Project Phil: Education Is Surest Way Out of Poverty
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Project Phil is a US-based 501c3 charitable organization that believes that “every Filipino student deserves a quality education, and every Filipino family deserves access to food, medicine and the essentials necessary to live a dignified life.” These sentiments are greatly aligned with the Philippine government’s long-term goal of ending poverty in the country by 2040. This Filipino vision, shared with Asian Development Bank and the United Nations, is referred to as The Ambisyon Natin 2040 (Our Ambition 2040) which states the Philippines by 2040 will be a prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where no one is poor.
Though these efforts to eradicate poverty are prevalent in the international arena, very few charitable organizations are exclusively focused on servicing the Philippines, and fewer still are led by extraordinary Filipino educators and medical professionals. Project Phil is a grassroots organization that has been serving communities across the Philippines since 2017.
Through the hands-on community-based efforts of its founders Cathy Valeros and Ben Pousty, along with Vicky Sureta and their dedicated team of volunteers on-the-ground in the Philippines, Project Phil has awarded over 500 scholarships and delivered food, medicines and other essentials to over 3,000 families in need and counting.
Cathy and Ben with their ten scholarship students, January 2017
How Project Phil Started
In 2010, when the Philippine Medical Association of Michigan (PMAM) went searching for volunteers for a medical mission in Ilocos Norte, Cathy Valeros and Vicky Sureta quickly jumped at the opportunity. Their generous spirit would soon become intertwined. Cathy and Vicky became acquainted during their medical mission in Ilocos Norte. Both shared the same values regarding philanthropy and the social uplift of Filipinos.
In 2016, Cathy joined another PMAM mission in Pampanga. After the medical mission in Pampanga, she traveled two hours east to Bulacan where she stayed with Dr. Benita Blanco, who was a physician volunteer for PMAM. While Cathy was in Bulacan, Dr. Blanco gave her a tour of The Mater Dei Academy. Cathy was inspired by the idea that she could help students from low-income backgrounds have access to quality education.
Mater Dei Academy Faculty, 2019
She says, “In our adult life, this has left us feeling very grateful and thankful for the opportunities we were given and what our parents worked so hard for. We understand that does not happen for everyone and life can be a lottery and vary differently based on where we are born. We felt this would be the best way to start giving back.” When she returned to New York, Cathy and her husband, Ben, decided on financially supporting ten scholarships at The Mater Dei Academy.
Having a large direct impact on the lives of students helped motivate the couple to continue fundraising to help more students. Later in the year, Cathy and Ben launched a personal fundraiser to sponsor scholarships for 10 students in the new school year.
In 2017, Ben joined Cathy on another PMAM Medical Mission in Cagayan Luzon and afterwards they got the opportunity to meet their 10 scholarship students and deliver the microscopes and learning resources in-person. The couple officially co-founded Project Phil in September 2017.
Launching Humanitarian Aid Program
Vicky, who was born and raised in Baguio, spoke of her aid relief efforts in Pasay City. Vicky described stories of cooking for the community and hosting feeding events with her friend Aida. Vicky was engaged in fundraising efforts and was doing on-the-ground work to gather supplies and deliver food packages, hygiene products and clothing for all of the families she served. This had inspired Cathy and Ben, and they decided to incorporate Vicky’s aid program into Project Phil’s mission work.
By 2018, Project Phil had launched Vicky's humanitarian aid program. During the pandemic, Project Phil provided computers for virtual learning in low-income communities for families who do not have access to digital tools. They have also provided relief to areas hit by natural disasters. Other aid relief efforts include provisions for families who live in cemeteries, where there are issues of human trafficking. Project Phil has also expanded to support people with disabilities such as spina bifida. Overall they have delivered over 200 balikbayan box aid packages across various communities throughout the Philippines.
According to Vicky, “So many wonderful things have happened over the past seven years, and we continue to receive beautiful feedback from our beneficiaries.”
Humanitarian Aid Program distributions in Bulacan, 2022.
The Heart of Project Phil is Education
With the help of Project Phil’s extensive fundraising efforts, Dr. Blanco and her colleagues eventually founded the Mater Dei College of Agribusiness. The academic program's mission is to nurture the environment and teach students inexpensive and innovative ways of making agricultural crops become affordable through the integration of science, faith, technology and business innovations in order to provide sustainable solutions to the problem of hunger and poverty. Education is at the root of what has turned Project Phil into the success that it is today.
Cathy and Ben met as friends while studying as undergrads at Binghamton University. She says, “A big connection we shared was that we both came from immigrant parents who sacrificed a lot to come to the United States and build a home for their family. Both of our families valued education and helping others.”
Since its launch in 2017, Project Phil has awarded over 500 scholarships, and has supported over 108 private high school and college scholarships students for the 2023-24 school year.
Since its launch in 2017, Project Phil has awarded over 500 scholarships, and has supported over 108 private high school and college scholarships students for the 2023-24 school year. Through Project Phil’s endeavors, many students have graduated high school to pursue a college education. Some have gone to trade school, and have started successful careers in education, agriculture, business, medicine, and more.
Project Phil is focused on awarding more college and private high school scholarships and helping more families in financial need in the Philippines. Through a partnership with De Cecco, the organization delivered over 3,000 pounds of pasta across various communities in the Philippines in 2023. This year, Project Phil is slated to support youth programs in Mindanao through a new partnership with a community-based org called OperationMerienda.org.
To learn more about Project Phil and donate, please visit https://www.projectphil.org.
Elaine Joy Edaya Degale is a Black-Filipina writer and lecturer at community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY), and has an Ed.M. and M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
She graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College where she studied International Relations and Development, and continues to support literacy and food programming efforts in indigenous communities through her Community-Based organization, OperationMerienda.org.