Forging the Future

Jeffrey Bolito, a grade six student of Krus na Ligas Elementary School, had not gone beyond zeroes in his English exams.

“I had a hard time understanding English,” he explained in Filipino.

That was before Project Forge (PF) came to his school. Now his teacher says he is earning good grades.

PF is a formative outreach program that aims to promote a spirit of volunteerism among university students by giving them a venue to practice it. For six consecutive Saturdays each semester, volunteers go to nearby public schools, namely, Krus na Ligas Elementary School and San Vicente Elementary School, to tutor students in Math, English, and Values.

For the remedial sessions, volunteers use modules instilled with values such as courtesy, order, punctuality, obedience, and cheerfulness that are taught for a few minutes before each Math or English topic. Project Forge emphasizes that aside from teaching academics, values education is key to the total development of a student.

According to Lester, a former Project Manager of PF, only excellent students are allowed to volunteer “to ensure their effectiveness.” They either announce an application date or invite students they know personally.

To sharpen their understanding of values and virtues, the volunteers are given a one-hour seminar focused on human development, leadership, and human values after every tutoring session.

This project hits two birds with one stone. One, public elementary school students are given a boost in their academics and in their character. Two, volunteer-teachers themselves are formed in commitment and fortitude, as teaching these students is no joke.

Project Forge started in 2001, and had helped more than 500 elementary school students. It had also formed more than hundreds of student-volunteers.

The noble aim of the project convinced Philamlife, a private insurance company, and the Foundation for East Asian Development (FEAD) to award it with grants. It was also presented in the 2004 UNIV International Congress in Rome as an example of an initiative of university students to help educate the needy.

Engineering senior Jose-Angelo, one of the student volunteers, says that he considers PF “as a way of returning to [his] country what [he] owe[s] it.”

It may be too soon to see the fruits of Project Forge in the public elementary school students. Big changes usually take plenty of time to realize. However, one can be sure that the project is a step toward the goal of forming the youth in character and competence.