“The OSM-AD Foundation exemplifies our commitment to the OSM vision by supporting the communities in which we work. By providing education as well as other transformative learning avenues we are working towards building a better tomorrow for our youth, training them to become the role models of society we long to see,”
Ifugao is best known as a popular tourist destination in the Philippines because of its towering greens, mountainous scenery and numerous rice terrace, one of which is the famous Banaue Rice Terraces. Despite the attractiveness of the area, the Philippine Statistic Authority rated Ifugao a 32.5% on its poverty incidence in 2015. Two of its municipalities, Banaue and Mayoyao, were rated at 30.8% and 34.3% respectively in 2012.
The OSM-AD Foundation team visited the community not just to share its help but also to recruit scholars from the province of Ifugao. The target municipalities, Banaue and Mayoyao, are intended to support OSM’s Recruitment of Scholars & Initiatives for Social Development (ISD).
The grade 12 students from both Gohang and Banaue National High Schools were invited to take the examination as the first phase of the scholarship process. Every student sighed with relief after taking their qualifying examination!
Eventually, 25 of the highest scoring students were lined up for the second phase of recruitment – an interview with OSM-ADF team members. For the final phase, a careful deliberation was held during the last quarter of 2017 by the OSM-AD Foundation working committee and Philippine Management team in Manila office. Out of 25 qualifiers, five students were granted scholarship from both Banaue and Gohang National High School, namely: Bryan Binalet, Melody Lucca, Febie L. Lingdis, Joan D. Olsim, and Kimberlie O. Maggod.
In total, the OSM-AD Foundation reached 621 students coming from five elementary schools providing the young students with useful items such as OSM school bags, OSM shirts, educational- and sport toys. The team traversed for an 8-hour trek (to-and-from) the middle of a mountainous trail to reach one of the more isolated schools. Schools privy to the OSM-AD Foundation work were: Ducligan Elementary School, Chaya Primary School, Mayban Primary School, Balangbang Elementary School and Cambulo Elementary School.