Proud Graduates of Manila Slum Project

It’s graduation season in the Philippines and it’s an exciting time for our Manila Slum Project (MSP) beneficiaries. The moms of our beneficiaries eagerly send pictures of their children who are graduating or moving up in our official MSP chat groups. They are definitely beaming with pride.

One of the Manila Slum Project’s beneficiaries

When we started MSP, it would take several reminders for parents to send us updates or copies of their children’s report cards. Now, the parents are the ones initiating to send us updates. More than that, some parents also sent us pictures of their other kids (siblings of the beneficiaries of MSP) who are now also attending school. We are glad that our mother beneficiaries now feel empowered to send their other children to school. Most of these mothers haven’t gone to school themselves so it’s such a joy to see their children breaking free from the cycle of poverty.

Issa with Her Mom During Her Graduation

One of our graduates this year is Issa. Issa is the daughter of Jenny, who was unemployed when Issa got accepted to be part of MSP. She solely depended on her partner’s income to support her 4 children during this time. It was a tough time for them financially so Jenny is grateful for the monthly educational allowance being given from the project for Issa. Because of this support, she was able to send her daughter to school. Aside from using that allowance for transportation, Issa was also able to use some of the educational allowance for her snacks in school and supplies for her school projects. These encouraged her to keep attending school.

Throughout the project’s parenting seminars, Jenny realized that she could not only rely on her partner for their living expenses. She also wants to support her children’s education. Since she knows how to ride a motorcycle, she applied for a motorcycle taxi job. When she got accepted for the job, she was happy to be able to provide for her children with her income. Issa also just graduated Grade 6 this school year! Jenny and Issa are both very grateful not only for the educational allowance but also for the counsel and support they receive from the Manila Slum Project.

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