(CARE CENTER. CDC president-CEO Noel F. Manankil (4th from left) and CDC chair Jose “Ping” de Jesus (6th from left) lead ribbon-cutting rites with (L-R) CDC AVP-External Affairs Rommel Narciso, CDC directors Jon Castro and Atty. Ana Liza Peralta, O.B. Montessori Center Founder Dr. Preciosa S. Soliven, DepEd Angeles Division superintendent Leilani S. Cunanan, and OB Montessori COO Sara Soliven-De Guzman. Photos by Bong Lacson)
CLARK FREEPORT — The Clark Development Corp. (CDC) together with the OB Montessori launched the “Pagsasarili Family Care Center” here for the Indigenous People (IPs) on Monday.
The center is temporarily housed at the newly constructed building at the Clark Skills and Training Center, formerly the Clark Polytechnic Compound.
The temporary facility features an exhibit hall, an auditorium and other amenities like dining area, training rooms, kitchen and comfort rooms.
It was announced that the permanent learning center for the program will be at the Barn House Building 2092 here once the construction and improvement are been completed.
CDC chair Jose Ping” De Jesus said the project intends to develop the ancestral domain of the indigenous Aetas in the area by physically and economically developing its human capital to cultivate a sustainable community for them.
The early learning experience of the Aeta children will help promote the growth of their social and economic development profile, he said.
The program is intended for IP communities in the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) 025A area.
It is also part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) project of CDC and it will cover a total of 50 Aeta children from ages three to four.
(Mayor Cris Garbo takes in infant-care instructions at the center.)
The program will teach the children useful information on cognitive learning and human and social development in their formative years.
Their classes will be divided into two sessions where they will also be taught values and human development, proper sanitation, hygiene and basic health care for IPs.
(Hygiene and grooming orientation.)
The beneficiaries of the program will also be provided school materials from O.B. Montessori, meals, vitamins, school uniforms and free transportation from CDC.
(Home economics 101.)
Along with this, their parents and other adults will also learn practical and livelihood skills as they guide their kids during the entire duration of the project.
Four Katutubo teachers who were trained under OB Montessori will be commissioned to teach the Aeta children and adults.
To ensure the sustainability of the program, the Department of Education (DepEd) Region III also partnered with CDC and OB Montessori to help the children for further education once they finished the course of the program.
The Mabalacat City local government and the Municipality of Bamban, Tarlac also supported the project.
CDC president-CEO Noel F. Manankil, OB Montessori Child and Community Foundation Inc. executive vice president Sara Francesca Soliven-De Guzman, OB Montessori Child and Community Foundation Inc. OIC Beverly Joy Ciencia, DepEd OIC-superintendent Leilani Cunanan, Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo, Bamban Mayor Jose Antonio Feliciano of Tarlac represented by Chery Pascua, and CDC External Affairs Department assistant vice president Rommel Narciso signed a memorandum of agreement for the provision of the said program.
