RCM 2015 District Mini Grant Award

Each year Rotary Districts around the world get back fifty percent of the donations that they gave TRF three years before. Up to half of these “District Designated Funds (DDF) may be used to fund District mini-grants. These mini-grants are less restrictive than “Global Grants” and are used to address needs that are compatible with Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus but might not qualify for Global Grants. This year D-3810 allocated up to 22,500 pesos per club, to be augmented by club funds, to address local needs. As your TRF Chair for projects, I researched various possibilities and submitted two applications for the consideration of the club. RCM’s club project that received the support of the board and the district is a literacy program.

We are collaborating with The International Movement All Together in Dignity Fourth World (ATD FW), a non-governmental organization with no religious or political affiliation. ATD FW engages individuals and institutions to find solutions to eradicate extreme poverty. Working directly with people in poverty, ATD FW’s approach focuses on supporting families and individuals in disadvantaged communities. Based in France and with a presence in 34 countries around the world, ATD FW Philippines began in 1989 in Manila. ADT FW is a global and locally accredited charitable foundation and regular collaborator with the Philippines National Anti-Poverty Commission. Strong links are already established with four Manila impoverished communities: Manila North Cemetery, under a bridge at Quirino Avenue, and two neighborhoods in Pandacan located beside a water canal, Hilum and Lozada. The ATD FW team also visits resettlement areas in Bulacan and Laguna where families from Quirino Avenue are relocated.

Our outreach will support a weekly literacy program, “Ang Galing,” which is conducted at the Manila North Cemetery, where many families and individuals have taken up informal residence (aka “informal settlements” or as “informal settlers”) – they actually live in the cemetery! The target population is “children at risk.” The term “Street Kids” is derisive and denies them and their family dignity. These children are not typically orphans; they are just victims of extreme poverty and we are offering a ray of hope to improve their future.

The literacy program focuses on children 6 to 15 years of age who have serious difficulties in basic reading and writing (Tagalog). Some children go to school, usually irregularly. Some start school but quickly drop out because they are so far behind their peers. Others are not enrolled at all. “Ang Galing” seeks to reinforce the self-confidence of these children in the fundamentals of literacy. The program uses one-on-one tutorial sessions to encourage every improvement no matter how small, therefore, “Ang Galing.” The activities/sessions are conducted where the children live and play: outside, in the graveyard, with lessons prepared individually for each child, tailored to their needs. Parents are kept informed and updated as partners in education, and the schools are linked when applicable. This is a very professional program funded entirely by donations and staffed by genuinely good-hearted volunteers.

Today we are happy to present ATD FW’s Philippines Country Director Mr. Guy Malfait with our club’s check for P27,000 to fund new curricular and program support materials for the Manila North Cemetery “Ang Galing” literacy program, including textbooks, consumable workbooks, writing instruments and a simple meal (to help attract and retain the students, who usually have no reliable source of nutrition). The program serves forty children three times a month for nine months. The materials have an approximate cost of USD $600 or P27,000. (Materials P15 and meriendas P10 per child, per week). Additional books for early graders have also been generously provided by RCM’s PT Hector O. “Chito” Tagaysay, President of Filway Marketing and Chairman of Ateneo’s Scholarship Committee, through his Ahon Foundation (Acts of Hope for the Nation).

RCM members may participate in the program as volunteer tutors, as well as to provide pro bono consultancy services for the organization in member’s areas of expertise, such as education, accountancy, law, management, and fundraising. The club will plan a visit to the site early next year so that we may see the program in action. Please introduce yourself to Mr. Malfait to see if you or some of your friends and family might be interested in participating in this exciting and fulfilling outreach. You can also call him at 0947 423 7238. You will be glad that you did.