LOVE FOR MIARAYON. Xavier University’s Development Communication department chairman Evans Yonson (in black sweater) turns over 90 raincoat bags and an additional scholarship fund to St Therese School of Miarayon in Talakag, Bukidnon. School director Fr Alvin Laput SJ (in blue shirt) is shown here receiving a raincoat bag from Smart Communications, together with a nun and two high school students. Supplied photo. 

What started out as an online campaign to help out the students of St Therese School of Miarayon in the far-flung area of Talakag, Bukidnon has developed into a scholarship fund to support financially challenged yet deserving young lumads (indigenes).

“I had a meeting with Fr Noel Bava SJ, the former parish priest of St Therese and principal of the high school. He mentioned the need for a scholarship fund for the students,” recounted Xavier University’s Development Communication department chairman Evans Yonson, who pioneered the educational assistance program this year.

“I launched an online campaign calling friends to help out. In June, we turned over Php50,000 to the finance officer of St Therese High School. To date, we have turned over Php83,000,” he added.

The administration of St Therese HS has identified 39 students from grades 7 to 10 for the said scholarship which will cover their tuition, matriculation, and other school fees. The school will soon open a bank account dedicated to this special fund.

“The challenge for the scholars is to come to school regularly and maintain their good grades. We hope that there will more kind-hearted people to help in the scholarship fund,” said Yonson.

The administrators of the Jesuit-run mission high school graciously received the educational assistance program.

“I believe the administrators are glad that there are people who are willing to help the children of farmers to finish their high school studies,” said Yonson.

He also hopes that this scholarship program will prosper and benefit more students. “We hope to increase the number of scholars in the coming years.”

Besides turning over the additional scholarship fund on July 31, the feast day of St Ignatius Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus), Yonson’s team also distributed 90 raincoat bags from Smart Communications to the students of the same school.

“The DevCom department recently had a meeting with Smart and we introduced the idea of helping out Miarayon as partners,” he said.

St Therese HS is the only secondary education school in the area catering to the villages of Miarayon, Lapok, Lirongan, and Tinaytayan.

On July 29 and 30, representatives from the four interest pools of XU DevCom Society also painted a preschool classroom and conducted various workshops in Miarayon, attended by 20 St Therese HS students.

A home to the Talaandig indigenous people, Miarayon forms part of the mountain ranges of Kalatungan, one of Bukidnon's prized giants. ∎