Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao
Program H.E.L.P.: Help End Learning Poverty
Finalist, Benefitting Society
About
Addressing the 90.5% learning poverty rate in the Philippines, Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao’s Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement (CSCE) launched Project H.E.L.P. (Help End Learning Poverty) on September 22, 2023. Beyond a reading intervention, the project functions as a formal study evaluating instructional materials and session delivery. In its first year, volunteers conducted bi-monthly sessions for Grades 1–3 at Langub Elementary School. The second year saw the initiative evolve into a formal program, expanding to include kindergarten pupils at New Matina Elementary School. By its third year, the program refined its strategy to focus on the critical early years (Kindergarten and Grade 1) and reached R.C. Quimpo Elementary School. Moving forward, we aim to scale this initiative to more schools and are actively seeking partnerships with institutions and companies to broaden our impact and champion the future of young learners.
What is means to win
1. I believe that this program showed how sustained engagement builds trust and measurable literacy gains.
2. We saw how important it is for students and employees to solve real-world challenges.
3. We can spark significant change by bridging academic research with passionate student volunteerism.
Sustainable Development Goals
| 2026 | |
| Benefitting Society | |
| Finalist, International |
