THE ZEAL OF BROTHERHOOD

ROLANDO P. PANTIG One of the purpose of the Department of Education is to facilitate learning in all walks of life, to realized the said purpose, schools are being established even in the remote areas of the country, whether in coastal areas and in upland areas. The Villa Maria Integrated School, an upland school is operated by the government, intended to facilitate learning to Ayta children. To depict the purpose, the government cannot subsidized well the schools soles in isolated places like VMIS. Lack of facilities, reference books, and school buildings, are infeasible to materialize.

For some reasons, the school head needs to be flexible and to be resourceful in looking for partners who can answer the gap in education. Many Non-Government Organizations do visit and donate goods for the school children. One of the NGO’s visited the school with the Association of Medical Faculty Staff and students of the University of Sto. Tomas through its fraternity organization Zeta Beta Mu Fraternity, a league of UST physicians and students. Their main goal is to outreach far-flung schools preferably those who are considered poorest among the poor.

Through the effort of the Fraternity President, Alvin M. Jorge, M.D., adopted the school. Their primary project is to put-up a building eyeing for the lack of classrooms as one of the main problem of the school. Sourcing some projects, i.e., Movie for a Cause and Golf Tournament for a Cause Project launched in order to raise funds amounting to one million pesos. Their efforts paid off with the absurd Mt. Pinatubo building at VMIS. Memorandum of agreement made and signed by the school head and the fraternity president duly notarized by a public attorney to attest the veracity of the said project. The building amounted to Eight Hundred seventy thousand pesos. The project constructed last for three months just before the opening of classes. A three classroom building with three comfort rooms was awarded in the name of the Department of Education through the Villa Maria Integrated School representative, the school head.

The constructed building was named as the Zeal of Brotherhood of the Zeta Beta Mu Fraternity Building (ZBM Building) housing the eClassroom for the Elementary, School Clinic, and the Grade six classhome, with complete facilities like ceiling fans, air condition units, and water supply.

The new building that symbolizes the brotherhood of Filipino people is just the beginning of the continuous alliance between the Zeta Beta Mu Fraternity and the people of Villa Maria.