Monday, April 28, 2008 Youth inmates finish school
AROUND 50 residents of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (RRCY) in Argao, Cebu completed their free education recently.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Esperanza Cabral personally handed out the diplomas to the four residents who completed their elementary education in the center in Barangay Candabong.
Other than the four, another 46 minors complied with the requirements to complete the Alternative Learning System Acceleration Program of the Department of Education.
Twenty four completed the modules for the elementary level while the other 22 completed the modules for the secondary level.
They are now waiting for the results of the assessment test, which will promote them to the next grade or year level.
One of the graduates expressed excitement and wished to pursue secondary education after his release from RRCY in May.
Another graduate hopes to improve his educational attainment while learning cooking, singing and dancing at the center. He, too, hopes to finish high school inside the center.
A former resident of RRCY, Edward, who visited the center and witnessed the graduation and Family Day activity, said he was very thankful to RRCY for helping him during the most difficult time of his teenage life.
He said he gained practical skills, including landscaping, music, arts and painting in the training facility.
Edward, who graduated from a local high school in Argao, is planning to take up a course in welding or automotive skills so he can follow the footsteps of another former RRCY resident, who is now very successful in his field of work in the United States.
Cabral, in her inspirational message, encouraged the graduates and the rest of the residents to continue their dreams of having a better future and to learn from their mistakes in the past.
