Our field partner in the Philippines, HONOR 1000, interviewed another batch of beneficiaries for our Manila Slum Program. To identify the second batch of beneficiaries, we visited two schools near the area. One of the Principals, Dr. Ryan, was very eager to partner with us especially when he learned that we are helping families from Ronas Garden. He shared that he himself and some of their teachers even did an enrollment campaign in Ronas Garden, where they went house to house in order to encourage parents to enroll their kids.
Dr. Ryan confirmed that students haven’t been attending school. When able, they would set a meeting with the parents to ask for reasons for the children’s absences, but often, they would get discouraged by the parent’s lack of involvement. He shared that when some children experienced earning, for example, 20 pesos in a day ($AUD .54), they tend to be content with that and choose to skip school.
Dr. Ryan and his teachers tried to “adopt a student”, ”where each teacher would give small snacks to a student of their choice to somehow help and encourage the child to consistently go to school. This didn’t last long though. Currently, Project 3 elementary school has a 16% dropout rate. This is considered very high given that public schools in the Philippines seldom fail a student except in extreme cases like zero attendance throughout the school year. Dr. Ryan believes that our educational program, coupled with parenting training, would significantly help solve this problem.
From these interviews, we found 7 girls that fit the criteria, bringing the total beneficiaries of our program to 147. (Batch 1: 70 Batch 2: 77)
As we provide monthly support for their children’s education, we want the parents to have an active role in encouraging their children to go back to school. We believe that aside from the financial help, equipping the mothers and strengthening their families through seminars and training will be a more long-term help for the community. Some of our topics for parent seminars are in line with DSWD’s Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) such as: Understanding the dynamics of the Filipino family, Parent’s Self-esteem, and Parenting Styles.
Our Partners
Last May, Tim, a senior manager of Unionbank, initiated an outreach for the beneficiaries of our Manila Slum Program. His group helped us encourage the children to go to school. Tim’s influence in the company grows as more branches of Unionbank reach out to us because they also want to help.
30 SHARES
Geraldine is part of our microfinance program in the Philippines. With all four of her children studying, Geraldine ensures her made-to-order rice cakes stand out from the rest. She has shown that rice cakes, which are typically plain in color, can also be fun and exciting. These are just some of the designs that she's made.Read the full article...
57 SHARES
We recently conducted an online safety seminar and distributed OSEC information and activity booklets to the 146 beneficiaries of the Manila Slum Program.
46 SHARES
Lieza is a Filipina mother of three children under 10 years old. She joined our microfinance program in the Philippines last year because their second child is about to start school and she knows that it would mean an increase in their family's expenses. She currently owns a small store where she sells snacks and other food...
53 SHARES
With the progress we are making in the Philippines towards child protection, our field partner Honor 1000 was invited to be part of Loyola Heights’ Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC).
24 SHARES
Joan is a daughter of a single mom. Her mom does laundry to earn and support Joan and her siblings. But because her mom would have only occasional laundry jobs and Joan has 6 other siblings, they don't have enough money to cover her transportation expenses in going to and from school.
10 SHARES
