In Matthew 25:32-40, Jesus said, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

Then Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these children or brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.”

An assessment of the Out-of-School Children and Youth (OSCY) situation in the Philippines showed the following:

1. The range of the OSCY aged 6-24 is estimated to be from a low 4.7 million to a high of 11.2 million;
2. The major cause of the high proportion of the OSCY is poverty.  Although public primary and high school education are free, many poor families are unable to finance ancillary school needs of their children;
3. About 65% of the OSCY are basic education (Elementary and Secondary) dropouts;
4. Most scholarships are for those who got high grades in school;
5. Among the weaknesses of these OSCY are low to average intellectual level, low self-esteem, lack of coping mechanism and problem-solving skills and are generally pessimistic.

The Sabang Church of Christ Disciples(SCCD) as the proponent of this project catered to the first batch recipients. They were the rehabilitated malnourished children served under the Supplemental Feeding Project in Simborio last 2006. Six indigent children were enrolled at the Disciples Learning Academy to attend Pre-school and onwards to Elementary.  This is a five-year project which started in school year 2008-2009 for its pilot phase.

Thank you for checking out this important SCCD scholarship program. We praise and thank God for  kind-hearted and committed people who helped finance the education of 29 out-of-school children/youths and make a difference in their lives. One of these young people is now a professional Civil Engineer. Our goal is to add 20 or more indigent children to the Scholarship program every year. We need you to help us reach our goal of educating the underprivileged children in our community. Please continue to pray for this important ministry. May god richly bless you!