The house has no steady electricity yet, so Aisha studies by the light of a lamp her grandmother has kept ready since before she was born. Exams are in three weeks. Tonight it is trigonometry.
Aisha is one of the learners currently sponsored through PhilCare's education program in Marawi City — support that covers tuition, supplies, and transport, built on the premise that most dropouts here are not about ability. They are about the cost of staying enrolled while a city continues to rebuild.
“Nobody in my family finished high school on the first try. I am not just studying for myself anymore.”
When the neighborhood's power connection was finally restored last year, Aisha's family chose to save part of the relief for her transport costs instead of new appliances. The lamp still comes out most nights. So does the routine that has carried her this far: two hours of study after chores, weekly check-ins with her sponsor coordinator, and a folder of practice exams from an older sponsored student.
Rebuilding a city, one enrollment at a time
PhilCare's founding cohort of sponsored students in Marawi began in 2023. Several of the earliest sponsored learners now mentor the incoming group — a loop the program was designed to create rather than leave to chance.
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