STI reaches out to the kids in Payatas

What is the first thing that comes to your mind about the place Payatas? To me it is where garbage turns into gold as a lot of scavengers live there and turn garbage into something they can earn from. Payatas in Quezon City has a lot of sad stories most notably the collapse that happened on the dumpsite several years back. What is most jaw dropping is the fact that a lot of these impoverished scavengers never really did get some education to enable themselves to further improve their way of living. A lot of the people living this area never saw the need to send their kids to school since they themselves never had any education.

STI Alumni Relations Manager Chicky Recheta
togehter with Ms. Letty Reyes & Marie Nucum

In 1982 Letty Reyes "migrated" to the beautiful scenery and landscape which was once known for its greenery, it was the old Payatas. A year later it was turned into a dumpsite of garbage coming from all over the metropolis. Letty later on met with a lot of mothers from payatas and learned about the concern of the mothers about the future fo their children. A lot of the kids who live in this area do not even have birth certificates but are willing to learn and go to school. Letty then went into action as she started to give classes to a group of five kids. When word got out the students became bigger and the numbers grew to 40 and has since grown to have bigger groups and the school came to become a reality in 1989 and it is known now as the school of Humanity.

Sir Stanley giving some pointers

The School of Humanity or "Paaraalang Pantao" has no requirement for uniform or tuition fees because the only requirement is the kid's willingness to learn. The school is located at the foot of the mountain which is almost at the Montalban Rizal area which is at the back of Payatas.

Mam Aime having fun with the kids

The classes are run in a friendly and enjoyable manner which helps create for children the home away from home atmosphere. All the staff encourage the children to uphold their dignity in life and consider the school as a place for them to learn how to prepare themselves with certain things in life.

Sir Jojo Recio assisting his wife Dra. Weng Recio

The STI Alumni Association for that matter saw the need to improve the education of these kids by creating an outreach program which is more of a medical and dental mission. It is believed that if a kid has bad health and suffers from numerous gum and tooth problems which are the primary problem of these kids aged 5-13, then learning will be a hard task to do. Much so these kids and their parents don't have enough earnings to prioritize health related issues. The event was held at the Ynares Covered Courts at the SUburban Subdivision in Montalban Rizal.

Tito Aga sharing some jokes

Yours truly was in awe with the warm reception of the kids when i got to know them. Again I was again the master of ceremonies slash entertainer in making sure that the kids have a lot to do while the medical/dental mission is ongoing. I am quite happy to be involved in this project knowing that there are still people who believe in helping other people live better lives.

The sterilization team

The STI team came with a lot of help from volunteer students from different STI schools namely STI College Fairview, STI College Novaliches and STI College Recto. The STI students helped out in administering blood pressure, sterilizing the instruments, manning the make shift pharmaceutical counter and giving out some goodies.

The makeshift Pharma

The kids were not only received a check up but some goodies, medication and other supplements as well. In return they also gave intermission numbers and ended the event by thanking STI with a song. "..Di ba't ang Pasko ay para sa lahat. "

The giveaways

It is nice to share these things knowing that the company you belong to is in one direction when it comes to helping other people. I hope that I'll be involved in a lot of projects like this in the future. Stay tuned.

The kids having lunch