"Aditako Bokodan Di Gawis" = Let Us Share our Blessings

We are alumni and friends of St. Mary's School, Sagada, Mountain Province, Northern Philippines committed to helping said school overcome its financial difficulties and avert plans of closing it. 

St. Mary's School, Sagada, is one of the institutions established by  American missionaries to educate and free our people, the Igorots of Northern Luzon, from the bondage of ignorance and socio-economic stagnation if not decay. We fully realize that most of us could never have been what we are now had it not been for the quality of education we received from St. Mary's School. It behooves us to try and help the school continue its mission of dispensing quality education for the benefit of those coming after us. 

As our late SMS alumni president, Mr.  Frank Longid, would often exhort us: "We warmed ourselves with fires built by other people many of whom we have never met or alien to us, and drank from wells they dug. We, therefore, should do likewise for those coming after us particularly as they involve our very own people."

The guiding principle of our endeavor is borrowed from the St. Mary's School motto of "Aditako Bokodan di Gawais". It is a common practice of Igorot elders when exhorting the cooperation of constituents to utter these words while calling for a toast: "Aditako bokodan di gawis; ipeyas tako kayet nan amay"  which simply means "Let us share our blessings". "Aditako Bokodan di Gawis" was then incorporated in the SMS logo created  by Dr. William Henry Scott, a prominent authority of Philippine history and one of our teachers at St. Mary's High School.

Alumni and Friends of St. Mary's School, Sagada have set up two organizations to help rehabilitate St. Mary's School:

1. St. Mary's School of Sagada Inc.[SMSSI], a non-profit foundation established under the Laws of the Republic of the Philippines which has taken over the administration of St. Mary's School; and
    
2. SMSS Alumni and Friends Foundation, a public charity organization established under the Laws of the United States primarily to serve as a fund-raising arm for SMSSI in the United States.

Our Vision and Mission Statements for the above-named organizations are as follows:

For St. Mary's School of Sagada Inc. [SMSSI]:

• VISION:  SMS best high school in Mt. Province, Philippines by year 2008 and best high school in the Cordillera region by year 2013.
   

•  MISSION:  To be a Christian school with strong emphasis on science & technology; well equipped laboratory and library; highly qualified and well paid faculty; and serving as training ground for future leaders.

For SMSS Alumni and Friends Foundation:

• VISION: A reliable/ trustworthy charitable organization committed to helping St. Mary’s School endure as a source of quality and affordable education for Igorots and related people in Northern Philippines. A capable supporter of efforts undertaken by other non-profit schools to educate Igorots and related people.
   
• Mission: SMSS Alumni and Friends Foundation exists to help generate tax-deductible donations, grants and aids, bequests, devises, transfers or gifts in support of  educational, scientific and research projects, including building and facilities improvements, undertaken to improve the quality of education offered by St. Mary’s School, Sagada. We will share our resources, to the extent possible, with other non-profit schools having similar  missions/status  as St. Mary's School, Sagada.

Please surf on to our other web pages to know more about us and what we are trying to accomplish.

Thank you.

Members of SMSS Alumni and Friends Foundation