Delivering Educational Opportunity

$360 gives a deserving student a scholarship to Mater Dei Academy (MDA). The scholarship covers tuition, books and learning supplies for one full school year. Project Phil works with our MDA partners to identify underprivileged public school students entering middle school or high school with strong grades and exam scores. The MDA team then visits with their families and requires the student to pass a STEM-focused admission test before extending a scholarship offer. This rigorous process ensures that scholarships are being awarded to the hardest-working, most deserving students.

Project Phil pledges to support all scholarship students through high school graduation. In return, our students’ pledge to maintain a GPA above 85 percent and be model citizens on and off campus.

Maribel Gaite

President, Mater Dei Academy

Maribel Gaite is our partner on-the-ground at Mater Dei Academy for Project Phil's scholarship program. She personally oversees student recruitment and the awarding of scholarships. Maribel holds a doctorate in Educational Research and Evaluation and has extensive experience leading school turnaround projects. When she took over as President of MDA in 2009, the school had around 200 students and only offered grades K-10. Today, the school has over 850 students, provides a K-12 education and is the only private school in Bulacan province to offer Special Science Class, an advanced science and math curriculum.

Award 50 Scholarships for 2019-20 School Year

We are raising our 2018 fundraising goal to $18,000 in an effort to add 10 new students to our scholarship program for the 2019-20 school year.

Explore University Scholarship Opportunities for MDA Graduates

Project Phil is in discussions with top universities in Manila to provide MDA graduates with financial hardship the opportunity to get a quality college education. Our goal is to have a university partner that offers partial and full scholarships to deserving MDA graduates by the 2020-21 school year.

Continue Book Drive

We are keeping our book drive going in 2018! If you have novels, textbooks and workbooks that are no longer being used, please consider donating them. Books that MDA doesn’t use will be distributed to underserved public schools in Bulacan province.

Elevating Underserved Communities

Over 25 million Filipinos live in poverty, making less than $10 a day. The slums of Manila alone are home to over four million Filipinos surviving without access to adequate food, clean drinking water, medical care and stable housing. Project Phil recently launched health and hunger initiatives in an underserved community in the Pasay City section of Manila to support families living in extreme poverty.  

In February, Project Phil hosted its first social event for over 60 children in the community. Spaghetti, chicken and hamburgers were served and a “birthday for all” celebration was held, complete with gifts, ice cream and popsicles! The event gave us an opportunity to build a closer relationship with the community and complete home visits with 20 high-need families, distributing food, health and hygiene supplies. These assessments allowed us to identify the families’ specific needs and how we can best support them going forward.

Project Phil has made a commitment to this community and is working on a long-term roadmap to bring stability, opportunity and hope to the people that reside there.

Vicky Sureta

DIRECTOR, HEALTH, HUNGER & COMMUNITY BUILDING INITIATIVES

Vicky was born and raised in Baguio City, Philippines and immigrated to the United States in 1992. She works as a pediatric nurse anesthetist at the Children's hospital of Michigan in Detroit and has been a regular participant in surgical missions that provide care to underprivileged families and children in the Philippines for over 15 years.

In 2015, Vicky started a feeding program in an impoverished community in the Pasay City section of Manila. At Project Phil, she will continue her work in this community and oversee new initiatives that support families living in extreme poverty and bring opportunity to underserved communities.

Support Highest-Need Families

Our top priority in 2018 is providing families and children in the most dire situations with monthly food, hygiene and healthcare supplies. Our team will visit the families regularly to build stronger relationships and better understand their needs.

Test New Community Building Initiatives

We want to work with local leaders to help build a sustainable social and economic infrastructure that can lift the community out of poverty. Three Initiatives our team is researching (beyond feeding and healthcare assistance) are micro-loans for running or starting a business, tutoring and educational support for children and a community athletics programs.