Over 600 Manila kids get school kits in Jonathan Sterling’s gift drive

Kindergarten pupils of Sta. Ana Elementary School, with their teachers and parents, during the gift-giving activity sponsored by British philanthropist Jonathan Michael Sterling on September 7, 2026. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Sterling MANILA, Philippines — The raincoats answered the season. In the middle of the rainy months, when the walk to class is its own daily obstacle for pupils this young, some 300 kindergartners of Sta. Ana Elementary School went home with new raincoats. That came with school supplies and food packs. Five days earlier and a few kilometers north in Tayuman, 317 kindergarten pupils of Andres Bonifacio Elementary School had received kits of their own. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Sara Duterte calls on Marcos to resign: ‘You’re a liar, abusive’ The back-to-back distributions on September 2 and 7 are the latest in an ongoing series of gift-giving activities for public school kindergartners sponsored by British philanthropist Jonathan Michael Sterling. That came after earlier rounds at Eulogio Rodriguez Integrated School in Mandaluyong City and Santolan Elementary School in Pasig City. More than 600 children across the two Manila schools received supplies in the span of a week. Teachers, staff and kindergarten pupils of Andres Bonifacio Elementary School with the school supply kits and Jollibee food packs donated by Jonathan Michael Sterling in Tayuman, Manila, on September 2, 2026. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Sterling. At Sta. Ana, where teachers and Parent-Teacher Association officers ran the distribution, Master Teacher II Rochel Aliwalas — speaking on behalf of School Principal Maria Bernadeth A. Pablo — said the value of the activity was not confined to what the children carried home. READ: 25 years after 9/11: Remembering Filipino victims and survivors Article continues after this advertisement “Hindi lamang simpleng pagbibigay ng regalo, kundi isang pagpapahalaga ng malasakit at pagmamahal at suporta sa mga batang nangangailangan,” she said. (It is not simply about giving gifts, but about showing care, love, and support for children in need.) The help lands hardest, she added, with learners from families that have the least to work with. “Ang inyong simpleng kabutihan ay maaaring maging malaking inspirasyon sa amin at sa mga bata, at magkaroon ng pangmatagalang epekto sa kanilang buhay.” (Your simple act of kindness can be a great inspiration to us and to the children, and can have a lasting impact on their lives.) Article continues after this advertisement Patty Quindipan, a parent and PTA officer, thanked Sterling for reaching the children with food as well as supplies. “Nagpapasalamat po kami kay Mr. Jonathan Sterling sa pagbibigay po ng isang opportunity na ganito,” she said. (We are grateful to Mr. Jonathan Sterling for giving us an opportunity like this.) Minda Mamaradlo, the kindergarten grade chairman in charge, hoped the visit would not be the last. “Sana po ay maulit-ulit ito na mabigyan po ulit ang Sta. Ana,” she said. (We hope this can happen again and that Sta. Ana can receive this kind of support once more.) “Maraming-maraming salamat po ulit, Sir Jonathan.” (Thank you very, very much again, Sir Jonathan.) At Andres Bonifacio Elementary School, Principal Diana Flor Eco said the donation eases costs that many households in the community struggle to cover, with most of the school’s pupils coming from low-income families. “Kami po ay nagpapasalamat ng lubos kasama po ng mga magulang ng mga batang ito,” Eco said, (We are deeply grateful, together with the parents of these children,) “at sana po inaasahan po namin na magpapatuloy po ang ganitong partnership ng school at saka ng inyong organisasyon para po sa pangmatagalang tulong sa aming mga estudyante sa Andres Bonifacio.” (and we hope and expect that this kind of partnership between the school and your organization will continue to provide long-term support to our students at Andres Bonifacio.) Master Teacher Diane Kristel Rozol pointed to what the supplies cannot measure: the pupils’ consistent attendance despite their families’ hardships, and the willingness of a stranger to give without hesitation to a public school. Her thanks came with a challenge. “At sana hindi lang po matapos dito sa event na ito, yung pagbibigay tulong ninyo sa mga bata,” Rozol said. (And we hope that your support for the children will not end with this event.) “At hindi lang po sana yung Andres Bonifacio yung mapili ninyo.” (And we hope that Andres Bonifacio will not be the only school you choose to support.) Parents felt the same. Sarah Montemayor, president of the school’s Kinder Council, said the children were overjoyed; Emelita Pedro, another parent, called it an honor for Andres Bonifacio to be chosen, with the kindergartners especially excited over the extra coloring materials for classroom activities. The distributions were carried out by the schools’ teachers and parent volunteers, and came in the same week Sterling formally opened the BGC headquarters of his software company, Pleased — where he committed to a different kind of giving: more than 100 high-skill tech jobs for Filipino workers over the next year. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. For the teachers of Sta. Ana and Andres Bonifacio, the hope is simpler and closer to the ground: that the kits keep coming, and that the next school on the list gets its turn.