Significant support from the Fondation Ensemble!

A partnership agreement has just been finalized with the Fondation Ensemble (http://www.fondationensemble.org/) with the intent to offer a financial support of €12,000 for 2013-2014 dedicated to the rehabilitation project led by HOST-NGO at the Social Development Center (SDC).

The Fondation Ensemble is a private foundation, state-approved in France since its establishment in 2004. Its mission is to promote a sustainable human development, i.e. integrating environmental protection, in every supported project. The Foundation is involved in six intervention sectors, under the sign of sustainable development: water, sanitation, sustainable agriculture, renewable energies, eco-habitat, and biodiversity conservation. In partnership with NGOs and funding organizations, the Foundation supports projects in direct relation to the needs of the populations: projects with measurable impacts over time and which promote local capacity building, and innovative projects whenever the context allows it.

This new partnership will enable to fulfil the following objectives:

1. To improve access to water and sanitation to fit child rights policies in terms of health protection and overall well-being;

2. To adapt the water systems to the actual needs of the children and to environmental constraints;

3. To increase nutrition and food security (involving proper food production and consumption processes) in order to reduce major diseases in link with poor water and waste management (mainly food-borne and water-borne diseases);

4. To reach financial sustainability throughout the management of natural resources and eco-friendly livelihood alternatives;

5. To reach environmental sustainability thanks to the implementation of an eco-friendly approach in the whole functioning of the SDC;

6. To prevent and raise awareness on major environmental issues.

Direct beneficiaries of this project are the children catered at the SDC, mainly the street children and the youth in conflict with the law. The center accommodates over 500 children every year. This intervention will also address the local staff working at the SDC, including both educational and administrative teams, i.e. an average of 30 employees.

On behalf of the community of Bacolod City, Philippines, we would like to warmly thank the Fondation Ensemble for its commitment toward the vulnerable youth! We hope to be welcoming their team members on the field in order to introduce them with the beneficiaries of the project and show them the significant impact of their support.

What’s new at the SDC?

Thanks to ALL OF YOU, our amazing friends and supporters, we raised over US$6,000 during Global Giving Open Challenge last April. However our fundraising campaign is not over yet as our final goal is to reach US$20,000 in order to successfully support the street children in Bacolod City, Philippines.

Since the beginning of the year, we have been able to design and conduct educational and recreational activities, which are vital for the individual development of these kids. At the Social Development Center (SDC), we have facilitated the launching of the Alternative Learning System (ALS). It aims at providing out-of-school children with basic education in order to enable their future reintegration into the formal education system. Besides, tutoring sessions, film and documentary showing are completing the ALS program. A comprehensive vocational training & lifeskills program has also been designed and offers the children various activities such as: macramé, cooking/food processing, organic gardening, mats making, etc. Art, music and dance therapy, aikido and other sports activities have been introduced and/or reinforced to specifically promote the individual physical and emotional development of the kids. In addition, psychology support is provided to enhance the children's creativity, cooperation and thinking skills, helping on their social and emotional concerns, regaining their self-esteem and facilitating their social integration, teaching them about their social roles and responsibilities, and developing coping skills.

Our team has been devoting time and energy to help the local staff building a safer and healthier environment and a particular focus has been set on nutrition and sanitation. In collaboration with the city authorities, toilets and shower rooms are under construction at the SDC, while the dorms will soon be renovated, along with the kitchen. A waste and water management program is being designed to allow better sanitation conditions and prevent the common diseases affecting the children in the Philippines. An activity room has also been renovated at the center and it is a perfect match for aikido practice as it requires a calm and remote setting.

As part of our specific program to help the street children, a new HOST-NGO volunteer will be conducting this month a mission of two weeks emphasizing on answering these kids’ needs and offering training and support to the team on-field. The mission objectives will include four thematics: hygiene & sanitation awareness, education & social development, waste management, as well as team building and training.

June 12^th, 2013: Global Giving Bonus Day

Global Giving is launching a Partner Rewards Bonus Day this Wednesday, June 12^th. Online donations of up to $1,000 per donor, made to our project “Remove 500 Filipino children from the streets”, will be matched 30% starting at 9:00 am EDT (3:00 pm in France) on June 12^th and ending at 11:59 pm on the same day (5:00 am on June, 13^th in France).

If you wish to support our project dedicated to the street children, you can donate via the following link: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/remove-500-children-from-the-streets-in-philippines

Global Giving will be matching $0.30 each and every dollar donated online during that timeframe. For instance, a donation of $100 will be raised to $130 by Global Giving… So do not hesitate to take advantage of this Bonus Day to help the disadvantaged children in the Philippines!

HOST-NGO team and beneficiaries would like to warmly thank you in advance for your generous and loyal support!

Bringing good vibes to the SDC!

Our friend and artist, Kalayo (“fire” in Hiligaynon, one of the local dialects spoken in the Philippines), offered to share his positive energy to help the children to express themselves at the SDC. His goal was to awake their self-consciousness via various therapy methods: dancing on percussions, freestyle dancing, group dance games and relaxing inner dance.

Every activity session held by Kalayo starts with a speech to discuss on who we are and how to try to find the answers to our questions, which are hidden inside our own mind. Then on the beat of the drum the children start to release their stress, feeling more comfortable with themselves as well as with the others. Some dance games were quite appreciated by our young participants, especially whenever they had to partner to participate into mirror dancing, or whenever they were asked to imitate animals.

Kalayo is using his energy flow to introduce the children to the concept of “inner dance”, which aims at leading to an intuitive exploration of the true self through increased self-awareness of the body, the mind and the emotions, which are transformed as energy. The three workshops already held had an amazing positive impact as the children expressed one by one their feelings following the various sessions: “I feel relieved”, “I think I understood something today about my situation, how can I know more?”, “I want to keep this positive feeling!”, “It was an unexpected experience, can we do it again?”.

The good vibes were definitely spread throughout the SDC. The children even showed their deep appreciation of Kalayo’s involvement at the SDC with a warm group hug when the latter was about to leave the premises. We are sincerely hoping that Kalayo will be able to come back for further sessions at the SDC according to his busy schedule.

« Pauline nag balik ! » (Pauline is back !)

Pauline, our human rights coordinator, is now back to Bacolod for a new volunteering mission. Last year she volunteered for eight months with us and sadly had to leave the Philippines in November. After spending a few months in France she decided to come back and continue her fulfilling mission. Our team is delighted to have her glamorous smile and charming accent back to Bacolod. However the region of the Pyrenees had to say goodbye to her once more…

Her legal background will be useful to keep providing support in terms of individual legal counselling to the social workers at the SDC. She will also take an essential role within the frame of our rehabilitation program dedicated to support the children at risk and street children in Bacolod City. She will indeed focus on a new aspect of the program: the prevention of juvenile delinquency and child abuses in the community. The objective is to be able to reach out to the barangays (city districts) and coordinate with the local leaders in order to design and operate efficient diversion programs. The children targeted will be enrolled in a comprehensive program aiming at reintegrating them into the community and preventing further threats and/or misconducts. The goal will also be to reinforce the participation of the community members and raise their awareness in dealing with issues affecting the children and youths. This community-based initiative should encourage the citizens to actually get involved in reducing juvenile delinquency and child abuses.

While our team welcomed back this former volunteer, we had to thank another volunteer who left us after six months of devoted work. Tiphaine N. helped HOST-NGO to design and implement a monitoring and evaluation program. Her achievements help us assessing the impact of our intervention throughout the running projects and activities. She also took care of accounting and book keeping to lighten our administrative constraints. The children of the SDC will particularly miss her as she was always willing to visit them and enjoy Hiligaynon (local dialect) conversations with them.

HOST-NGO team is always excited to hear about new people willing to volunteer whether it is for a short or a longer period of time. If YOU are interested by our projects and think that you would be able to share some knowledge and skills with us, DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT US (contact@host-ngo.org or http://www.host-ngo.org/contact2). We will be more than happy to consider your proposition!

Rotary Club to support our beneficiaries in the Philippines

The Rotary Club of Bacolod North invited HOST-NGO team to present its organization and program last Wednesday (May 15^th) thanks to the introduction from a member of the club. Sara Vial, Co-Founder and Social Development Manager of HOST-NGO and Ton-Trong Ho, Co-Founder President and Program Manager of HOST-NGO, explained to a dozen members of the club, including the ongoing Vice-President and incoming President, the purpose of our activities in the Philippines. Following that presentation, a discussion related to partnership opportunities was held.

The idea of partnering with Rotary Clubs was raised since our team met and became friends with a few Rotarians from Bacolod City. We also got the chance to meet with the upcoming President of the Rotary Club of Bacolod Central, which led us to think of partnering with the club. 

This collaboration could help us grow our network of partners, as well as enhance the support we are offering to the vulnerable children and communities in the Philippines. It is indeed a great opportunity since Rotary Club has representatives all around the world. In Bacolod City, there are already eight clubs and there are over 500 clubs nationwide, i.e. over 17,000 Rotarians.

On Friday, May 17^th, our program managers were invited to introduce our organization in front of all the incoming Presidents of the Rotary Clubs from Bacolod City and its surroundings. Each club is now considering how its members could involve into our projects as part of their respective community service program. We will soon propose to the clubs a list of needs to be fulfilled and the relevant activities which could be implemented with their support. 

This seems to be the beginning of a strong and sustainable collaboration!

Local, national and provincial elections held on May 13th in the Philippines

Since January 13^th, politicians have been campaigning for the nationwide elections dedicated to elect mayors, vice-mayors and councillors. Last Monday, May 13^th, the campaign came to an end after four lively months. Local elections were held in every city and municipality throughout the Philippines on the same day and on the same ballot as national and provincial elections (senators, congressmen and provincial governors). On these one-day mid-term polls, over 52 million citizens were eligible to vote for a total of more than 18,000 positions.

In Bacolod City, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson (NPC/Grupo Progreso) faced former Congressman Monico Puentevella (Independent/MKK) for the position of Bacolod City Mayor. With 105,685 votes against 90,614, Puentevella was proclaimed the new city mayor by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) board of canvassers on Tuesday, May 14^th.

The twelve winning councillors were also proclaimed winners by the Comelec, including councillors Em Ang, Ann Marie Palermo, Bobby Rojas, Caesar Distrito and Carl Lopez among others.

Outgoing Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia (NPC/GP) was proclaimed congressman while Greg Gasataya won as Vice Mayor of Bacolod City.

Global Giving Open Challenge: it is YOUR success!

The Global Giving Open Challenge is now over and thanks to you all, we have been able to raise 6,254 USD in only ONE MONTH! Our 65 donors allowed our organization, HOST-NGO, to become a permanent partner in the Global Giving community.

Global Giving is a charity fundraising website based on crowdfunding, which gives social entrepreneurs and non-profits from anywhere in the world a chance to raise money to improve their communities. We now have the opportunity to fully access their fundraising tools and services, which will greatly enhance our financial capacity and help expanding our on-field intervention.

Despite the end of the challenge, the trip is not over. The road to happiness for everyone is long and bumpy. But we all believe that we can achieve a lot with the support of all these great individuals!

HOST-NGO team is still looking for donations to implement the project focusing on supporting the street children of Bacolod City in the Philippines. The donations raised will be dedicated to reinforcing the rehabilitation opportunities available to help the street children and the children at risk to access better living conditions: access to accommodation facilities, fulfilment of their basic needs, education and training, health and medical care, etc. Our final fundraising goal is indeed to reach US$ 20,000 in order to be able to effectively address the critical issues faced every day by the children in the streets.

If you are willing to support this project, you may follow the link below. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further information on this initiative. We wish to warmly thank you all, our precious current and future donors, for your generous and essential support!

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/remove-500-children-from-the-streets-in-philippines