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The Wellness Development Foundation, Ince. (WDFI)
Projects Supported by the Organization

Description of Project

     The town of Tiaong is one of the poorest municipalities, if not the poorest, in the western portion of the Province of Quezon. Situated between Mount Banahaw, which connects to the nearby Sierra Madre mountain ranges, and Mount Malarayat, a multi-peak mountain whose main peak is in the Province of Batangas, Tiaong has long been a haven and breeding ground not only of rebels, but also of criminals who are able to easily elude the long-arm of the law by finding sanctuary in these mountain ranges. Last year's list of Ten (10) Most Wanted Criminals included three (3) from Tiaong.
     In 2003, it was decided that Tiaong would be a prime take-off point for our NGO's poverty alleviation program. Since then, we have been providing training to indigent farmers to help them increase their yields and generate more revenues, especially through supplementary agri-businesses (usually rice and vegetables) that provided additional sources of income. Due to various factors such as
adverse soil, weather, water supply, and high fertilizer costs, it has been an uphill struggle trying to increase individual farmer's income.
     We realized that the most practical and effective way to get the farmers out of the poverty-rut is to provide their childrenbetter opportunities to earn a living in non-agricultural endeavors, without abandoning our assistance to the parent-farmers. Thus, we decided to focus on education by establishing a socialized technical college, known as "Asian Institute of Technology and Education-
Tiaong," which commenced operations on June 13, 2005 with an initial enrollment of one hundred and ten (110) students. For this purpose, a cooperative, i.e., Quezon BETU Multipurpose Cooperative (QBMC), was organized to own, manage, and operate the school. QBMC offers tuition-free education to students who are required to pay only for operating costs and equipment depreciation amounting to Four Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-Five Pesos (P 4,995.00) each per trimester, which is barely one-fourth (¼) of the tuition fees that are charged by STI or AMA for the same course per trimester.
     Like any other socialized and altruistic project, the school operates on a non-profit basis and anticipates a "loss" in its first year of operations due to the initial low enrolment rate of new schools where the numbers fall short of the minimum number of students needed to attain self-sustainability. The school expects to be self-sustainable in one to two years when enrollment is expected to surpass two hundred and fifty (250) students. Since the school is not sufficiently funded and has minimal resources, it is right now in need of fifteen (15) more computers, books of recent publication, desks, cabinets, and other school furniture, as well as more rooms and space. In other words, the school, in its very first year of operations, badly needs additional funding by way of donations and grants, loans (preferably interest-free), and other forms of financial assistance. Total additional funding requirement is estimated at One Million Pesos (P 1,000,000.00) or roughly US$20,000,00, whether in cash or in kind.
     The QBMC officers and staff are trained by two non-governmental organizations, namely, Citizens National Network against Poverty and Corruption and Agricultural Management Services (Agriman)under the personal direction and supervision of its founder, Dr. Steve Legasto. In his mind, there is no question this particular project will have a positive impact on the lives of the people of Tiaong and a reduction in the incidence of poverty and criminality based in the area.