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2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 240
PO Box 273908
Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908
1-800-914-2420
Tala Leper Colony Scholarships
Philippines
IMPACT OVERVIEW
PROJECT #0148 – TECHNICAL SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships provide tuition, fees, supplies, and room and board.
The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM sisters) work in the community of Tala, a former leper colony in the Philippines.
Though Hansen’s disease (leprosy) cases are now rare, the stigma remains with the children and grandchildren of lepers.
As a result, they live in oppressive poverty and find it difficult to obtain employment that could improve their situation.
Since 2005, Cross Catholic Outreach has partnered with the FMM sisters to break the cycle of poverty within this
beleaguered community by giving impoverished high school graduates scholarships to attend Don Bosco Catholic
Technical Institute or Miriam College, both in metro Manila. After approximately 10 months of vocational training
combined with spiritual formation, students receive about five months of on-the-job training. In return, scholars
volunteer in the sisters’ Tala Nursery School (also funded by Cross Catholic Outreach) and routinely visit patients with
Hansen’s disease at the local leprosarium.
The program has reported extraordinary improvements in Tala as a result. The ratio of those falling into long-term
poverty has been trending toward improvement and self-sufficiency, leading many to hold up the FMM sisters’ work as a
model of Christ-centered social justice.
CROSS CATHOLIC OUTREACH
TALA LEPER COLONY SCHOLARSHIPS 0148
This scholarship program opened doors of opportunity for young men like Eijer Quizon. After graduating from
high school, Eijer delved into the workforce as an unskilled laborer to support his family, because his father had lost
his job. After Eijer’s employment contract with a fast food restaurant was not renewed, he stopped working altogether
and got mixed up in what he calls a group of “bums” and “troublemakers.”
After five years of leading hopeless, aimless lives, Eijer and his friends wanted something better. So they applied for
scholarships, and the program transformed them. After receiving spiritual formation, Eijer stopped smoking and drinking,
went to confession, began to attend Mass regularly, worked hard in the nursery and tirelessly served patients in the
leprosarium.
In June 2013, Eijer began auto mechanic skills training at Don Bosco. He performed well and was among 30 applicants
selected for on-the-job training with Porsche. Upon graduation from Don Bosco in October 2014, Eijer continued
his training at Porsche. When that training is completed, he will leave for Abu Dhabi, where a good-paying position
with the company waits for him.
CROSS CATHOLIC OUTREACH
IMPACT OVERVIEW
IMPACT
OVERVIEW
Funds Distributed: $32,426
Description: In 2014, this project sponsored
vocational training for 51 young men and women,
covering tuition, fees, supplies, room, board and
transportation. They learned trades such as
electronics, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air
conditioning), computer repair and auto repair.
2014 Expenses
Tuition
Room & Board
School Projects
School Supplies
Transportation
Testing
Misc. Fees
Other Needs
Total
Percentage Funded by Cross
Amount
$15,748
$4,286
$1,240
$122
$2,274
$245
$6,560
$1,366
$31,841
100%
Ninety percent of graduates land jobs within a year.
Impact:
80% of graduates employed
annually
within three months of graduation
90% of graduates employed
annually
within a year of graduation
Technical training prepares youth for well-paying jobs.
CROSS CATHOLIC OUTREACH
2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 240 • PO Box 273908 • Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908 • 1-800-914-2420 • www.CrossCatholic.org
Copyright Cross Catholic Outreach. Cost effectively written, designed and printed in-house.