DBP banks on the youth

Marveling at her newfound opportunity to finally pursue her dream of becoming a nurse someday, Gina Baylosis could not express her gratitude enough when she was named one of the scholars under the DBP Endowment for Education Program (DEEP).

Sharing how DEEP came as a sigh of relief for financially challenged students like her.  Gina said, “Who would have thought that we would have an opportunity to have our four years of college fully supported? Most of us do not have enough resources to proceed to college in the first place.”

Like Gina, Jeane Dianne Sual comes from a poor family in Cagayan de Oro City whose meager resources would not suffice for their daily needs, more so for their education. Her father takes an odd jobs, while her mother helps support the family by selling food items. “Although we are poor, our parents encourage us to applu for scholarships and educational assistance in order to finish school. They don’t want us to end up like them,” she said.

While she was among the top graduates of her high school class, Rose Ann Atienza of Dasmarinas, Cavite was unsure if she could even go to college. The daughter of a security guard, Rose Ann knew that her family’s income would be hardly enough to support her through college. Starting with an invitation to apply for DEEp scholarship, her twist of fate happended, and she said: “This is a very opportunity which I am thankful for. With the help of DEEP, I have a chance now to fulfill my dreams for myself and my family.”

Youth empowerment

DEEP is an initiative of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in response to the educational needs of brilliant but underpriviledged Filipino youths. This P1-billion corporate social responsbility project was launched in 2008 with the goal of supporting qualified high school graduates who wish to pursue higher educaion.

DBP president and chief executive officer Reynaldo G. David said that the P1-billion funding for DEEP will finance the 10-year program that will support 10 batches of scholars.

DEEP scholars graduated in the top 20% of their class, and belong to families with annual incomes that do not exceed P150,000. Most of them are children of farmers, laborers, drivers, teachers, housewives, electricians, mechanics, vendors, retired policemen, and soldiers. scholarship assistance extended to them under the program covers the whole range of their requirements including cost of living and allowances.

DBP chairman Patricia A. Sto. Tomas said DEEP enables the bank to focus on directly providing a timely and much-needed social development intervention. “We have focused this intervention on helping young and truly poor Filipinos to have access to better opportunities so that in the end, we can help build a liberated and liberating national economy,” she added.

Supporting future nurses

Gina, Jeane and Rose Ann are among more than a hundred nursing students who made it to the initial batch of scholars on the first year of implementation of DEEP in 2008. Seleted from among applicants across the regions, they are now enrolled in DEEP partner-schools selected from the best in the country. These partner-schools include: St.Louis University in Baguio City; West Visayas State University in Iloilo City; Cebu Normal University in Cebu City; Mindanao State University in Lanao del Sur; Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City; and Trace College in Los, Banos, Laguna.

Through DEEP-Nursing, DBP aims to ensure that adequate and continuing supply of qualified nurses for the country’s domestic requirements; respond to the growing demand for trained and qualified Filipino nurses in global markets; and thus, enhances the country’s earning potential from its overseas Filipino workers.

Changing times, emerging needs

Inspired by the initial success of DEEP, DBP carries on with the program with a re-focused thrust of assisting more than 300 high school graduates who wish to take up technical/vocational and maritime courses.

This year, DEEP addresses the projected huge demand for Filipino seafares to man international vessels in the next 15 to 20 years, as well as the continued demand for skilled workers such as cooks, welders, caregives, lathe machin operators, and electronic technicians.

“We have tweaked the program to respond to these international job market requirements. We also see these technical and vocational courses as providing easier and faster employability to our DEEP graduates. The relatively cheaper cost of these courses likewise means we can support more DEEP scholars,” David explained.

He also expressed optimism that DEEP’s shift to short-term courses can provide help to many Filipino families in coping with the current economic crunch. “DEEP resources can be best utilized in short-term skills courses to match the precise needs of the job market and help the most number of unemployed. We will, thus, continue and expand DEEP’s implementation in this direction.”

DBP’s network of partner-schools has been expanded on its second year of implementing DEEP with the addition of Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in Zambales; Maritime Academy of Asia & and the Pacific in Bataan; NYK-TDG Maritime Academy in Canlubang, Laguna; John B. Lacson College Foundation in Iloilo City; DMMA College of Southern Philippines in Davao City; Mariner’s Polytechnic Colleges Foundation in Camarines Sur; Don Bosco Technical College in Mandaluyong City; SEAMAC International Training Institute, Inc. in Manila; and Mindanao Polytechnic College in General Santos City.

Taking program implementation one step further, DBP has also partnered with principals or employers – Norwegian, Japanese, and German shipping companies – that can assure employment for DEEP graduates.

Paying it forward

A unique features of DEEP is its operative principle of “paying it forward.” While scholarsg are not required to pay back the cost of their education, they are encouraged-through values formation – to contribute to the sustainability of the program.

“Through DEEP we hope to tap the potential of talented and gifted Filipino youth, and thus build a small yet significant pool of Filipino professionals who can truly appreciate and put to actions the value of paying it forward,” David explained.

Recognizing DBP’s strong corporate citizenship advocacy through the program, the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific cited DEEP as the 2009 Most Outstanding CSR Project.

“In DBP, we take seriously our corporate social responsibility. This is embedded at the very core of our mandated developmental role. DEEP is a mechanism for giving underpriviledged Filipino youth the opportunities to make a concrete contribution not only for the benefit of their immediate families but Philippine society at large. We would like to encourage our scholars to sustain the program. This way, other poor but deserving students may likewise benefit from the project.” –Manila Standard Today