When I was 17 years old, my Dad sent me to study in the United States of America. He first arranged for me to stay for a week with Goldie Smith, a devoted and dedicated Christian Lady. Since then, I would visit her almost every year, sometimes staying with her for weeks at a time. She became “Aunt Goldie” to me. I learned to appreciate her strong faith and love for the Lord and His church. She never missed worship services, even Wednesday or Sunday night, unless she was really ill. She was involved in community activities and served as a board of trustee of a nursing home for many years. She even served as an active WBS teacher for over 20 years. I have never met a woman who had such leadership ability and influence yet was submissive to her husband and respectful to the elders of the church.
Aunt Goldie bequeathed a portion of her estate to my father before she died. My Dad has used her legacy to build up Sunrise Christian College to become a Christian university in the near future. It now has the capacity to educate and train as many as 1,000 students in June and offer more degree programs next year. Presently, Sunrise Christian College is offering degrees in Religious Education (Bible), Elementary and High School Education ( BEED), and Computer Science. Next year and the following years, we hope to offer Criminology, Nursing aid, Hotel and Restaurant Management and other TESDA accredited courses.
Surrounded by hills and mountains, Sunrise is located in a picturesque area in Butuan City. The 24-hectare campus has been developed into a functional institution for learning, development and recreation. It even has the only Olympic-size swimming pool in the city as well as other sports facilities. The quality idyllic environment will soon be matched by even higher standard of teaching with expected American teachers coming to help. Already, three administrators and part-time teachers are US educated. More US trained workers are expected to join the teaching staff. With affordable current tuition fee of only under P5000 per semester, SCC offers the best opportunity of Christian Education for anyone in the country.
Salvador Cariaga
Sunrise Christian College (SCCFPI) 