Childhope Asia Philippines

CHILDHOPE ASIA PHILIPPINES

The Outreach and Protection / Education

on the Streets Program

Progress Report for April to June 2013

(Since 1989)

I. AREAS COVERED and STREET CHILDREN ASSISTED

The Outreach and Protection / Education on the Streets Program is considered as the pillar program of Childhope Asia Philippines, inc. The program continues toconduct counseling and non-formal education among street children in eighteen (18) specific areas in Metro Manila. A total of twenty-two (22) Street Educators composed of social workers and teachers / educators assist street children living on the streets of the six (6) cities (Quezon City, Caloocan, Manila, Makati, Pasay and Parañaque) of Metro Manila by providing direct access to basic social services such as counseling, alternative basic education, basic literacy and numeracy, medical assistance, sports and recreation, legal protection, and referral services.

The Street Educators conduct Alternative Education Sessions among street children five (5) days a week, Tuesdays to Saturdays from 4:00pm to 9:00pm, for the street children’s protection, education, and eventual decision to seek temporary shelter, or return to their families or relatives, whenever feasible. On the other hand, Street Educators report at Childhope’s office daily from 1:00pm to 4:00pm for documentation, supervision and processing of street children’s referral to shelters.

During the reporting period, the Street Education program in Mayon, Quezon City was closed because most of the street children with families were qualified as beneficiaries for the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) Program of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). However, educational assistance from Childhopeis still and will continue to give to the street children participants who are enrolled in formal school.

Table 1. Areas Covered and Corresponding Number of Street Educators

City / Areas / Number of Street Educators Assigned
Quezon City / Balintawak / Mayon
Caloocan / Monumento / 2
Manila / Blumentritt / 2
Morayta / Lawton / 1
Divisoria/ Binondo/ Delpan / 3
Pier/ Luneta / 2
Guerrero/ TM Kalaw/ Ospital ng Maynila (OSMA) / 2
Pasay / Baclaran/ Cultural Center of the Philippines
Makati / Buendia / 2
Parañaque / Sucat/ Ninoy Aquino International Airport / 1
Multi – areas / Values Education Facilitators / 4
Physical and Sports Activities Facilitator / 1
Financial Education/ Voc. Tech. Facilitator / 1
TOTAL / 21

II. STREET CHILDREN ASSISTED

For the period of April to June 2013, a total of632 street children were reached and assisted, of whom only 12 or 2%were new participants/contacts.There was anincrease of 18%in the number of street children assisted during the reporting period compared to 518 street children assisted during the previous quarter because there were no government “rescue” operations conducted since LGU’s were busy during the election period. In addition, more children worked on the streets to earn money in preparation for the school opening.

Table 2: Classification of Street Children According to Sex

Street Children Assisted / Male / Female / Total
New Participants / 4 / 8 / 12
Ongoing Participants / 364 / 256 / 620
Total / 368 / 264 / 632

Table 3 below shows that more than half or 75% of street children assisted during the reporting period were under the category of children of street families or those whose family members are also street dwellers.However, Childhope’s first priority group, which arethe street-based children or those who have been abused, abandoned, and live alone on the street were assisted with a total of 116 or 18% of the total number served. A total of 42or 7% of children servedare community-based street children or those who work or beg on the streets but still go home to their families in the communities after working. It clearly shows that due to poverty, the poor families prefer to live on the streets since they cannot afford to pay rent and other utility bills. It is observed that while some street families were relocated to nearby provinces, they still keep coming back to the streets because there are no ways of earning a living in the resettlement area where they were relocated.

Table 3: Distribution of Street Children Based on Social Category.

Social Category of
Street Children Served / Male / Female / Total
Living alone on the street / 82 / 34 / 116
Living on the street with parents/ family / 265 / 209 / 474
Community-based street children/ working children / 21 / 21 / 42
Total / 368 / 264 / 632

III. ACCOMPLISHMENTS PER PROGRAM COMPONENT

A.Psychosocial Interventions

For the period covered, a total of 29street children were assisted with individualcounsellingwhile 61 street children participated in groupcounselling sessions. On the other hand, a total of twenty three (23) street children of which 16 are males and 7 are females were referred to recovery shelterssuch as Boystown Center, Girls Town Center, Pangarap Shelter, Virlanie Foundation, Tahanan Sta. Luisa, Bahay Tuluyan and Pasay Youth Center. Only one child was reconciled with her relative in Pangasinan.

In addition, home visits for the reporting period were continuously conductedby the Social Workers/ PSI Workers among street children who have behaviouralproblems, children whose attendance in the Alternative Education sessions are irregular and children who are in-school. The social workers also coordinate with the parents to discuss their child’s problems affecting their behaviour and their future plans for their children.

Table 4. Number of Street Children Assisted with Psychosocial Interventions

Number of Street Children Assisted with
Psychosocial Interventions / Male / Female / Total
Group Counseling / 34 / 27 / 61
Individual Counseling / 16 / 13 / 29
Psychological Evaluation / 0 / 0 / 0
Home Visitation / 4 / 0 / 4
Recovery center visit for child exposure / 16 / 4 / 20
Recovery center visit for case follow-up / 1 / 3 / 4
Referral and admission in temporary recovery centers / 16 / 7 / 23
Family Reconciliation / 0 / 1 / 1
School Visit / 1 / 1 / 2

B. Alternative Education Sessions and Other Learning Opportunities

The table below reflects the Alternative Education sessions facilitated among the street children participants:

Table 5. Street Children Participants in Alternative Education Sessions

NUMBER OF STREET CHILDREN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION SESSIONS
Male / Female / Total
UN CRC / 41 / 32 / 73
Spiritual and Values Education / 183 / 120 / 303
Primary Health Care / 17 / 12 / 29
Substance Abuse Prevention Education (SAPE) / 34 / 18 / 52
Adolescent Sexuality / 16 / 13 / 29
Personal Safety & Protective Behavior (PSPB) / 13 / 13 / 26
Para-legal Education / 7 / 5 / 12
Life Skills / Life Goals (LSLG) / 20 / 9 / 29
STI-HIV/AIDS / 30 / 25 / 55
Gender Sensitivity / 22 / 18 / 40
Basic Literacy & Numeracy (BLAN) / 22 / 16 / 38
Physical and Sports Activities / 286 / 115 / 401 / 0
Financial Education / 30 / 14 / 44
Reproductive Health / 30 / 18 / 48
Basic and Advance Computer Literacy / 24 / 41 / 67
Focused Group Discussions/ Group Counseling / 64 / 35 / 99

ValuesEducation

For the reporting period, a total of 303 street children participated in Spiritual Values Formation (SVF) sessions. The facilitators also continue to conduct Values Education sessions / Focused Group Discussions among the street children participants to assess what each child has learned and how they will apply these in their everyday lives.

In addition, facilitators continue to conduct advocacy sessions with different religious groups and institutions such as churches and Catholic parish groups. Through established partnerships and continuous coordination with the religious groups, the assigned Street Educators are allowed to use church facilities as venue for alternative values education sessions among street children, Health and Nutrition education and feeding, Skills Development training, Mobile Education Van sessions and Mobile Health Clinic sessions.

Among the major behavioural indicators observed among the street children during the reporting period were as follows:

• Have shown respect towards other children and to adults by using “po” and “opo” and avoiding foul words, and using traditional hand blessing gestures;
• Have reduced engagement in negative behavior such as use of prohibited drugs and other substances, stealing, snatching;
• Have developed confidence in expressing one’s self with others;
• Actively participate in sessions even without their peer group and also arrive on time during sessions;
• Actively participate in different community organizations such as church choir, church ministry and sports festival among others;
• Volunteer to perform certain tasks/assignments; and
• Have learned to follow instructions and rules.

Physical and Sports Activities- 6th Hope Sports Festival for Street Children

On its 6th year in serving and assisting the street children through sports activities, the Hope Sports Festival Project supported by Childhope and High Five Hope Foundation have established its new partnership with Philippines Sports Commissions (PSC). PSC hosted the event and allowed Childhope to use the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila for five (5) consecutive days from June 9-13, 2013 without any charges/fees. There were 312 street children who participated in basketball, volleyball and futkal (football on the streets). This year badminton was introduced and played for the first time by the street children participants.

This year’s basketball junior and midget street children champions came from Binondo/Divisoria/Delpan areas. The Binondo volleyball and futkal teams werealso declared as champion teams. On the other hand, the first badminton champion team was from Pasay/Baclaran area and 2nd placer was from Luneta/Pier. The 2nd place was awarded to the street girls from Pasay/Baclaran in the volleyball category. The boys of Ermita/Malate, Blumentritt and Monumento/Balintawak areas were also awarded 2nd place in junior and midget basketball and “footkal” categories respectively.

The sports festival wouldnot have been possible without the support and assistance through grants and in-kind donations and volunteers from Hope for Children UK, Maynilad, Jollibee Foods Corporation, Malayan Insurance Company, Amy Foundation, Citiglobe Volunteers, Toy Kingdom, Coca-Cola Philippines, Convergys, Texicon Philippines, Accenture and Museo Pambata.

In addition, there were 62 street children from the areas of Morayta, Blumentritt, NAIA, Baclaran and Lawton who regularly attended the Physical and Sports Activities (PSA) session during the reporting period. Out of 62 street children participants, 20 street children are official participants of rugby football clinic facilitated by the coaches from Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) every Thursday at Quezon City Memorial Circle. The street children participants of PRFU also participated in CB Richard Ellis(CBRE) Junior League last February 16 at Eagle’s New Club in Silangan, Laguna.

Moreover, the street children participants of PRFU clinic also participated in the rugby football clinic facilitated by the different coach members of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) at Rizal Memorial Stadium last May 4 and 18. The participants were also able to watch the livegame between the Philippine Volcano team and Hong Kong last May 4 and the Philippine Volcano team versus United Arab of Emirates last May 18.

Financial Education/ Vocational Technical and Service Skills Training

Street children who have finished/ completed the Vocational Technical/ Service Skills Training course in Silk Screen Printing, Basic Carpentry, Cell Phone Repair and Cooking are now earning money through an on-call service. While children who graduated from haircutting are continuously practicing their skills in the area among their fellow street children. On the other hand, three street youth trained in housekeeping are now earning money from an on-call service as waiters in Queensland Catering, a business firm

Within the reporting period, eleven (11) street youth completed the course on housekeeping trained by a Trainor from TESDA. Ten (10) of them passed the NCII examination administered by TESDA. The Voc. Tech. coordinator is coordinating with hotels and catering services for possible OJT placement and/ or work placement of the youth. Moreover, six youth also graduated from car washing course and one of them is now working in a car washing shop.

Identification of potential participants for Voc. Tech/ Service Skills Training is on-going. About 40 street children from Divisoria, Ermita, Baclaran, Luneta, Pier and Lawton were assessed as potential participants for Voc. Tech./ Service Skills Training. Coordination with TESDA and other institutions for resource persons and available training sessions is on-going.

C. Alternative Learning System (Basic Education)

Table 5. Alternative Learning System (ALS) – Basic Education

NUMBER OF STREET CHILDREN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE ALS
Male / Female / Total
Basic Literacy Program (BLP) with module
(5 classes) / 28
Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program
(2classes) / 8

For the reporting period, a total of 7 classes of ALS-A&E and BLP continuously conducted in the areas of Ermita/Malate, Luneta/Pier, Binondo/ Divisoria/Del Pan,Morayta and Blumentritt.

For the reporting period, there were nine (9) children who dropped out from the Basic Literacy Program(BLP) class, 4 children from Morayta and 5 children from TM Kalaw. While two children in the BLP class enrolled in formal school. The street educator /Instructional Manager assigned in different areas continues to identify and recruit a new group of out of schoolchildren and youth to attend the Alternative Learning System (A&E) and to add to the existing classes of A&E and BLP.

Thirty five (35) street children continue to attend the ALS- BLP sessions under the joint project of Childhope, Malayan Insurance Company and Binondo Catholic Church. Sessions were held everyday from Mondays to Fridays.

D. Skills Development Activities

The table below indicates the skills development activities attended by the street children during the reporting period:

Activity / Date/Venue / No./Area of Street Children Participants / Organizer / Donor / Sponsor
Basic and Advance Computer Literacy Program / April to June 2013 / 51street children from Monumento/Balintawak, Blumentritt, Luneta/Ermita, NAIA/Sucat and Lawton/Kalaw including the 10 street children participants of Advance Computer Literacy classes. / Dell International Services Philippines, Inc. / APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) / Childhope
Physical and Sports Activities / April to June/ different areas / 312street children from all the areas covered by the Street Education program / Childhope
Dance and Singing Workshop / Every Saturday at Deutsche Bank office in Taguig / 35-40 street children from all the areas covered the Street Education program / Deutsche Knowledge Services (DKS)
Rugby Football / Every Thursday at Quezon City Memorial Circle / 20-25 street children from Blumentritt and Morayta, Manila / Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU)
Different Skills Activities / Every Saturday at Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) / 16 street children from Ermita, Luneta area / Emilio Aguinaldoo College (EAC) – International School
Choir practice / April to Juneat Binondo Parish / 22 street children from Binondo, Manila / Childhope
CBRichard Ellis’ football competition / April 20 at Laguna / 20-25 street children from Blumentritt and Morayta, Manila / Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU)
Art workshop / April 20 at Luneta Park / 70 street children from Luneta / Couch Surfing International Network Volunteers
Basic Computer Literacy and Art Workshop / April 26 and June 25 at Arroceros Park, Manila and Childhope office respectively / 30 street children from Lawton and 10 street children from Mayon / Dell International Services Philippines, Inc.
Football Clinic / May 4 and 18 / 70 street children from Blumentriit, Morayta, Binondo and Luneta / Asian Football Rugby Union (ARFU) and PRFU
Art activity / May 18 and June 29 / 70 street children from Luneta, Ermita and Malate areas / Pilipinas Natin organization
Cup cake decorations and Financial Education session / June 8 at Canonigo Covered Cort, Paco,Manila / 100 street children from Manila / Citibank
Frisbee clinic / June 11 at Ninoy Aquino Stadium Track Oval / 40 street children from all the areas covered bythe Street Education Program / Ms. Patricia Hizon and Maynilad
Simultaneously Art and Dance Workshop and Computer Literacy session / June 22 at Binondo Church and Childhope office / 40 street children / Dell International Services Philippines, Inc.
T-shirt painting workshop / June 29 at HSBC Office, Taguig / 20 street children from Luneta / HSBC Philippines

E.Health and Medical Services

A total of 621 street children who consulted and benefitted from the health and medical services conducted by the full time physician of the Mobile H ealth Clinic project for the 2nd quarter of 2013. The clinic physician conducts medical check-ups/consultations every Tuesday to Saturday, among the beneficiaries in areas served by the Street Education Program. The Mobile Health Clinic continues to servethe street children participantsof Childhope program.

A total of 1,265 cases were seen during this quarter. Among the most numbers of cases seen were as follows: bacterial respiratory infections, viral respiratory infections, dental caries, hyperactive airways syndrome, and systemic viral illness.

Among the street children patients seen, 446 children had well-child consultations, i.e. they had no subjective complaints during check-up and were found to be well and normal at the time of examination. This is emphasized to be a good parameter to measure the health-seeking behaviour of children beneficiaries. They do not only consult the physician when they get ill, but also give due importance to prevention from being sick.

F.Leadership Training and Participation among Street Children

For the reporting period, about 50 Junior Health Workers (JHWs) actively performed their tasks and responsibilities such as conducting sessions on Primary Health Care and related topics, referring children to health center, administering first aid treatment and assisting in the Mobile Health Clinic sessions in their respective areas.

On the other hand, 50 Junior Advocates (JAs) actively performed their tasks and responsibilities which included providing assistance to the Street Educators during sessions and outreach activities, discussing specific topics on Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) among their fellow street children, and reporting to eh social worker, cases of abuse committed against them or their fellow street children, if any.

There were ten (10) street children Junior Advocates (JAs) who participated in an upgrading training on May 12, 2013 entitled “Pagdadala Model” by Decenteceo of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, Quezon City. This training aims to enhance the knowledge, attitude and skills of the JAs in facilitating/ discussing child’s rights advocacy among their fellow street children as well as to understand their situations and enable them to manage their difficulties in life.