In support of Don Bosco’s mission to educate, evangelize and capacitate Filipino youth, BDO Foundation has constructed a new technical-vocational training facility for the Don Bosco Boys Home and Vocational Training Center in Iloilo.
To mark the completion of the project, the foundation recently turned over the two-storey structure to the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco in a virtual event attended by BDO leadership.
The turn over was witnessed by BDO Unibank and BDO Foundation chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson, BDO Unibank president and CEO and BDO Foundation trustee Nestor V. Tan, BDO Foundation president Mario A. Deriquito, BDO Foundation trustees Ma. Corazon Mallillin and Ismael Estela Jr., BDO Central Operations Group Facilities and Procurement head Aurea Imelda Montejo, BDO Visayas and Mindanao region head Cyrus Polloso, and BDO Iloilo area head Sheila Marie Uygongco.
The facility was graciously accepted by administrators led by Fr. Dindo Vitug, Fr. Godofredo Atienza, Fr. Alan Ross Banogon, and Don Bosco Boys Home and Vocational Training Center technical director Fr. Allen George Elevado.
According to Fr. Elevado, “We prayed for a building that would help us in our growing ministry of providing skills training, attitude transformation and spiritual renewal for underserved youth. Without hesitation, BDO Foundation gave us a new building with facilities, equipment and tools. It’s a complete package. What a great gift!”
This is BDO Foundation’s second partnership project with the Salesians. In 2019, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank built a similar structure for the Don Bosco Training Center in Mati City, Davao Oriental.
The construction of both buildings as well as the provision of tools, equipment, and furniture for the training of students were made possible by BDO employees through BDO Exclusives, a program that enables employees to contribute to the foundation’s corporate citizenship initiatives.
Located in the first-class municipality of Dumangas in Iloilo, the Don Bosco Boys Home and Vocational Training Center educates indigent and out-of-school youth in the Visayas, preparing them for gainful employment in the Philippines and abroad.
The building BDO Foundation constructed at the center will serve as a place where senior high school students can learn technical-vocational livelihood skills through workshops and classroom instruction. The new building will also enable administrators to introduce new courses, accommodate more enrollees and teach more learners. More than 140 students per school year will benefit from the facility.
BDO Foundation’s initiative in Iloilo contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal no. 8 to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
It also fulfills the foundation’s advocacy to support areas affected by disasters. Dumangas was one of several towns placed under a state of calamity in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda.