Of the 430 graduates from high school, only 230 enter college but only 120 will get a degree (12% of the total number who started). Most students who drop out are among the poorest and cannot afford the associated costs even with free basic education and college. Like their parents, the out of school youth are destined for low paying jobs and even unemployment, repeating the poverty cycle of the family.
Because of poverty, people work very hard and the little income they get from 12 to 18 hours of working such as scavenging empty bottles, papers, plastics and broken steels from the garbage, selling things and producing simple crafts for sale is just enough to buy food and water for their families. A significant number of youth are victims of poverty in the Philippines. At a very young age, they are forced to help their parents to earn money and forget schooling. This condition is prevalent not only in the urban areas but more so in the rural areas, forcing many of these families to find money for food than be able to send their children to school.
A college education is a great equalizer and can break the cycle of poverty and make the country more competitive globally. The APPEND-KILOS (Knowledge for Inspiring Leadership, Opportunities and Spirituality) Educate a Child Program provides leadership training and scholarships to deserving children of micro-entrepreneurs. The KILOS educate a child amounts to US$800 per year per student. This amount covers for school fees, transportation to and from school, meals, school shoes and uniforms, books, life skills and leadership training and mobilization costs. We aim to provide scholarships to 10,000 college students in the next five years.
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About Append
More than 26 million Filipinos remain poor with almost half or a little more than 12 million living in extreme poverty and lacking the means to feed themselves.
APPEND Incorporated or the Alliance of Philippine Partners in Enterprise Development Inc., commits to help eradicate poverty in the Philippines and to promote national transformation by contributing to the growth and development of God-fearing, socially-responsible micro- and small entrepreneurs.
The micro-entrepreneurs serve as the backbone of the Philippine economy especially when their number is large enough to impact the scale of small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). MSMEs contributes to almost 61.6% of the total jobs generated by all types of business establishments. This shows that this sector is the largest source of income for disadvantaged communities. Thus, for the past 27 years, APPEND has been serving the poor micro-entrepreneurs with capital to start or expand their family businesses or micro-enterprises, provide business development & marketing services, savings facilities, educational assistance, water, health and sanitation (WASH) program , financial literacy and micro-insurance, values formation program, leadership training, and training sessions on environment care.
APPEND is a non-stock, non-profit, charitable, educational, social welfare development and civic service corporation under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. From a reach of 30,000 micro- entrepreneurs, APPEND and its members have helped more than 5 million poor people — assisting them attain better lives and escape poverty, by creating opportunities for them to use their God-given abilities to make wealth.
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