« 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