School catering to poor youths upgrades campus for digital future
The Sisters of Mary School in Silang, Cavite, a decades-old institution dedicated to providing opportunities for disadvantaged youths, has opened a new facility for digital and technical courses as well as other campus activities and community events.
The Sisters of Mary of Banneux congregation and Fr. Al’s Children Foundation on Saturday inaugurated the Felicidad Sy Hall Digital Transformation Center. The program, held at the school’s Girls’ Town gymnasium, brought together Church leaders, foundation officials, donors and students to mark the completion of the hall.
In her remarks, Sister Maria Cho, SM, vicar general of the Sisters of Mary, said the new facility represents the school’s commitment to expanding opportunities for poor but deserving students.
“Today we dedicate not just a building but a dream of the future for thousands of young Filipinos,” Cho said, as she thanked the project donors and supporters, starting with the Felicidad T. Sy Foundation.
The new facility is named in honor of Felicidad T. Sy, matriarch of the SM Group, whose philanthropic work is carried out by the foundation mostly through initiatives promoting spiritual formation and cultural development. These include building projects for schools, church construction and restoration works.
“She gave not only her resources but also her wisdom and love,” Cho said of the 98-year-old Sy, wife of the late SM Group founder and retail industry pillar Henry Sy Sr. “It is most fitting that a hall dedicated to improving the lives of the poor should bear her name.”
More than 74K alumni
During the Thanksgiving Mass that opened program, Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, underscored the importance of education and community support in helping young people build a better future.
The new facility forms part of a broader effort to strengthen technical and digital training programs at the Sisters of Mary School. It was designed and equipped to prepare students for technology-related careers, said SM Foundation, an affiliate of the Felicidad T. Sy Foundation.
Cho said the center would help students develop skills in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, automation, cloud computing, cybersecurity and data analytics.
“With more than 73,000 alumni and over 10,000 students across our campuses, we continue to take bold steps toward preparing our children for a rapidly changing world,” she said.
Skills for digital economy
Carlos Rufino, president of Fr. Al’s Children Foundation, said the project grew out of discussions on how to help students acquire skills suited to the digital economy.
“We wanted to build something that would help our students gain higher-level skills as they prepare to graduate,” Rufino said. “This digital transformation center is meant to help them face a different world ahead and achieve better outcomes.”
“This new area will have new classrooms and technologies you’ve heard about—augmented reality, drones and other tools that will help prepare you for the future,” Rufino said.
Deborah Sy, chair of the grants committee of the Felicidad T. Sy Foundation, said “Our beloved Nanang Felicidad lived a simple truth: That education and hard work are the foundations of a dignified life.”
“She believed that an opportunity to learn is also an opportunity to transform,” she said of her grandmother.
Imelda Elido, the foundation’s executive director, said “One of the thrusts of the Felicidad T. Sy Foundation is to support activities of the Catholic Church, and this project is one of them.”
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
