The Philippines belong to the 3rd World country, there’s no doubt about that. This is a country where many parents don’t know what to do about their children’s education, that’s because they don’t even know where to get their next meal for a day to think about other expenses such as education. That is one of the sad predicaments of this tiny country off the the South China sea. Children who got lucky finishing secondary education will have a hard time going to the next level of education, because it’s too costly to be in college, expenses for transportation is just too much for a common or within the poverty line families, so children will tend to stop their studies, hoping that next year or the year after next or the next …, their families can afford to send them to college, but to some, it’s like trying to catch fish in a basin. Secondary education is not even enough to equip children so that they can land a small time job just to support their plan to pursue college education, they only end up helping their families cope up with their daily living.
In this country, no more than 30% of its population knew that an institution offering free secondary education all year round since 1985 exists. Yes folks for FREE!, as in free of bonding or whatsoever, just like Open Source Technologies, this institution’s name is The Sisters of Mary School, a catholic school founded by an American priest. Fr. Aloysius Schwartz was a newly ordained priest then when he became a missionary priest in war torn South Korea (just after the Korean war), he saw the sufferings of Koreans, elders with no one taking care of, abandoned children and infants, women and men from broken families, homeless and mentally-handicapped elderly men, and people suffering from tuberculosis. He took pity with what he saw, and from then on, he started his lifelong mission, to change the lives of these society outcasts. It was in South Korea that he started the mission given to him by Christ, with the help of friends from his country, he was able to build an institution whose primary work is to alleviate the suffering of the poor. With God’s grace combined with the good priest’s sacrifice, he was able to extend his mission in different countries, and we are lucky, he chose our country to be one of those whom he wanted to help through Christ. With an invitation from then Archbishop of Manila , Jaime Cardinal Sin, Fr. Schwartz brought to our shore the Sisters of Mary School.
In 1985, he and the sisters started in Sta. Mesa, Manila a Boystown and Girlstown in Talisay, Cebu for the very poor children. Since the boys need more space for sports, agriculture, driving lessons and other necessary activities, bigger parcels of land were purchased and buildings were constructed for them.
Thus, in 1991, the boys from Sta. Mesa were transferred to Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
And in 1995 those of Talisay, Cebu were transferred to Minglanilla, Cebu. At present, the Sisters of Mary Girlstown in Sta. Mesa was already transferred in Silang, Cavite, Philippines (former Boystown Campus) because the environment in Sta. Mesa, Manila is already not convenient for their education. The boys were now transferred to a newly constructed campus in Adlas, Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
Now, even when the good priest had passed away (due to sickness), his charitable works were continued by the sisters (South Korea, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico) and by the graduates. From then on, every year, an estimated 4,000 Filipino boys and girls, graduate in secondary school for free, they pay back nothing but the promise to continue practicing what the sisters and Fr. Al had thought them, i.e. to live a life where Christ is the center of all. Thus their motto says: Serve the Lord with Joy. As the number of graduates grow every year, the alumni is now making moves to share whatever little they have so that this free institution continue to exist and free always.
