Most of us go on with our daily lives
with nary a thought of the thousands of soldiers who risk life and limb so that
we may continue to thrive in a peaceful and orderly society. Even as hundreds
of these soldiers get incapacitated and killed in action, we go on with our
business unaware of the families whose lives have been forever scarred and the
orphans who now face an uncertain future.
Truth is, we owe every day of our
freedom to our unsung heroes: our gallant soldiers. And what better way to
express our gratitude for their noble sacrifices than to care for the children
they left behind? This is exactly what HERO Foundation, Inc. aims to achieve –-
to Help, Educate and Rear Orphans as what the organization’s name stands for.
Founded in 1988 by the late President
Corazon C. Aquino with then Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of
Staff Gen. Renato S. de Villa, HERO Foundation is a non-stock non-profit organization
that has been supporting the education of military orphans. President Aquino
decided to put up the foundation after some widows of soldiers who died in
combat approached her and asked for help because they didn’t know how they
would be able to raise their children on their own, much less sustain their
education. Together with Gen. De Villa, they called on the business community
to help the families of fallen soldiers by way of giving educational stipends
to their orphans.
Now on its 28th year, HERO has extended
educational support to 2,261 scholars nationwide, 888 of whom are now college
graduates. According to Retired Major General Renato M. Garcia, HERO
Foundation’s Executive Director for Operations, the institution presently has
699 scholars all over the country -- 41% in Mindanao, 33% in Luzon, 18% in the
Visayas, and 8% in NCR.
“When a soldier is killed in action, HERO
comes in to assist in the education of at least one of his children to help the
family survive the loss of their breadwinner. We have partnered with AFP’s
Educational Benefits System Office (AFP-EBSO), which shoulders tuition fees
while the foundation gives allowances of P5,000 to P8,000 per semester to one
military orphan per family for the duration of the child’s education,” Gen.
Garcia explained.
The stipend provided by HERO Foundation
goes a long way in helping military orphans continue their education. “As we
all know, even though there are public schools that offer free elementary and
high school education, many students are still unable to go to school because
they need money for food, fare and other school requirements. That’s where HERO
comes in. We respond to the needs of our scholars. We want to help them finish
their schooling so that, in return, they can help their family.”
Personal
Approach
As a former soldier himself, Gen. Garcia
is well aware of the plight of his fellow comrade-in-arms. He fought in
Mindanao for years and became brigade commander in Zamboanga, Cotabato, and in
different areas in the Visayas. A few years after he retired as Major General,
he was offered by a job by General de Villa to be the Executive Director of
HERO Foundation in 2001.
“I was actually delighted when I found
out that there is such a private organization like HERO Foundation that helps
military orphans. We started with providing stipends to our scholars, but
slowly we are expanding our assistance by helping with the tuition fees as
well. I’ve started talks with the AFP and requested them to donate some tuition
fee slots in their scholarship programs, which we have extended to HERO scholars.
As of this year, there are around 115 of them who have received tuition fee
assistance on top of their regular stipend from HERO. We also have a growing
number of schools and universities that are supporting our cause by offering
their scholarship slots as well,” Gen. Garcia shared.
Gen. Garcia’s wide network of contacts
in the military comes in handy as he is able to tap their assistance whenever
he needs to get in touch with HERO scholars all over the country. He personally
goes to different regions and provinces to meet the scholars and check on their
educational status.
“As a former soldier, I had my duties
serving all over the Philippines. That’s why this job of going around the
country to touch base with our scholars, as mandated by HERO Foundation’s
Chairman Emeritus Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, it gives me a feeling of
satisfaction that money cannot buy. I
also get to work with military officers who served me before. They help me in
finding our scholars, especially those in far-flung areas.”
In personally meeting the HERO scholars,
Gen. Garcia has realized that a number of them are still unable to cope with
their education despite the support they get from the foundation. “We have
scholars who drop out because of low grades. I talk to them and try to
encourage them to continue their education. If they really cannot deal with
their low grades in school, I offer them alternatives such as vocational
courses.”
Gen. Garcia has taken on the challenge
of defying the age-old belief that a college diploma is the only key to a
person’s success. “These days, it no longer applies that a college graduate
would get to practice what he studied. In fact, there are many college
graduates who have a hard time getting employed. There are now other options to
obtaining skills that can make a person qualified for a wide array of jobs. We had
this idea that perhaps TESDA can help us because they offer bundled courses
that our scholars can take for 2 years, 1 ½ years, or even 1 year. Such bundled
courses can make our scholars multi-qualified for employment.”
According to Michelle S. Chan, HERO
Foundation’s Director for Marketing and Resource Mobilization, they have
started talks with TESDA regarding a possible partnership in letting HERO
scholars avail of their vocational courses. “If TESDA could give free
scholarships and HERO would continue to stipend, it’s going to be very helpful
to our scholars. In fact, we have one scholar in Davao who already has his own
family and he thinks that it wouldn’t be practical for him to take a four-year
engineering course. He wants to graduate but a four-year course is just way too
long for him. He knows that he needs to start earning soon, so now he wants to
avail of the short courses offered by TESDA. Should he push through with his two-year
vocational course, HERO would still provide him the same P16,000 stipend per
year,” Chan said.
Beyond
Education
On top of supporting the education of
its scholars, HERO also aims to extend its assistance a notch higher by helping
in their employment after they graduate. This way, the foundation really
fulfils its intention to guide military orphans into becoming productive
members of society.
“I encourage our scholars to identify
the companies they want be employed with, get the names of the presidents or
recruitment officers, and I would personally write their recommendation
letters,” Gen. Garcia said. “I would state that they are scholars of HERO
Foundation and that they are sons and daughters of soldiers who died fighting
for the country. Maybe that way the management would give a little
consideration to our scholars.”
Getting involved in the potential
employment of its scholars is a new step for HERO but Gen. Garcia is optimistic
that they would be able to get the support they need, especially from the
foundation’s corporate donors and the companies who have been sponsoring the
education of many its scholars.
HERO stands by its commitment to help
rear the orphans of our fallen soldiers by providing them the right education
that will sustain their livelihood. “Our message to our soldiers is this: you
have given up your life serving the country, and we get to continue on with our
lives because of your sacrifice. This assistance that we are extending to your
children will be our expression of gratitude. We will also continue to
encourage people to pitch in and help give military orphans a share of the good
life their noble parents afforded us,” Gen. Garcia concluded.