Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao’s Center For Service-Learning and Community Engagement (CSCE) launched Project HELP: Help End Learning Poverty last September 22, 2023. Project HELP is a learning poverty alleviation project that aims to conduct learning sessions for Grades 1-3 students at Langub Elementary School in Barangay Langub, Ma-a, Davao City.
Through this year-long program for learning poverty alleviation, Project HELP aims to address the lacking educational needs by ensuring that every child’s unique learning style is taken into account by providing learner-centered materials and activities.
Ms. Marycon Delos Reyes, the Head of Mapúa MCM’s CSCE, shared that, “Since the pandemic passed, we sensed the concern to be more urgent as the Philippines was not ready for remote learning and the pandemic further affected our learners.”
With the mandate of the Mapúa MCM President, Dr. Dodjie S. Maestrecampo, the CSCE, in collaboration with the Office for Research, Development and Innovation, the High School Department, and with the assistance of the Office for Corporate Partnerships and the Human Resources Management Office, came up with the plan to pursue a reading intervention program dubbed Project HELP.
Through conducting learning sessions that include reading aloud, educational songs, reading together, and applying what the children learned, the students are able to have enriched interactive reading sessions with the help of volunteers from the CSCE. The reading sessions, which also commenced on September 22, 2023, the same date as the soft launch, are facilitated every other week. Despite their busy schedules, the volunteers prove that through their dedication, they can pave the way for a brighter future for the children.
“Project HELP is not only a community service but also a research project.” Ms. Delos Reyes shared. She added that the CSCE is hoping to get data from the initial implementation that will enable them to craft an even more effective program in the future to be run in other schools as well.
The MMCM volunteers at Langub Elementary School share a commitment to the belief that education is a powerful weapon to change the world. As the volunteers continue their service, they remind us all that the pursuit of knowledge knows no boundaries and that every child, regardless of their circumstances, deserves the chance to shine.
Mapúa MCM and the CSCE extends its heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed sponsors: AY Foundation, F. Arriate Engineering Services, PetroEnergy Resources Corporation, VXI Global Holdings, Nickel Asia Corporation, Tats Tees and Print, Patty’s Kitchen, and Smart Communications Inc. We deeply appreciate their commitment to positive change and look forward to continuing our partnership for a brighter future.