School principal Nelson Palma (center) leads teachers and students of Efraim Santibanez National High School in Passi City, Iloilo in saying “Thank You” to SM Foundation and BDO Foundation for the new two-story, four-classroom school building turned over in January 2016. Photo by SM Foundation

MANILA, Philippines –  For the past 59 years, the SM brand has proven itself to be now part of many Filipino communities. The brand is currently comprised of 60 SM Supermalls nationwide, as well as a host of other retail brands like Savemore, SM Hypermarket and THE SM STORE scattered around the country.

Wherever there is an SM mall, it doesn’t just boost the retail landscape, create jobs and improve the local economy. Through its corporate social responsibility arm, SM Foundation, the company also impacts the local community in a positive way through investments in health, livelihood, the environment and most importantly, education.

Building conducive learning environments

Among SM Foundation’s investments in education is its School Building Program, which started in 2002. The project builds two-story, four-classroom, fully furnished school buildings in selected public schools nationwide, identified by DepED, usually in places where SM is present. Aside from being funded by the SM Investments Corporation, the parent company of SM Foundation, and other members of the SM group of companies, the project is also funded by several corporate donors.

STARweek visited Tungkong Mangga Elementary School in San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan where SM Foundation recently turned over a new school building last December. The two-story school building has four classrooms that came fully furnished with chairs, teacher’s tables, chalkboard, electric fans and four toilets.

School principal Flordeliza Limon says that before SM turned over the building, the school had a classroom shortage after one of its buildings was declared unstable due to a sinkhole. The students had to occupy school buildings that were built as early as 1985 and are already in decrepit condition.

Some of these buildings, particularly those occupied by fourth-grade students, are prone to flooding when it rains due to the sloped elevation of the school and the overflowing of a drainage canal nearby.

“Every time flooding occurs, our students and teachers had to clear their classrooms of mud in order for classes to resume. The drainage canal also gives off a horrible stench. It’s not a very comfortable and conducive environment for students to learn,” Limon says.

“The fourth graders formerly occupying the flood-prone school buildings now occupy the SM building and are learning better because flooding no longer hampers their learning time,” Limon continues.

“Our students now enjoy a spacious, flood-proof, and well-equipped classroom for their studies. We are really thankful for SM Foundation’s donation. May they continue extending their assistance to our school in terms of school buildings,” Limon adds.

Addressing classroom shortage

The Foundation’s School Building Program has helped a lot in addressing classroom shortage in public schools in the country, such as in Llano Elementary School in North Caloocan where there are 3,815 students and the student-to-classroom ratio is 1:55.

“Before SM Foundation donated its school building in 2008, our classroom shortage was worse than what we have right now. Back then, we had to divide our covered basketball court into quadrants using plywood walls so we could have makeshift classrooms,” says school principal Rhodora Gonzales.

The use of makeshift classrooms took a toll on both learners and teachers because of the overlapping noise and distractions. And when it rains, they get drenched because of the covered court’s lack of concrete walls.

“We really felt blessed when SM Foundation gave us a new building. It really helped put an end to using the covered court as makeshift classrooms. Now, while we still have classroom shortage, at least we no longer use the basketball court to conduct lessons,” says Gonzales.

Kinder and first-grade pupils currently occupy the school building that SM Foundation built with the help of funding partner Deutsche Bank Philippines. Aside from the building, it also provided computer literacy training to the school’s teachers, a learning equipment package from Knowledge Channel and funded the school’s feeding program for severely malnourished students.

SM Foundation’s assistance to each beneficiary school doesn’t end with the turnover of the school building. Every five years, the Foundation returns to the school to repair any damages that weather and wear-and-tear may have caused, as it did in Llano Elementary School in 2013. Moreover, employees from nearby SM malls also participate in DepEd‘s annual Brigada Eskwela in each of the beneficiary schools.

Helping schools far and wide

Even in the provinces, SM Foundation’s School Building Program has made its presence felt, such as in Bakod Bayan Elementary School in the suburbs of Cabanatuan City, where there are 1,104 students, including 66 Badjao learners relocated from Mindanao.

According to school principal Trinidad Beltran, before SM Foundation came to their school, they had a shortage of 13 classrooms. They have been occupying classrooms built during the Marcos era, most of which are old, crumbling and have leaking roofs.

“Most of our classrooms are old and in need of replacement, but we have to make do with them until a replacement from the government can be built. It’s a good thing SM recently came into the picture and built us a new building to use,” says Beltran.

In such part of Central Luzon where temperatures can get too hot at midday, a spacious, well-ventilated classroom such as one built by SM Foundation can help make learning an enjoyable experience. And it’s even more enjoyable because of the books, bags and computers that the Foundation donated to the school.

Aside from Cabanatuan City, SM Foundation also recently turned over school buildings in Quezon Elementary School in Baguio City; Osorio Elementary School in Trece Martires City, Cavite; Jugan Elementary School in Consolacion, Cebu; and Marcelo Fernan Elementary School in Bogo City, Cebu.

To date, the foundation has turned over 80 school buildings since the project began, benefitting over 12,000 students nationwide. And, this year, it plans to build seven new school buildings with a total of 28 classrooms, particularly in areas where new SM malls will rise.

Aside from SM Foundation’s School Building Program, SM has also donated buildings to some of the biggest universities in the country in support of higher education as a tool for growth, such as in the newly-opened Henry Sy, Sr. Hall at the University of the Philippines campus in Bonifacio Global City, the Henry Sy, Sr. Centennial Hall at De La Salle University in Manila, the Henry Sy, Sr. Innovation Center at Miriam College, among others.

SM’s successful championing of building better schools would not be possible without the vision of one man, SM founder and chairman Henry Sy, Sr., who placed great value on the importance of having an education. Through his philanthropic contributions in the field of education, he is sharing to our nation’s children the very same value for education that led him to become a successful businessman and philanthropist.

With his vision turned into reality through SM Foundation, Sy has built a better present for our learners, enabling them to have brighter, more attainable future in their hands.