CORE PROGRAM

Off the Streets - Off to School 
Scholarship Program

For 38 years, Off the Streets – Off to School Scholarship Program has been a core program of PIA to keep kids in school. Administered in partnership with the Phil-Asia Assistance Foundation, Off the Streets – Off to School provides scholarships annually to more than 1,000 children in Metro Manila. Students range in age from elementary school through college and their academic progress is monitored throughout the year. The students correspond with the donors through letters and videos who support their education . The donors receive copies of the children's report cards and progress reports from the social workers assigned to the children.

faqS

What is the “Off the Streets-Off to School” Scholarship Program?

​In 1986, PIA established a rehabilitation center for child prostitutes, aged 7 to 14, at the Caritas Manila compound. As a preventive measure, PIA started a scholarship fund with the help of the nuns at Caritas Manila to send street children to school, to take them away from the streets where they were being recruited by pimps, and to place them in schools where they belong.  Since then, thousands of children have gone through the program.  Many of them have graduated college, secured employment, and are now able to help support their families.

How much is it to send a child to school in the “Off the Streets-Off to School” Scholarship Program?

​​It only costs $175 per year per child or 48 cents a day.  The scholarship takes care of tuition fees, books, supplies, field trip costs, uniforms, shoes, allowances for meals, and transportation. At the end of the school year, PIA will ask to renew your sponsorship for the same child.  If the donor does not renew, the child will be given to another sponsor.

Pasig Scholarship Grants

PIA has partnered with Pasig Catholic College to provide a four year college education to four deserving students who would not be able to afford college on their own. Pasig Catholic College was established in 1913 and is considered the central Catholic educational institution of the Diocese of Pasig.

Medical Missions (Cotabato)

PIA donated $1,000 to the Medical Mission of Mercy USA's medical mission to bring critical supplies and provide free medical services and humanitarian assistance to the underprivileged in General Santos City and Lake Sebu in Mindanao.

T’boli School

PIA granted $3,000 to The School of Indigenous Knowledge and Traditions (SIKAT) in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato to provide daily meals for about 100 T'boli children and supplement teachers' salaries.

Trolley School

Padyak Pabasa is a railroad trolley classroom that helps students who live along the railroad tracks in Tagkawayan, Quezon who are unable to go to formal schools with literacy programs. Blackboard, books and other materials are woven into the railroad trolley classroom and pushed by volunteers using their feet.  About 60 students have benefited from this program. PIA granted an amount of $2,200.

US Scholarships

Started in 2023, PIA now also offers up to $2,000 scholarships for Filipino Americans in financial need. They must be attending a community college and wish to attend a four year college or university in California.

Visit Your Beneficiaries

When in Manila, you can arrange to visit your sponsored children
in the Off the Streets-Off to School Scholarship Program.

View our gallery of past visits

Letters from the Children

The PIA Sponsors of children under the ‘Off the Streets, Off to School’ program receive periodic report cards from the administrators of the schools. The children also send letters and artwork to their sponsors during the holidays.

Here are some letters shared by our PIA Sponsors. (Printed with permission)​

View our gallery of letters from the children