Our Manila Slum Program just keeps on expanding and expanding! Last July, our program officially extended its charitable endeavors in Daantubo, Quezon City. This is now the third community we are sponsoring, next to Ronas Garden and Marytown. It’s not only the third community, but it is our biggest one yet! Challenging, yes—but also exciting.

How did we choose Daantubo as our third community? After weeks of consultation meetings with local leaders and house-to-house interviews to better understand the realities faced by families in the community, we identified that this is a deeply impoverished area. Through those sessions, too, we were able to understand the necessary assistance that the community needs.

 

A woman in a beige shirt talks to a market vendor in a blue shirt. Bananas and bottles are displayed around them.
Interview with one of the residents.

 

It is a community of over 700 families, with an average of three children each. 61% of the households survive on less than PHP 100 (USD 1.7) a day, while 73% have no stable employment. This extreme poverty causes some parents to forfeit their children’s education and instead leave them out on the streets to sell or beg.

Our data reveals that there are 566 school-aged girls who are on the verge of dropping out and are in need of our support and assistance. To start, we are initially working with 203 families with school-aged girls. Of these 203, 57% are in grade school, while 43% are in high school.

 

Three smiling young girls sit in a colorful tricycle, exuding joy and playfulness.
Some of the girls in Daantubo.

 

We are always happy to share news like this. We believe that every child has the right to quality education and to be given the opportunity to improve their lives, no matter what socio-economic background they belong to. That is our dream for our Slum Program. We aim to break the cycle of young girls leaving school and making them vulnerable to exploitation.

We believe that by walking alongside these girls and their families, lasting change can happen.

 

A narrow alleyway lined with corrugated metal sheets and trees, people walk through under dappled light.
Walking through the narrow alleys of Daantubo.

 

A makeshift neighborhood with patchwork shelters under dense trees.
Daantubo slums.

 

A young girl is perched on a concrete ledge with a blue cup, looking down into a dark, cluttered water hole in a worn, gray industrial setting.
A young girl playing by a dirty water hole.

 

 

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Manila Slum Program Philippines