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Saipan Fil-Am Lions Club sponsors PH students
Students of the Dolores Macasaet National High School in the province of Quezon in the Philippines smile in appreciation of the Saipan Fil-Am Lions Club’s sponsorship of the school’s SEED program. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
At least 10 students from the Dolores Macasaet National High School in the province of Quezon in the Philippines need not worry about uniforms and paying for miscellaneous fees for one full year.
The Saipan Fil-American Lions Club and Saipan Mighty Dolphins Leo Club provided free uniforms and paid for a full year of miscellaneous fees of the scholars, who are in grades 7 to 12.
Eden Mercado, Saipan Fil-Am president and Leo adviser, said the two clubs donated a total of $200 to sponsor at least 10 students through the SEED program, or Scholarship by External Stakeholders and Educators of DMNHS.
“This is our second year in sponsoring students to help them have a better future [but] this is the first time for our two clubs to act as sponsors,” Mercado said.
The sponsorship aligns with the mission of the club to promote education.
“We are very fortunate that [there is] free education here on Saipan, free rides to school and back home, free breakfasts and lunches,” said Saipan Mighty Dolphins Leo Club president Jenny Batagan.
In the CNMI, all students have to do is study, Batagan said; students from other countries do not get the same privileges.
“We wanted to help them in our own little way, we want to make a difference. Helping people that we haven’t met is the best act of kindness we could show to the world. It is like paying forward and we hope that others will do the same,” Batagan added.
To sponsor students, or to join the Lions Club or the Leo Club, call Region 2 chair Annamae Adaza at 285-4388, Saipan Fil-American Lions Club president Eden Mercado at 788-2416, or Saipan Fil-American Lions Club secretary Mario Mayuga at 285-1021.
To learn more about the Lions Clubs International, visit www.lionsclub.org.
