FOR Thomas Kellenberger, it was in a way inevitable that he would find himself in Cagayan de Oro.
The Bern, Switzerland ex-policeman lived in the same building where the Philippine Embassy had its offices. Kellenberger had a friend in the embassy who was from Cagayan de Oro who, as most Filipinos would do, invited him to visit the city. And so he did.
However, his first trip took an unexpected turn when Kellenberger was welcomed by the sight of out-of-school-youth working in a dump site.
“On the way to Canitoan, we passed by the dumping site [...] and then it was full of children working on it,” Kellenberger recalled.
After various encounters with these children like in Divisoria’s night cafe, Agora’s Bus Terminal, Kellenberger felt the need to help get the children out of the streets.
“It touched my heart, and I got interested in it, and I ended up spending most of the time of my trip here,” he said.
As he continued to immerse himself with the street children of Cagayan de Oro and shared his experiences, Kellenberger - along with a few colleagues - began a pilot project of supporting the educational endeavors of four young street girls.
With the success of this pilot project, Kellenberger began a fundraising association in Switzerland to raise money for the children.
“In the beginning, of course, there was no money. But after 1 year, suddenly some donations came in, and then we were able to have a newspaper article in Switzerland, and then on TV,” the Swiss policeman said.
With the money he was able to raise, Kellenberger left his job in Bern to establish the Philippine Island Kids International Foundation, a Cagayan de Oro-based non-government organization dedicated to providing children with equal opportunities for education.
Since its establishment in 2008, the foundation has providing children at risk (CAR) and street children with adequate care at their residential facility Children’s Village at Scions, Canitoan. The three-building facility houses boys in one building and girls in the other two.
The foundation also provides a school at Canitoan for the children. The 11-classroom school run alongside with the Department of Education (DepEd) provides formal schooling from kindergarten to grade 6, as well as the Alternative Learning System (ALS).
“We have the once a week ALS [...] and we have 4 days a week- our own additional modules supporting their ALS,” Kellenberger said, adding that new students are often placed here first.
“Then - depending on their academic performance, what they know already - we will decide whether they will be integrated in the formal class,” he said.
Kellenberger also mentioned that free snacks and lunch are provided for the children to satisfy their hunger. A shower is also available at the children’s disposal.
Kellenberger said the foundation routinely checks on street children.
“We reach out to children on the street. There, we closely work together now with the CSWD. We also join them in the monitoring of children in the streets,” he said.
At present, the foundation is still heavily reliant on donations. Since donations mostly come from other countries like Switzerland and Germany, Kellenberger hoped that the foundation will receive funding from local companies and organizations as well.
“Everybody can profit from this if they support the children because they become future nation builders,” he said.
Organizations and individuals are also welcome to contact the foundation if they would like to help empower the children with whatever skills they have.
“If people would like to help in tutoring the children, assist the teachers, [or] if they would like to create free time activities- teach music, teach sports, teach art,” Kellenberger said.