DEEP IN THE Cordillera mountains of northern Luzon and in the Visayan region of Samar-Leyte— among the poorest regions in the Philippines—indigenous children from subsistence farming families are too often denied access to education, with poverty driving high rates of school dropout.
This August, Catholics in Orange County have a chance to change that. The Diocese of Orange San Jose Filipino Ministry (DOSJFM, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) is hosting a benefit concert for the Sandiwaan Center for Learning in the Philippines. The concert brings together internationally acclaimed musicians to fill the evening of Aug. 16, with music and fellowship in order to raise at least $25,000. The funds raised will be used for the installation of six AI learning innovation hubs in one of the Philippines’ most impoverished communities —a project approved by the Department of Education of the Philippines for 23 DepEd divisions.
The hubs will bring 3D learning boards, virtual- and augmented-reality educational technology, alongside an AI learning platform, to six schools serving an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 Alternative Learning System students in Cordillera’s indigenous communities. This platform, the prototype matches instruction to each student’s specific gaps in schooling, reducing the burden of costly textbooks and easing the load on teachers. Philippine Education Secretary Sonny Angara has approved the DepEd IT Division’s decision to provide Starlink connectivity for the project, keeping the remote schools online. Under the supervision of trained teachers, students can access educational resources without relying on costly textbooks by using the online AI learning platform.
Established in 1986, the Sandiwaan Center for Learning has served more than 15,000 students in the Philippines’ poorest communities for 39 years, under the leadership of Fr. Benigno Beltran, a missionary priest of the Society of the Divine Word, whose ministry has included the scavenger communities of the Smoky Mountain dumpsite. Charity lies at the heart of Catholic teachings incorporated in the educational program, and Fr. Beltran’s lifelong commitment to restoring hope through education makes this concert a natural extension of this mission.
Titled “Sandiwaan Benefit Concert,” the event takes place Sunday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m. at the Poong Jesus Nazareno Filipino Catholic Center (PJNFCC) in the Birheng Maria Fellowship Hall. The PJNFCC, located at 3700 W. Orange Ave. in Anaheim, is the only active Filipino Catholic center in the United States. The event’s program celebrates Filipino culture through folk songs, original Filipino music (OPM), ballads, classical selections and jazz standards, classical and jazz piano selections, internationally acclaimed baritone Dr. José Maldonado, and Eric Le Van, classical pianist and recording artist who has performed at the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress. Seating is limited. For tickets, donations and sponsorships, visit bit.ly/sandiwaan.