It was a highly emotional graduation ceremony as the scholars of Monsanto and Human Nature received their diploma marking the end of the...
It
was a highly emotional graduation ceremony as the scholars of Monsanto
and Human Nature received their diploma marking the end of their
two-year course at Gawad Kalinga’s School for Experiential and
Entrepreneurial Development (GK-SEED). The scholars have definitely
grown very close not only to each other but also to their mentors as
evidenced by the exchange of warm messages accompanied by heartfelt
tears indicating a mixture of joy, excitement and sadness as their
two-year live-in training ends.
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| All smiles from the graduates of Monsanto, Human Nature and Gawad Kalinga as they receive their certificates of completion to this year’s GK-SEED program |
The
GK-SEED was launched in 2014 to provide an education-based solution to
rural development. It is the country’s first school for social
entrepreneurship for the poor which prepares students to create social
enterprises with a vision to develop rural areas through rural job and
wealth creation. During the two-year program, students take a variety of
courses that focus on character development, enterprise management,
communications, business math, and agriculture.
The
school is also a pilot program that will be replicated to provide
quality education to thousands in communities across the Philippines. It
aims to raise the next generation of agri-entrepreneurs.
“It
is the first school to be training people from the bottom of the
pyramid, specifically the young to actually learn business. We teach
them to become employers and leaders,” said Mark Lawrence Cruz, Director
of GK-SEED Philippines. “Our vision for them is to lead their
communities out of poverty.” Cruz underscored that the scholars will not
only end poverty for themselves but also for their families, their
communities, and our country.
Meantime, Corporate Affairs Lead Charina Ocampo said
that “we are humbled and honored to have been given the opportunity to
help children from farming families achieve their dreams. We are excited
that through GK-SEED, they are now equipped to realize their fullest
potential and can help alleviate the lives of not only of their families
but also of the other members of their communities.
Monsanto
also helped build a two-storey dormitory inside the GK-SEED campus to
provide a place for scholars to stay during their two-year course. These
scholars come from various parts of the country and as far as the
Visayas and Mindanao regions.
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