O.B.MONTESSORI CHILD & COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, INC.

Historical Background:

indentYears before the Philippine government declared the period of 1990-1999 as the Decade of Education for All, following the UNESCO world appeal to access education in Jomtien, Thailand, Ambassador Preciosa S. Soliven has been providing quality preschooling to underprivileged children.
indentIn 1964, Ambassador Soliven assisted the late Oscar Arellano, founder of Operation Brotherhood International in providing an organized education for the poor children of 3,000 families from Intramuros who were relocated to Sapang Palay.

indentSoon after, Ambassador Soliven trained in two AMI Teacher Training Centers in Perugia and Bergamo, Italy under an Italian scholarship grant.
indentUpon her return in 1966, she established O.B. Montessori Center, Inc. and continued to help in the other projects of OBI. A preschool was put up in Taal and Lemery, Batangas to help the volcanic eruption refugees. She also put up the first laborers’ district Montessori Preschool in Barangay San Birhen, San Andres Bukid. After this she organized the Kaunlaran Preschool in Tejeron, Manila with Sister Lydia Kalaw of the Good Shepherd Convent.
indentAll these projects paved the way to the formal organization of the O.B. Montessori Twin Projects: the Pagsasarili Preschools for 3-6 years old and the Mothercraft Training and Literacy Course for Village Mothers.
indent In 1983, O.B. Montessori Child & Community Foundation, Inc. and the National Housing Authority (NHA) entered a joint project to provide affordable Montessori-based education to the less-privileged families in Metro Manila and Negros Occidental.
indent In 1986, the Mothercraft Training and Literacy Course for Village Mothers was established in Cadiz and Sagay, Negros Occidental. This project was put up in coordination with the sugar planters and the local government. It was also during this time when the O.B. Montessori Child & Community Foundation, Inc. was formalized. Since then, this became the implementing arm of O.B. Montessori Center, Inc. in reaching out to “held people help themselves”.
indent Recently, the Pagsasarili System was replicated in 57 barangays in Lipa, Batangas; 8 Day Care Centers in Ifugao Province; EFA-DAKAR Pilot Project in Angeles, Pampanga; 1 in Concepcion, Tarlac and 1 in Taguig, Metro Manila.