Manila (AsiaNews) – Caritas Manila, the social service agency of the Archdiocese of Manila, wants to educate 10,000 poor students by 2010 as part of an ambitious plan to help 300,000 families in the Filipino capital. Fr Anton C.T. Pascual, executive director of Caritas Manila, said that the plan covers the whole of Metro Manila—the Archdiocese of Manila itself plus the suffragan dioceses of Cubao, Kalookan, Novaliches, Paranaque and Pasig—and includes education at every level: elementary, high school, college, and vocational training.

“We need to catch up if we really want to make a major effect against poverty here in the city,” said Analyn Julian, an officer with the Education Assistance Programme.

But while the plan needs 32 million pesos, only 12 million have been raised so far. Yet this has not discouraged those involved.

“Work hard, pray, and have faith; God will provide,” said Sheila Conti, a resource mobilization officer, but “we certainly need help,” she acknowledged.

For this reason, “we are calling on companies, organizations, institutions, and individuals who want to help. We can partner with them for their corporate social responsibility programs where they can maximize the help they will be extending,” she stressed.

According to the 2002 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey by the National Statistics Office, there are more than 830,000 out-of-school youths in Metro Manila alone. Poverty is identified as the main reason for children not being able to go to school or finish their education.