For over a decade, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF), through its Iskolar ni Juan program, has been creating pathways to success for underprivileged youth. This year, 48 students received a full technical-vocational scholarship in Mechatronics Servicing (NC II) that links directly to potentially life-changing employment opportunities via a collaboration between GBF, Shang Properties, and Kerry Group Philippines Foundation.
GBF is the philanthropic arm of the Gokongwei Group, and has been providing scholarship opportunities for both teachers and students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education since its inception. Its Iskolar ni Juan program has provided hundreds of students and graduates with stable jobs as production operators and machine technicians with partner Universal Robina Corporation - Branded Consumer and Food Group (URC-BCFG) plants nationwide. Through the years, Iskolar ni Juan has opened doors for over 600 marginalized youth across the country.
Graduates of the Iskolar ni Juan Program receive their National Certification II in Mechatronics Servicing, presented by Shang Properties Chief Operating Officer Atty. Karlo Marco Estavillo and Gokongwei Brothers Foundation General Manager Liza Gokongwei-Cheng.
True to its purpose in nation-building, GBF sought to extend its impact beyond the Gokongwei Group, partnering with organizations that likewise believe that education is the greatest equalizer. Through its collaboration with Shang Properties and Kerry Group Philippines Foundation, GBF was able to provide students with free tuition, daily meals, dorm, transportation, uniforms, school supplies, TESDA assessment fee, and OJT allowance over the course of seven months of in-house training and five months of on-the-job (OJT) experience.
The OJT experience was made possible through a partnership with global energy management, automation, and digitalization specialist Schneider Electric, which offered regular employment to the graduates soon after their impressive performance.
For Shang Properties and Kerry Group Philippines Foundation, supporting the Iskolar ni Juan program is more than just a philanthropy, but a commitment to service. During a graduation ceremony in which the scholars received their National Certification II in Mechatronics Servicing, Shang Properties Chief Operating Officer, Atty. Karlo Marco Estavillo expressed his faith in the scholars’ capacity to transform not just their own lives, but also those of their families and communities.
“We are asking you to live your life to a higher purpose, for a cause bigger than yourself,” Estavillo told the graduates.
Shang Properties Chief Operating Officer Atty. Karlo Marco Estavillo addresses graduates of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation's Iskolar ni Juan program.
For GBF General Manager Liza Gokongwei-Cheng, the Iskolar ni Juan program echoes her late father John Gokongwei Jr.’s commitment to supporting education.
“He felt that everyone deserves an education,” she recalled, noting how her father had to stop schooling at 13 to support his siblings after his father’s passing. “That’s why he donated half of his shares to GBF to create a foundation with his siblings that would provide educational opportunities like these to underserved youth in the Philippines”.
Employment partner Schneider Electric was also present to congratulate the graduates. “To the graduates, you’re not only running the workforce but shaping your future and your family,” said Vinodkumar Nair, Plant Director for Cavite Cluster, Schneider Electric.
Among the graduating scholars was Angelica Rose Dacutan from Quezon province. Raised by a single mother, Dacutan admitted that “ang mangarap ay hindi madali” when one grows up in an incomplete family. She thanked GBF and its partners for believing in her and her fellow scholars, walking with them in the ‘Bundok ng Pangarap’ (mountain of dreams).
Iskolar ni Juan graduate Angelica Rose Dacutan thanks the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation and its partners at the graduation ceremony.
The NC II certification the scholars earned is not simply a recognition of their resilience, but a ticket to a bigger dream - a dream made possible through the service of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation and its generous partners.
