Good education has the power to change a person’s quality of life and more importantly, the way he sees himself. Anchored on this belief is Red Ribbon Bakeshop’s partnership with Gawad Kalinga (GK) for the GK Sibol School. The Sibol School is part of GK’s Children and Youth Development program for pre-school children in GK villages aged between 3 to 6. 

For Red Ribbon, the company known for its premium cakes and pastries, the Sibol School is its way of guiding and nurturing underprivileged children as they go through the formative years of their lives. Since 2007, Red Ribbon has been providing support to Sibol Schools in six (6) GK villages located across the country. These villages are in Manila, Tarlac, Laguna, Southern Leyte, Las Pinas and Rizal. For school year 2008-20009, a total of 200 pupils are enrolled in the six Red Ribbon-supported Sibol Schools.

“Our commitment to education is rooted in helping the Filipino reach his highest potential. With the Sibol schools, the children are provided with pre-school education that serves as a good foundation in molding them into becoming productive members of the community later on. We are one with Gawad Kalinga in bringing hope to communities who aspire to improve their lives through education”, says Mr. Joseph Tanbuntiong, President of Red Ribbon.  

Through the Sibol schools, community-based pre-school education becomes accessible to GK community members. Sibol is a preparatory program for the children’s entry into the formal school system. The school adopts a holistic approach to education as it teaches basic subjects such as math, science, environment, art and religion while espousing positive Filipino values such as love of God, patriotism and respect for the individual. In addition, Sibol incorporates a feeding and health program into the curriculum as pupils undergo regular health checkups and are fed during school hours.

Aside from providing support to ten (10) pre-school teachers, Red Ribbon also sponsors Sibol special events. Every month, each school celebrates “Community Day” as the children showcase what they have learned thus far with parents and other community members as their audience. Educational tours are also provided to the children to broaden their horizon for learning and growth. Further, regular parent-teacher conferences are conducted to involve the parents in the development of their children.