Teresita (“Ching”) is a leader in philanthropy and is being recognized as such in this article. Congratulations, Ching, for giving back and paying it forward! We are so very proud of your successes as a business woman and also for your giving – a true role model for all!
In 2013, Teresita Yujuico, ’02 (AXP-1), was inspecting forested land that she leases in the Philippines’ Zambales province, about 150 miles northwest of Manila. On a trail, she encountered a man in his 80s holding the arm of a 12-year-old girl.
Yujuico later learned that the girl’s mother had owed the man a debt of 250 pesos—which was about US$6 at the time—and had paid with her daughter.
“I said to myself, ‘This cannot go on,’” Yujuico reflects.
Realizing that a lack of opportunity in this remote and rugged area often resulted in girls getting pregnant or married at a young age, she resolved to make education more accessible in her home country. She built a school to serve children from the local indigenous group, the Aeta.
Locating the school in an area central to several Aeta communities, Yujuico named it Doña Luisa Obieta School of Hope in honor of her mother, “without whom I would not be who I am today,” she shares. She aimed to reach students who would otherwise need to walk 4 to 8 miles over rough terrain to access an education.
In addition, Ching gives scholarships to the children of her employees to the best schools of their choice. She also supports 700 aetas ( indigenous tribes of the Philippines ) through feeding programs. Every Christmas they give 2000 Christmas dinners to the very poor people. Started also a facility for sexually battered women-www.breakingfreefoundation.org
