal will always be poverty eradication. How can we break the cycle of inter-generational poverty? I have dedicated my life to this, and along the way, met like-minded individuals who shared my advocacy.

Education is key

The legendary Washington SyCip, SGV founder and philanthropist, was one of my mentors. In early 2011, we had a conversation about the importance of education.  He shared a story about him asking his helpers about their families, and his happiness upon learning that their employment with him enabled them to send their children to school. They were all grateful, saying that their children’s education will help them get a better future. That got him thinking: How can poor farmers and fisherfolks afford to send their children to school when they are barely making ends meet? What can be done to break the cycle of poverty in their families? This prompted Wash to call me for a Saturday morning chat in his office. He was concerned about the increasing number of out-of-school youth (OSY), noting that even if public schools offer free basic education, many children are forced to drop out because their families could not afford the cost of transportation, school supplies or even basic needs like food, slippers or uniforms. Wash believed that if at least one child from a poor family has at least basic education, they can be lifted out of poverty. He asked me to come up with a program that will help poor families send their children to school. I told him about an educational loan program that we were then pilot-testing in Mindoro and Masbate in partnership with Plan International. He was amazed to find out that the borrowers, despite being poor, had a 100 percent repayment rate! We exchanged ideas, and right then and there, the Zero Dropout Program was born.

Zero dropout program

Launched in 2011, the program aims to reduce the dropout rate in public elementary schools to zero percent, by providing educational loan assistance to poor families. It offered a maximum loan of ₱3,000 payable on flexible terms, i.e., one percent interest per month based on diminishing balance, payable weekly for three, six, nine or 12 months. The interest rate is lower compared to other microfinance loans because the goal is to support children’s schooling. As explained by our former managing director Flor Sarmiento: “Education is a long-term investment.  We need to adjust our processes to create future graduates who will be economic movers.” The program was expanded in 2013, after Wash invited his friends to donate to the Zero Dropout Program in lieu of giving him gifts for his birthday. He was very passionate about his advocacy of basic education as a fundamental human right and pathway out of poverty. Happily, studies have shown that indeed, education has broken inter-generational poverty among the long-time clients of the microfinance institution (MFI) that the Washington SyCip Family Foundation partnered with to implement the Zero Dropout Program. The program has grown and benefitted 1.3 million students, majority from Central Visayas and the poor communities of Calabarzon.  It has even reached Muslim Mindanao. It now covers both elementary and secondary education. Given the increasing cost of daily expenses, the program’s loan amount ceiling was raised to ₱5,000 for elementary and ₱10,000 for high school. The children’s families are also offered business loans to provide them with a stable source of income. One family, one graduate The latest PSA data show that there were 3.53 million OSYs in 2017, half of them from families whose incomes fall within the bottom 30 percent of the population. Financial concern was among the most common reasons given for dropping out.  This is a harsh reality that we all have to contend with. To support Wash SyCip’s advocacy, we launched the One Family, One Graduate Program in 2016. Until now, our MFI provides college scholarships and educational loans to ensure that there will be at least one college graduate in our members’ families. When I was interviewing and writing about other MFIs in the country, I was gratified to learn that they have similar programs. The thought that many MFIs are now employing as staff — even managers — the children of their former clients always perks me up. I am sure that Wash, my mentor, would be happy to know this, too. \* \* \* “Education promotes equality and lifts people out of poverty.” — Ban Ki-moon *(Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is a poverty eradication advocate. He is the founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually-Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), a group of 23 organizations that provide social development services to eight million economically-disadvantaged Filipinos and insure more than 27 million nationwide.)*