Foundation treats street kids to a party

Sunday, April 17, 2011

THE second floor of a fast-food chain outlet in Consolacion town, Cebu buzzed with children eating and playing like they’ve never done before. It was not a birthday bash of a privileged child. It was a party organized for street children.

One of them, a 14-year-old boy named Junrel Sibonga, finished the spaghetti and fried chicken in just a matter of minutes.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

“I get my food from the trash,” said the boy, who hails from Iligan City, when asked how he survives each day.

He and 49 others took a break from their daily doings on the streets to attend the party last Monday organized for them by Batang Pinangga (BP) Foundation Inc., a group dedicated to helping neglected, abandoned and abused children.

They received T-shirts and short pants, which they wore before the party started.

As they played games, one could see on the back of their T-shirts the slogan “Help Stop Child Abuse.”

The foundation organized the event to set an example for local government units (LGUs), said BP executive director Butch Carpintero.

Meeting

In a meeting that followed after the party, Carpintero asked some village chiefs in Consolacion to exert more effort in keeping children away from the hazards of living on the streets.

Barangay Cansaga Captain Peter Cabillada proposed that an action plan be made by local officials and non-government organizations, saying that if nothing is done about street children, they may become “professional beggars” when they grow up.

“This is urgent. We have to act now,” he said.

The town’s social welfare development office recognized the urgency of the proposal, prompting them to hold parenting seminars to combat the problem.

Flor Bagatbat, a social worker, said the town’s daycare workers will be trained on how
to teach parents become effective in caring for their children.

Martina Jorolan, a BP officer, lamented that some children are forced to live on the streets because they suffer hunger and violence at home.

“They don’t find love at home. In the streets, they feel free, they can find food and they can play,” she said.

Poverty

A recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies and United Nations Children’s Fund revealed that in 2006, 12.8-million children under the age of 15, or

44 percent of all Filipino children, are living in poverty.

The figure increased by almost four percentage points, or about one million additional poor children, since 2003.

According to the study, the country will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals
if it fails to address the problem of street children.

BP advocacy officer Melecio Jumao-as said a “workable” barangay council for the protection of children is crucial to solving the problem.

Barangays’ help

“If barangay officials are responsible enough, the problem will not spill over to the towns and cities,” he said.

He also called on local officials to strengthen their gender and development programs.

Established 11 years ago, BP maintains a shelter catering to 30 children and operates in the towns of Carmen, Compostela, Liloan, Consolacion and in Danao City.

In the last five years, the foundation has helped neglected, abandoned and abused children re-integrate in the communities.

“Our goal is to have no children on the streets and no children in centers,” Carpintero said.