Graduates Committed to Repaying Education Loans
Contributed By Contributed by the Perpetual Education Fund Department
Article Highlights
- Participants in the Perpetual Education Fund receive help in getting an education and becoming financially self-reliant.
- Two participants share the specific ways the fund has blessed their lives.
- Upon graduation both participants found jobs that helped them to meet the financial needs of them and their families.
“Keeping my commitment is very important to me. I know that without this program’s help, I wouldn’t have achieved what my family is enjoying now. … Being responsible in my obligation will not only bless my life but also those who might be in the situation where I was before.” —Clea Guantero Dreu, PEF loan recipient
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Men and women around the world are benefiting from the donations of Church members to the Perpetual Education Fund. For many PEF loan participants, the extra help gives them the opportunity to pursue an education and gain skills that help in providing for their families. A few participants share their stories:
After graduating from high school in 2000, Clea Guantero Dreu from the Sorsogon 1st Branch, Sorsogon Philippines Stake, knew that getting a college education would be very difficult due to inadequate financial resources. Priesthood leaders informed her of a new educational loan program, the Perpetual Education Fund. She applied for the program and was accepted. After her graduation in 2004 in information technology, she found a job as a monitoring and evaluation assistant. Her job made a big difference in her situation.
She said, “I am now helping my siblings in their schooling, while keeping my PEF commitment. Keeping my commitment is very important to me. I know that without this program’s help, I wouldn’t have achieved what my family is enjoying now. I always know the correct principle of integrity. Being responsible in my obligation will not only bless my life but also those who might be in the situation where I was before.”
Jenny Taneza Jarmillos from the Bonifacio 1st Ward, Makati Philippines East Stake, applied for a PEF loan to help her complete the last two years of her bachelor of science degree in education, with an emphasis in general science.
The approval of Jenny’s PEF application was a blessing that she truly treasured, for it meant that she could continue her studies, unlike her two older siblings, who stopped attending school because of very limited family resources. The PEF loan was made available to her when her parents could not financially support her education due to her father’s medical needs.
She passed the licensure examination the month after her graduation. She was immediately offered a job in Cebu and started to help her family provide for the medical needs of her father. One of Jenny’s primary goals after graduation, aside from helping her family, was to fully repay her loan. Her motivation to do that helped her manage her resources, and three years after graduation Jenny fully repaid her loan.
