In the Asian island nation of the Philippines, students have to battle similar hurdles in order to access education, as their counterparts in Kenya. Last year we launched a pilot program that is already changing lives through a partnership with a local NGO called Pathways Philippines. Pathways Philippines has years of experience mentoring students and we are pleased to announce the expansion of our program beyond our eight scholarship pilot thanks to this reliable, high-impact partner.

We are applying the successful principles we learned in Kenya to address similar education issues in the Philippines. Students in both countries face a gap in the education system between primary school and university, which leads to students from financially challenged backgrounds being left out from higher education. While in Kenya the bottleneck is due to the study-fees of secondary education, the situation in the Philippines is a bit different. In the Philippines, secondary public education is funded by the government but research shows three main reasons causing an education gap:

1. Students need Access to better Quality Education: Public schools rarely provide education to the same quality as private schools that charge school fees. The quality is so low that many families with financial concerns prefer have their kids work on the family farm or elsewhere rather than spend time in an education system where they don’t learn the skills and knowledge they need. Only with tutoring and additional classes, students can attend public secondary schools and still achieve the grades and knowledge needed for university.

2. Students need mentorship and to understand their Choices: Many students from poor families without any academic background simply lack the self-confidence to pursue a higher education at a university and they don’t see it as a choice. Furthermore many students are unaware of the gross differences in quality of education between the public schools and other resources available to them in order to make good choices about their education.

3. Students need funding for exam fees: Most of the students from poor families can’t afford the fees to sit for and pass the university entrance exam.

This results in high potential students with strong performance in primary school having lower performance in secondary school and lower rates of attendance at universities.

With Aiducation Scholarships, Filipino Students are empowered

Thanks to the scholarships from Aiducation, financially needy students from the Philippines can have access to quality education and support, which empowers them to become active and responsible citizens. While we focus in Kenya on covering study fees for secondary education, in the Philippines we fund academic tutoring classes, exam fees, and mentorship support.

Thanks to the collaboration with Pathways Phillipines, an organization with community centres since 2002, Aiducation scholarships are strengthening an existing local network that has proven to make an impact. The team at Pathways supports and accompanies the students with an intensive Coaching and Mentoring program through their four year secondary education towards university. In addition to the rigorous tutoring program and science classes, Pathway puts an equal emphasis on strengthening soft skills. Through Aiducation scholarships, bright and talented students from financially challenged background can enter the program offered by Pathways and bridge the education gap to attend university, build better careers and make a larger impact for their communities.

The alignment of our Aiducation principles and Pathways focus on impact is illustrated in Pathways mission: “We develop young leaders who are imbued with the values of integrity, solidarity, commitment to excellence, service to society and love of learning.”

We are Applying Our Proven Principles

Through our partnership with Pathways Philippines, we are staying true to our four core principles established in Kenya and are translating them directly to the Philippines.

1. 1:1 Principle: As an AiduMaker, you can choose their scholar from our pool of applicants. Read their essays and choose the student who inspires you and you will get updates on their progress.

2. Education: 90% of every scholarship is invested in education to ensure your donation is making a direct impact

3. Merit base: we are focusing on high potential students with strong performance from financially challenged background

4. Mentorship: we will provide active mentorship and support students to show responsibility towards their communities as active citizens. After graduating from high school and the program, scholars become part of a network of our Alumni (AiduAlumni). The members of will lead the organization, meet regularly, and push the social, political and economical development of their country.

Visit our database of student applications and read the essays from our motivated and ambitious students from the Philippines where they provide hand written details of their hopes for their education and their communities. Similar to our scholarships for Kenyan students, the donations for students in the Philippines are tax deductible in Switzerland and Germany. Find the applicantion and student who inspires you on our database here