Starting when she was 11, Ruthie S. Juanson would hear from her grandmother that her performance in school would determine her future. After her parents’ separation, the five-year MDRT member from Mandaluyong, Philippines, lived with her grandparents and received educational support that she wouldn’t have had otherwise. Her grandpa drove her to school. Her grandma was there when she graduated every level, all the way to becoming a certified public accountant.

“Without my grandparents’ help, I can’t see how I would have finished my studies,” Juanson said. “And without that opportunity to study, I would not be who I am right now.”

That experience is what led Juanson to request a grant from the MDRT Foundation to support the Corazon Sanchez Atayde Memorial Foundation’s LETS (Learning English Through Stories) Read program. For the last decade, the program has worked to connect underprivileged children in the Philippines to resources and guidance to help them read and maintain forward momentum in their education.

During the pandemic, of course, this effort has become even more essential. Millions of kids have been unable to attend school in person, and many lack the technology needed for distance learning. The $5,000 MDRT Foundation grant went toward mobile phones students can use to access virtual learning tools, and to compensate the teacher coordinators and volunteers who help steer the lessons. In a single year, the LETS Read program has been able to help more than 1,700 kids in 27 schools throughout the Philippines, including providing workbooks, pencils, sharpeners, erasers and crayons.

Juanson became aware of the foundation through her church, and for the last three years, she has gathered donations of books and money from friends and clients to support different outreach activities. While policy prevents her from interacting with any of the kids who benefit from the program during visits, in late 2021 she will begin offering complimentary financial literacy assistance for their families.

Right now, though, she’s focused on the education of her own family. Juanson finds herself providing the same type of guidance to her 7-year-old son that her grandmother once gave to her — though with a bit more latitude, she said, when it comes to the balance between study and play. In fact, Juanson and her husband have been home-schooling their son as a team, with Juanson handling math and some of the reading components while also watching her 1-year-old daughter.

Regardless of the challenges, Juanson wants her son to believe what she learned from a very early age: Education is the foundation for stability.

“I knew that I didn’t want to break my own life, since my family was already broken,” she said, noting that even in the traditionally rebellious teen years, she recognized the importance of maintaining her status as an honor student. “I really believe I could not have a family of my own if I didn’t study well,” she said.

“Education is really important for someone who wants to be successful in their life.”

A network of support

Want to leverage the support of the MDRT Foundation to help others, just like Juanson? Or just donate to the Foundation, whose generosity has helped MDRT members worldwide support organizations working toward education, mental health, poverty, food insecurity, seniors, homelessness and much more? Your one donation helps the Foundation reach thousands of people around the world. Give today by visiting mdrtfoundation.org.

Contact: Ruthie Juanson ruthie.sy.juanson@gmail.com