27 Street Children, Mendicants Saved

       Who says there are no more street children and beggars in Makati City which is the country's foremost financial center and one of the nation's richest cities?

        Recent reports of the Makati Social Welfare Department (MSWD) to Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay simply answered this question.

        MSWD chief Marjorie de Veyra has reported that her department rescued 27 street children and mendicants from city streets during a two-day operation that started on December 4.

        Her report said that of the 27 persons rescued, 17 are street children and 10 are adult mendicants, with 14 of them residents of seven city barangays, and the rest of Quezon City, Manila, Caloocan City, Antipolo City, Bulacan and Laguna.

        De Veyra also said that three children have been referred to the Sarnile Crisis Center, one tot he Makati Anti-Drug Abuse Council (MADSAC), and three have been endorsed to their respective barangays, while ten have been released to their parents after executing an affidavit of undertaking.

        She said the 10 adult mendicants have been required to undergo community service at the Social Development center (SDC) before they were released.

        They were also required to promise that they will not loiter the streets anymore as beggars, vendors, and vagrants.

        Acting on De Veyra's report, Binay reiterated his standing order to barangay officials to monitor and report the presence of similar individuals in their respective areas in order to clear city streets of these persons who, he said, are a risk to motorist especially during the Christmas season.

        Binay said that the Christmas holidays are a time when the number of such individuals noticeably increases in the city and other urban centers.

        In earlier operations by the MSWD from January to November this year, 121 street children were rescued, compared to last year's 375 rounded up from various streets.

Felix Mediavillo

Manila Bulletin

December 15, 2003

Outreach Program held in Cebu

"MakiPasko Tayo" 2003 benefits streetkids

        Innove Communications held an outreach program entitled "MakiPasko tayo 2003", yesterday at the city Sports Club Ballroom.

        The event was held for the benefit of the street children sheltered by various local non-government organizations (NGOs) and foundations in Cebu, among which are Gawad Kalinga (GK) of Eversly, Mandaue City and the Asilo dela Milagrosa Foundation.

        Gawad Kalinga seeks to help indigents by providing them with food, shelter, education, and community development programs, mainly geared for children ages 3 to 12, out-of-school youth and their families. the Asilo dele Milagrosa Foundation seeks to provide clothing, food, shelter to orphaned and (sic) street children in Cebu. The foundation is run by nuns.

        The event was conducted with the cooperation of McDonald's, which provided the food for the event. McDonald's figurehead Ronald McDonald (sic) will be present on the occasion, as well as an appearance by Santa Claus.

        Other activities such as face painting, a magic show and performance by clowns was held.

        A local band (sic) will also be present to provide music for the event.

        In addition to the planned entertainment, the beneficiary children themselves also presented entertainment numbers of their own.

        A raffle was also held, along with giveaways from GlobeQuest and Globelines.

        Innove Communications said that this year, instead of the usual tradition of (sic) send Christmas gifts to corporate clients, they chose to spend the holidays by sharing its blessings tom the hundreds of street children in Cebu.

PNA

Manila Bulletin

December 18, 2003

Our Blessed Mother of Victory Mission Foundation, Inc. (OBMVM)

        Our Blessed Mother of Victory Mission Foundation, Inc. (OBMVM) was founded in 1988 primarily to provide shelter, health care and educational assistance for the less fortunate (street children, especially) in the city of Zamboanga. It is a non-stock, non-profit organization funded by private benefactors responding to the call to save poor children from being hooked into drugs and other criminal activities. More so, it is the foundation's priority to provide them a home so as to support them in fulfilling their dreams and ambitions in life.

        The foundation conceptualized its vision by putting up St. Francis House, an orphanage situated in the city of Zamboanga in Western Mindanao. The ecnter serves as a home to more than seventy-six (76) children, whose ages range from 5-21. They are provided with basic needs such as food, shelter, health care, education, and spiritual formation. Likewise, they are trained to execute various skills during the summer, for their own personal growth and development.

        As St. Francis House strives to open its doors to accept more street children, orphans, and other less fortunate individuals, it is faced with tougher financial challenges. Similarly, dependence on mission appeals for operational funds has been limited, resulting to a cut-down on some of its costs. Since food is a major cost in running the orphanage, the foundation conceptualized a swine production and fattening project to generate income. This project could support the operational cost, at the same time, create a sufficient supply of meat products for the orphanage's daily consumption. Furthermore, whatever income is realized from the project will be used for the children's basic social needs, most especially, for their education.

        The foundation owns two hectares of agricultural land situated at Barangay Pasonanca, approximately six kilometers away from the city, approximately 300 meters from the orphanage, (sic) an area ideal for livestock production. Interested parties willing to contribute in support of this project may contact the foundation's administrator, Fr. Max Campo, through telephone numbers (062) 991-1196/991-7904 or P.O. Box 229 Pasonanca Park, Zamboanga City.

Manila Bulletin

December 20, 2003