A very big aim for one small project

ST. Marie Eugenie de Jesus Early Learning Center will rise just behind Phinma Properties’ Flora Vista project in Fairview, Quezon City.

Since 1987, Phinma Properties has been known to provide valuable mid-range housing developments that could be had through affordable financing schemes and whose units could be turned over more quicker to its buyers.

Thanks to a building system that allows a five-story walk-up building to be completed in six to eight months—with one floor being finished every 17 hours—Phinma Properties has endeared itself to every family and individual wanting to live in a more desirable community.

However, this time, the company will be endeared more to its community, thanks to just one and in fact, very small project it built—St. Marie Eugenie de Jesus Early Learning Center in Fairview, Quezon City.

The school is for toddlers preparing themselves to enter Grade 1 the following year.

The modestly sized, one-room school house was built, thanks to Bagong Buhay, Phinma Properties’ corporate responsibility program.

Competent role

“We are not only a construction and land development company. Phinma Properties also play a competent role in whatever community it will rise, offering worthwhile projects to the community,” said Willie Uy, president and CEO of Phinma Property Holdings Corp.

In fact, St. Marie Eugenie de Jesus Early Learning Center will not be built had it not for the fact that Flora Vista, a medium-rise condo township, was built nearby.

While the said project is being finished, Phinma Properties learned of several Grade 1 pupils in the nearby community who needed coaching to enhance their academic qualification as recommended by Kagabay, a nongovernment organization operating in the area.

Kagabay has been conducting English literacy program—at Peacock Street where Flora Vista is located—wherein select pupils between 5- and 6-years old who needed coaching so they could qualify for Grade 1 the following year.

Based on their literacy levels, 66 out of 80 pupils in the area has qualified for the program.

It was at this point that Kagabay president Marie Del Rosario together with her group composed of the NGO’s executive director, Suzette P. Pido, and Area Development manager, Badette B. Lingo, scheduled a meeting with Flora Vista officers in order to forge a partnership.

The project led to the building of a small school for the purpose of such academic preparation.

It was at this point that Phinma Properties, through its philanthropic arm, Phinma Foundation Inc. decided to finance the building of a modest one-classroom kindergarten school just beside Flora Vista.

Recycle

Through the Bagong Buhay program, Phinma Properties recycled construction materials it used in Flora Vista as well as in other projects and used paints donated by Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines Inc.

For the construction, volunteers came from Phinma’s Helpful Employees Responsible for Others or Hero network composed of volunteers from Phinma Properties, animation studio Toon City, Flora Vista operations department as well as skilled workers coming from the Upper Nawasa community.

Mariposa Foundation donated funds for the school furniture.

Christened

By January 2012, the school, now christened St. Marie Eugenie de Jesus Early Learning Center (named after the founder of the Religious of the Assumption) was finally finished and is now ready to welcome its first batch of young children.

With classes starting this June, the learning school will offer Early Childcare and Development classes that would enable to prepare pupils to enter Grade 1 the following year.

A complementary feeding program will also be undertaken to improve overall performance of the pupils.

“This is just one of the programs that have been inspired by the vision of our founder, Amb. Ramon del Rosario Sr. He envisioned that wherever our company will operate, it must ensure that the community around it will also improve,” Uy said.