In the past, Smokey Mountain, located on the northern part of Manila City, was an image of appalling poverty and misery.
The site, which was once Metro Manila’s biggest landfill, became notorious during the 1980s as residents were pictured scouring the mountain of trash for a measly living.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) hopes to erase that image soon.
In celebrating its 133rd anniversary, SMC, through its San Miguel Foundation (SMF), recently unveiled the latest and largest addition to its Better World Community Centers near the Smokey Mountain site.
Development facility
The 3,700-square meter facility will serve as a learning and skills development center for 2,500 families or roughly 12,500 individuals from the historically underserved communities in Tondo, SMC said in a recent press statement.
The Better World Smokey Mountain, the fifth built by the foundation, has 39 modern classrooms spread across four levels.
“As we celebrate San Miguel’s 133rd anniversary, our commitment to nation-building and in helping uplift the lives of more Filipinos, is as strong as ever. And today, a critical challenge in our country is the widening skills gap in our disadvantaged communities, which hinders the progress of many of our kababayans,” SMC president Ramon Ang said in the statement.
“Our goal is to equip our Tondo beneficiaries with essential skills, instill in them a growth mindset, and a vision of a brighter future. By providing these families the opportunity to upskill, we hope to ultimately boost their income levels, decrease unemployment, elevate overall living standards, and help them realize inter-generational change.”
Ang, who grew up in Tondo, also pledged an initial donation of P500 million to help the local government of Manila build more classrooms in the city.
He added that this was in gratitude to the city where he grew up, and further encouraged children from poor families to persevere and study well, because like him, they too can succeed in life.
SMC has been working with partners to boost skills training and entrepreneurship all over the country as part of its overall approach to nation-building which includes investing in critical, job-generating industries that are seen to boost both local and national economies.
Just last August, Ang announced the expansion of a years-long program with the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) that will provide skills training for the disadvantaged, and even displaced workers, returning OFWs, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, in more provinces all over the country.
SMC started building Better World community centers in 2019 to address various societal issues such as hunger, access to healthcare, education, and women empowerment, among others at the ground level together with different non-government organizations.
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