Wengie's Quest For Education

WENGIE'S QUEST FOR EDUCATION!
I am asking you to give whatever you can to help Wengie, a young lady in Dipolog City, Philippines, to finish her college education and earn her degree in Accounting.

Background:  I met Wengie when I was shooting a documentary in the Philippines several years ago.  She was 16 then and in high school.  Due to her involvement with the documentary, her school attendance improved, her grades improved, and she actually qualified for college— something none of the locals expected.  A couple of years later she quit her studies in Accounting to go to work in order to help pay for the education expenses of her younger siblings.  She is now 27. 

She is currently enrolled in her LAST semester at Dipolog Medical Center-College Foundation-De La Salle Supervised.  Also known as DMC De La Salle. If she receives enough money for this FINAL semester, she will be able to graduate with a degree in Acountancy and-- provided she gets a job --might possibly be able to help her family get out of poverty.  

I am contacting you because, well, paying for all her school expenses is a lot for one person to take on.  I’m not sugar coating it. I’m flat out asking for help.

More information below:

 Name:  Wengie (no last names at this time, for her privacy and safety.) 
Age: 27
Location: Diopolog City, Philippines. 

Family:
Mother: Juvy
Wengie:  Eldest daughter. 
Wengie has three sisters and two brothers.  

The mother is the driving engine behind the family.  She has a sari-sari store in front of their house, but often it does not bring in anything. She volunteers with an NGO. The mother's name is Juvy and she is getting ready to work abroad in Saudi Arabia, so she can help support her children.  I advised her against that, but it does show that she’s willing to work and wants to support her family. 

In Filipino culture, the eldest daughter is the “Ate,” and is considered in some ways like a second mother.  Wengie is the “Ate”.  Her younger siblings look to her to help provide food, pay the bills, and pay their education expenses.  Her mother really does expect Wengie to help the entire family.  But, to my understanding, the mom also supports Wengie's return to school.  However, in this particular situation, paying for your own schooling expenses and, at the same time,  trying to financially support all your brothers and sisters is just too much for one young woman to take on.  Even if she wasn’t going to school, trying to support a Mother and four siblings on about $5 a day is not possible.  

Housing:  The family lives in an “Urban Poor Resettlement Area” — a squatter’s village — in the Tumaga neighborhood of Zamboanga.  The house has the typical corrugated tin roof, walls made of scrap wood and cardboard. Floor is dirt and bamboo. Bathroom is an outhouse situation.  No plumbing.  It is your typical squatters village shelter.

Despite all this, Wengie is an intelligent and quick-witted individual.  She is fully capable of completing college.  In fact, she's already completed over two years. (To my understanding, Filipino college goes for three years.  Anyway, her course of study at DMC De La Salle is a three year program).

Religion:  Roman Catholic.  

School:
DMC De La Salle.  (Dipolog Medical Center-College Foundation-De La Salle Supervised).

School Address:
Dipolog Medical Center, Fr. Patangan Road, Sta. FIlomena St.,, Father Patangan Rd, Dipolog City, 7100 Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines

Phone:
+63 65 [phone redacted]

School Founded:
1911.

Wengie’s Course of Study:
Accounting. 
This is a very practical choice.  Every store front business, every open market stall, every chicken cart on every intersection of Zamboanga City needs an Accountant.

Average cost of tuition, books, and other school expenses per semester:

Tuition –  19865 Phil pesos     ($425 USD).
Books –   10,000 Phil pesos    ($215 USD). 

Sub-total for 5 semesters -
                 149,956 Phil pesos ($3,200 USD).

 She also needs a laptop –
                      35,146 Phil pesos    ($750 USD)..

OUR OVER ALL GOAL - $3,950. USD
ALREADY RAISED -          $2,970. USD 

We can do this!

Without our help, there is no way Wengie will finish her education-- and she's so close!  But with our help, she can earn her Accounting degree, get a decent job, and then start to help her family out of poverty.  You are not just helping with education expenses, you will be making a lasting difference in an entire family’s life. 

Thank you very much for considering this request.

Now please share this post with everyone that you think might be interested.

All the best,
John Nosack