With living and household expenses escalating every year, the burden of saving for a child’s education becomes more and more challenging for parents. For homemaker Marisa Santillan, who has three kids currently in school, paying bills and shouldering daily expenses often leave little for living, let alone saving.
So, the windfall that she recently received—a P100,000 prize from Colgate Philippines’ Scholarship Promo—truly came as a big blessing. She is among the 25 grand-prize winners that each received the promo’s scholarship prize.
Marisa’s participation in Colgate’s scholarship program happened on a whim—she saw a poster on the Colgate Scholarship Promo in the grocery store and she immediately joined, instinctively feeling she would win. “Malakas ang kutob ko na makukuha kami. At iyon nga ang nangyari, nakuha namin yung P100,000!” remarks Marisa.
Since her eldest son is now in college, Marisa nominated her 14-year old son Marken, currently in Grade 8. “Masipag mag-aral si Marken. Kasama rin siya sa top ng kanilang klase. Malaki talaga ang maitutulong ng scholarship na ito para sa pagpasok niya sa college,” shares Marisa.
Marisa only finished high school, yet she holds education in high regard, reminding her children to strive hard to finish school. “Ang gusto ko sa mga anak ko ay makapagtapos sila ng pag-aaral, para mas maganda ang maging buhay nila. Kung mag-aaral sila nang maayos, mas malaki ang chance na makatapos at makakuha ng trabaho,” she says.
While saving for her children’s education is a priority, the income from the family’s sari-sari store, together with what her husband’s income as factory worker, make both ends meet. And, although she strives to meet several other financial obligations, she still offers a helping hand to those in need.
Her son Marken, who wants to be either a doctor or a graphic artist, says that the scholarship prize will be of great help to his family, as this will cover his tuition and school materials. “Nakikita ko ang hirap ng aking magulang na magtrabaho para makapagbigay ng aming mga kailangan, kaya malaking bagay sa akin na nanalo kami ng P100,000 para sa pag-kolehiyo ko,” says Marken.
Marisa says the scholarship prize from Colgate will provide them with the start-up funds they need for Marken’s education. She will open a savings account and ensure that the money is used only when Marken goes to college.
“Education has always been a cornerstone of Colgate’s community service programs,” said Jay Custodio, associate director for Oral Care, Colgate-Palmolive Philippines. “Through this initiative, we aim to provide more Filipino children access to education so they can take advantage of the opportunities it opens to achieve a brighter future that they can smile about.”
Extending its commitment to education, Colgate also provides financial assistance to select dentistry students and conducts dental symposia to partner dental schools (with Philippine Association of Dental Colleges), and drives oral health education among young students through the global Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program in partnership with the Department of Education.