08 August 2018, San Fernando City, La Union. FEED’s VP of Operations, Diane Penales, and Director of Partnerships, Ms. Anne-Marie Mananquil Bakker, urged the FEED Board to consider the scholarship application of Ms. Rizza Jean Delos Santos Ventura – FEED’s first applicant originating from Mindanao (General Santos City); and the first FEED scholar to attend schooling at our latest LIVING LEGACY partner establishment, the Union Christian College in San Fernando City, La Union.

How I Met Feed & Applied for the Scholarship

By Rizza Jean Delos Santos Ventura

“My name is Ms. Rizza Jean Delos Santos Ventura, 24 years of age from General Santos City, Mindanao….My parents are already senior citizens, so I am seeking to create better opportunities for my future so that I can support them in time.

Currently, I live in Urbiziondo, San Juan, La Union with one of my elder sisters, Rhea Delos Santos Ventura; she is a board-rack owner and founder of Jongky Surf School, where I met Ms. Diane and Ms. Anne who are both certified weekend instructors there; they first hired me with FEED’s approval to carry out 3 months of trial book-keeping services for FEED to test my skills and capabilities; then she interviewed me and reviewed my transcript of records and my future aspirations; and she encouraged me to apply for a FEED scholarship. FEED will also launch its ECOSURF program this year, where I would also be able to support.

I realize that FEED is focused on sustainability, environment and education; and I would like to point out that in any environmental organization such as FEED, there is also a need to have a strong financial background and operations, which is where I can offer my services in return to FEED during my studies and even afterwards. The volume of receipts for bookkeeping is of such a nature that I could still support your operations even during and well after my studies; knowing it will also provide me with real-life experience in accounting, financial administration, forecasting, analyses and audit.

My Credentials, Professional and Personal Background

Presently, I have credentials recognizing me as a first year student in the Bachelor of Secondary Education – Major in English (BSED) at Notre Dame Siena College of Polomolok – having completed my first year last 2015. Credits of which can be applied to my continued studies, should this scholarship be approved.

During my studies in 2015, I was a working student at our Pastor’s family church with the Bible Centered Fellowship, Inc. My job involved carrying out all household chores and baby-sitting their two children, also organizing, managing and leading all the activities in our church – in exchange, our Pastor’s family provided me with a scholarship covering my first year college tuition and my daily living expenses (board and lodging), which were minimal.

Looking back, I am very grateful to the Pastor’s kind family for enabling me to reach and pass the first year, but by the second semester and the remainder of my college they faced financial constraints, and so did my family, so I had to seek a full time job – which at the time in GenSan, was very difficult to do, due to limited job opportunities and furthermore, very low pay.

So, I sought help from my elder sister Rhea who was running her business with her family in La Union, and was able fortunately to obtain a managerial function running the Accounting, HR and Operations of one of the more successful dining establishments in La Union.

Now, although I am able to send all my earnings back to support my parents in GenSan, I wish to study again in God’s Grace and in your kindness, to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting & Finance Management – a field of study I love very much and for which – since working in La Union – I pursued my own self-study through online books and education (free courses), so that the quality of my work also improved.

UCC offers one of the more price/quality competitive courses in Finance and Accounting, and I am confident I will pass and be a part of the statistic of successful first-time licensure passers.

Additionally, I was also informed that under the leadership of UCC’s President Mr. Jeffrey Tilan is a long-time supporter of the environment and advisor to La Union; and FEED has an ongoing bio-intensive garden and rehabilitation of a FOOD FOREST on their campus.

If ever the FEED Board would consider granting me a scholarship, I will surely return the kindness you show by sincerely giving back to the community by joining FEED Inc. in any Educational and Environmental Activities you are carrying out in La Union, and especially the accounting/finance capacities your esteemed organization needs. It would be an honor to do so, as FEED has a solid and respectable reputation we can continue to enhance and support in all its advocacies.

Thank you very much for your kind consideration. God bless everyone working at and with FEED, and more power to your mission and future.”

It is thanks to students like Rizza Jean that FEED continues to have high hopes for the future youth leaders of the Philippines. More power to you all!

FEED Scholars

FEED Scholars are selected from various academic institutions that have been approved as FEED Partners, including the following reputed Colleges, Technical Training Centres, Universities and other agencies that deliver water/food/energy related solutions for the Philippines.

Through its Living Legacy environmental intervention programs, and support from a wide array of corporations, students and other partners volunteers, FEED is able to provide scholarship support to graduate and postgraduate students pursuing studies in Sustainability and Science related studies and practical research that support non-governmental as well as private sector organisations working in the fields of water, food and energy:

FEED contributes primarily towards practical research carried out by scholars, especially in studies related direct interventions with tangible results and beneficial impacts on particularly marginalised communities and livelihood development opportunities, related to the water-food-energy nexus identified by various global agencies, and prevalent challenges adopted by the Philippine government,the public and private sectors.

As a conduit, by working with the private sector, FEED facilitates deserving Philippine students to access, pursue and complete their education and research targets, particularly for those deserving individuals who can neither afford nor have access to learning, including those situated in remote areas.

More information on Scholars here: https://feed.org.ph/directory-of-environmental-education-institutions-in-the-philippines/scholarships/feed-scholars/

About Union Christian College

Union Christian College (UCC) is a Christian Educational institution committed to Whole Person Development in response to societal needs. One of the strategies that UCC is using to realize its goal is Service-Learning. One of the thrusts of UCC is to develop students to have a big heart to be servers of their own community while learning the course content. Primarily, students’ learning of the subject/s content. This thrust is the pillar why UCC embarks on the implementation of service-learning (we serve to discover… and we discover how to serve!).

More about Union Christian College here: https://ucc.edu.ph

Contact FEED

FEED also runs a number of Students and Volunteers for the Environment (SAVE); Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – such as mangrove planting for coastal protection or ridge reforestation plantings; One Child, One Tree; Bio-Intensive Gardens (BIG) for nutrition in public elementary schools and other spaces; Climate Change Survival 101 and other LIVING LEGACY programs – customised environmental engagement activities for individuals and organisations interested in contributing to climate change adaptation efforts and greening critical areas such as watersheds, ridges, and reefs that all require rehabilitation.

Tree-Planting with FEED: Video

Check out the video journey by Clueless Commuter who planted with us (24 June 2017) to get a good idea of how FEED plantings go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPC29Rwr6Pg