Meet the Ancop Scholars

Much has been said about Ancop's Child Sponsorship Program which is the direct beneficiary of the Ancop Global Walk but seldom can an article be found featuring an Ancop scholar. At the presscon of the Ancop Global Walk 2012, I was fortunate to talk with three of the Ancop scholars, namely, Simon Jake Beringuela, Ken Mark Agustin and John Ray Supera, all of Bagong Silang, Kalookan City.  All of them are residents of the Ancop sites at Bagong Silang.  Each one of them has a story to tell.

Simon, Ken and John Ray, the faces of Ancop Global Walk

Simon Jake Beringuela at 19 years old, is the oldest among the three.  He took up Accountancy at  the University of Caloocan and is currently attending review classes at CPAR for the CPA board in November. Orphaned by his father when he was in third year high school, his mother raised all four children by selling soda.  There never was not enough money for food and other basic expenses and the education of Simon and his siblings was sidelined.  Simon is grateful for being chosen as one of the Ancop scholars.  His dream of becoming an accountant is fast becoming a reality and hopefully this will help in plucking his mother and siblings out of poverty.

Another future accountant is Ken Mark Agustin, the poster boy of Ancop Global Walk.    Like Simon, he is in review classes at CPAR.  He is very grateful to his benefactor for sending him to college and as an added bonus, shouldered his fees for the review classes.  Second child of four children of a taxi driver and a housewife, he is the embodiment of his parents' hope for a better life.  Ken did not stop going to school even if there was not enough to start with.  His siblings stopped their schooling to give way to Ken's.  Unlike his siblings, Ken is smart and intelligent and his parents staked whatever meager resources they had on him.  They were not disappointed, he graduated magna cum laude from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

John Ray Supera is a Grade 6 pupil at the Amparo Elementary School. At a tender age of 11, he dreams of becoming a scientist someday.  With an Ancop scholarship, John Ray is confident that he will be able to alleviate his family's plight as it answers not only the tuition fees but have enough left for transportation and projects.

Simon's, Ken's and John Ray's stories are stories of faith and hope.  In seeing Jesus Christ in the faces of thousands of Simons, Kens and John Rays, hope springs eternal.  Contact us through this website or through email at cfc.westc@gmail.com.

Small Things... Big Dreams

Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said that little things done with great love often leave a lasting impact on a person. Thus, one need not perform grandiose things to make a mark. This is exactly the concept behind Ancop's Global Walk (AGW). By setting aside a measly P10 a day for a month,  one can participate in the walkathon that would help send a poor child to school.

To jumpstart the preparations for this year's Global Walk,  the West C sector under Steve Maningat launched the 2012 Global Walk last April 25 at the Santuario de San Vicente de Paul.  The main speaker for the night was Eric delos Reyes, ANCOP President. He rallied the members of the sector to support this cause which aims to raise funds in order to send less fortunate children to school, hopefully twice as many as those who were given scholarships as a result of last year's walk activity.  Adding pizzaz to the occasion was the attendance of the reigning Miss Philippines-Earth, ANCOP Global Walk advocate and SFC member Athena Imperial.  ANCOP Global Walk overall head Paolo Maningat talked on the importance of getting more walkers and donations to meet the overall target.

The sector activity was a prelude to the second ANCOP Global Walk that will be held on August 12 at 5 in the morning at the Quirino Grandstand.  The Walk will be done near simultaneously with other ANCOP Walks all over the world.  Walkers are encouraged to be a disciple of change, a harbinger of hope for children, whose continuing education provides that spark of light for a future that will be bright for them and their families.


This article came out recently at the Ugnayan supplement of the CBCP Monitor.