General Santos City National Secondary School for Arts and Trade – Extension

General Santos City National Secondary School of Arts and Trade Extension opened its doors to eager students in 2014. Back then, conducting classes was a struggle. They first held their classes in the dilapidated and abandoned stock room of another school. As facilities improved, they still held some of their classes in an open field. The substandard conditions that teachers and students had to endure are felt year-round, during both the sunny and rainy seasons when they are either scorched by the extreme high temperatures or drenched in the rain and wading through floodwater. This lack of protection from natural elements has led to sickness and absences among students. 

The school prides itself on the diversity of its students; all in all they come from 13 different ethnicities. It is the only official school extension of General Santos Arts and Trade, which is accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). 

When General Santos City National Secondary School of Arts and Trade Extension struggled to give quality education to its students no matter how much hard work they put in, the School Head reached out to Friends of Hope, Inc. When he got a response from the social enterprise, he was brought to tears with gratitude. Still, he had his doubts. It wasn’t until FOHI paid their school a visit that it sunk in that his prayers had been answered. “This would not have been possible through my capacity alone, but it was possible because Friends of Hope, Inc. did not leave me in the middle of my struggles,” he shares.  

It was in 2015 that the school received new classrooms. Come the end of that year, they reached out once again to FOHI for more classrooms for the coming school year, and once again, their prayers were answered in the form of two new buildings with two classrooms each. As the school grew, teachers realized that the students needed more facilities to further their education. For the third and final time, General Santos City National Secondary School of Arts and Trade Extension reached out to FOHI and the organization delivered; they built a rubberized basketball court, which would later be used for their Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH) classes. Ever since HOPE stepped into the picture, attendance rates have increased, presumably because of the improved school facilities.