HUGPONG to launch 2013 activity program

Last Friday, February 22nd, Hugpong group members gathered to review last year's activities and plan 2013 program. A dozen organizations, both local and international, joined the meeting: Ikaw-Ako, LEAD Volunteer, Peace Corps, AYAD, Warriors for Peace, OISCA, IPON, Sanaaw, Greenheart Hermitage, Mud House Building, Virlanie Foundation, HOST-NGO. The members discussed the strategy and mission of Hugpong in order to adopt a common and relevant approach. The core values and objectives will be defined and agreed in a mission statement to be approved by all members.

Hugpong is dedicated to promote volunteerism in the Philippines and provide an opportunity to any volunteers' organization to communicate on its projects and activities. Its final goal is to encourage the sharing of skills and experience for a more sustainable and effective intervention. The group is now open to any type of organization, which is active in Negros Island and agrees on Hugpong's mission statement. Religious organizations can also join upon the condition that they respect the religious policy and views of the group and its members. Regular meetings dedicated to plan activities and events will be organized and hosted by each member organization. The members will also vote for their president, secretary and treasurer at the next meeting.

Upcoming events include the Sports Festival in Patag (March 3rd), Glow Fundraiser in Bacolod City (March 8th), Panaad sa Negros Festival in Bacolod City (April 8-14th). Hugpong members will decide on how to best organize their participation into these events. Next meeting of the group will be held on March, 15th.

For more information or to follow Hugpong's activities, check out the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HugpongVolunteersUnitedForNegros

Mud house building with LEAD Volunteer

LEAD Volunteer (League for Environmental Advocate for sustainable Development) is a local non-governmental organization, which has been founded in the Philippines in 2003. Its mission is to increase the sharing of skills and talents, promote voluntarism toward sustainable ideal community-building projects, and build a regional and international network of volunteers. LEAD Volunteer initiates projects and initiatives, which directly or indirectly aim at preserving the environment.
Their areas of intervention include: youth empowerment (rescue team and campus organization), environmental campaign and development (campus nursery and marine protected areas), community sectoral organizing (fisherfolk and farmer's organizational support), culture and arts (artist and event organizing), agrarian reform (beneficiaries organizational capacity building assistance), mud house projects (promotion and technology transfer), and emergency response capacity building.

Since 2012, LEAD Volunteer has been involved at the Social Development Center (SDC) to support the children at risk in collaboration with Bacolod City and Virlanie Foundation. The organization is currently deploying volunteers to organize weekly music activities (drums) and it has been planned to provide the children with art therapy activities in a near future.

HOST-NGO has been recently considering the opportunity to work closer with LEAD Volunteer and possibly build a long-term partnership to act locally in the Philippines. The objective would be to jointly design and implement community-based projects based on a sustainable and eco-friendly development approach. As part of this future collaboration, HOST-NGO volunteers have recently participated into a mud house building seminar conducted by Ms. Marisol Alquizar, an active member of LEAD Volunteer.

The mud house construction is a particularly great process in terms of sustainability and environmental protection. It only requires simple natural materials: soil digged from the earth, mixed with water and sand, and added up with paddy or hay orany dried fiber or even recycling garbage. Natural resources like cement, rocks, metal from the mountains, and wood from the forests are not to be used. This technology is based on the use of easily renewable resources, which is not altering the ecosystem and the environment in general.

Mud house building also represents an undeniable asset for disadvantaged and or indigenous communities living in rural areas. These houses can be built in a few weeks on a very low investment, and would last fifty or even a hundred years.

Mud house building could definitely be considered as part of a rehabilitation program, within the frame of HOST-NGO's intervention in the Philippines and around the world.

Bacolod City to start renovating the SDC

The direct intervention of Virlanie-Bacolod and HOST-NGO at the SDC, which started early 2012, has already resulted in some improvement of the living conditions of the children sheltered at the center. The water supply has indeed been secured thanks to the building of a deep well along with the installation of a water pump.

However, the major part of the rehabilitation strategy is still on-going. The City of Bacolod has recently allocated 500,000 Pesos (about 10,000 Euros) for the most urgent renovation works: renovation of the sanitation facilities (shower and toilets), water drainage system and electricity supply (solar panel and lights for the dormitories).

The City has recently taken this budgeting decision, following the collaborative effort spent on assessing and designing the rehabilitation process by the SDC Center Head, the public engineers and Virlanie-Bacolod team earlier in 2012. The local authorities are now calling for bids with the intent of starting the construction works in March.

The children of the SDC will be able to witness the results of this community approach, which will directly benefit their well-being. Very soon, they will be able to enjoy decent sanitary conditions thanks to the new showers and toilets to be set-up for them.

UNILEVER donates hygiene supplies to SDC

The local community of Bacolod City is increasing its involvement to support the most disadvantaged children. We would like to particularly thank UNILEVER corporation for its generous donation of hygiene supplies (soap, shampoo and toothpaste) addressed to the children of the Social Development Center (SDC) in Bacolod City. We would like to take the opportunity to thank the local organization, LEAD Volunteer, who has facilitated the donation process.
Thanks to UNILEVER's support, the SDC will be able to cover the hygiene supply for 50 children on a daily basis over a total duration of two months. We are hoping to maintain this partnership on a longer period of time.

The Alternative Learning System (ALS) is back!

Going to school and learning is one of the fundamental children's rights. The Republic Act 9155 and the Executive order n°356 define and institute a framework of governance for basic education in the Philippines. Today, 20 million children are enrolled in primary and secondary education, but two million will give up or fail, even though education is free in the Philippines. ¹

Children present in the SDC are out of school and it can have a very negative effect on their future lives, especially for those present in the center for a long term, such as Children in Conflict with the Law who have court cases. Teachers had refused to continue teaching in the center for security, hygiene and organization reasons in 2008. The children’s lack of educative follow-up since then has made their rehabilitation much more difficult.

Following the report from the Virlanie Human Rights Coordinator and in order to satisfy their needs and rights, HOST-NGO coordinated and facilitated the return of the Alternative Learning System to the SDC. On Friday 18th of January 2013, there was a launching ceremony for ALS. Two city counselors, the Assistant Superintendant of the Department of Education and community representatives (including a Barangay Captain) were there.

Starting in February, fifteen Children in Conflict with the Law will benefit from the classes of the two teachers, Jason and Carlito. An initial test will help to identify the education background of the children, in order to adapt the classes. The program will be divided into several modules, taught according to the educational level of the child. The objectives of ALS are to develop critical thinking, build communication skills, expand one’s world vision, etc.

In order to ensure the quality of the program, HOST-NGO committed to providing the educational material necessary (crayons, drawing books, rules, scissors, etc) and the classroom furnitures (chairs, tables, and whiteboard). The school year can start!

1 http://www.unicef.org/philippines/supportunicef_9857.html

Letter to our generous friends & supporters

Dear friends and supporters,

We share the same dream of a world...

where all the communities would pursue a common goal...

where all the communities would reach out to one another...

where all the communities would understand and respect each other...

where all the communities would access the same benefits without discrimination nor exclusion...

That world is not so far away and we can reach it together!

2012 was a challenging and yet successful year for the Social Development Center (SDC). Along with the city's team, we had identified clear objectives to facilitate the promotion and respect of universally recognized rights for the children at risk in Bacolod City.

Throughout the year, the SDC successfully managed over 1,300 admissions of street children and children in conflict with the law. All the children were offered basic services to ensure their protection and well-being within the center, while facilitating the best community reintegration possible. The aid procedures have been reviewed to deliver fully adapted and effective support. These are focusing on the capacity of the team to assess and answer the different needs and opportunities of each child being taken care of.

Thanks to you, our friends and supporters, significant healthcare and education progresses have been accomplished. The SDC now provides access for all the kids to physical and psychological health support. The in-care program delivered by the SDC has been improved to guarantee decent living conditions.

An integrated activity and life-skills program has been formalized. The recent launch of an alternative learning system (ALS) at the SDC is a huge step and a incontestable sign of improvement. The education program emphasizes on the individual development of each child in order to prepare for her/his reintegration into the community. The legal support system has also been updated to fit the special needs and issues of each child, and better ensure their protection.

The situation slowly yet effectively evolves at the SDC. Nonetheless there are lots of remaining areas of improvement. The rehabilitation of the buildings will be initiated in a couple of weeks now thanks to the city's funds. The renovation will start with the children's sanitary facilities.

Critical support is still needed for the following areas:

- renovation and equipment of children's dormitories (beds, matresses, lockers...);

- renovation and equipment of the kitchen;

- purchase of music and video equipment dedicated to children's educational and recreational activities (music player, projector and screen...);

- other educational and activity supplies (books, notebooks, pens, artcrafts supplies, …).

Your loyal support is greatly appreciated and we are looking forward to sharing our success stories with you. On behalf of all vulnerable communities, we would like to thank you in advance for your contribution and we would be thrilled to welcome you in Bacolod, the City of Smiles!

Let the rhythm out!

Musical therapy has been recently launched at the SDC within the frame of the educational program focusing on individual development. This new activity is a natural follow-up of the activities already in place at the SDC, such as aikido practice and art therapy, both aiming at promoting self-expression and social development for these vulnerable children and youth.

Thanks to LEAD Volunteer (League for Environmental Advocate for sustainable Development), a local not-for-profit organization, this music project has been started at the SDC. Sandra and Daryl, two of their active volunteers and members of the Punta Tay Tay Drum Beaters band, brought their drums and other percussion instruments to introduce the children with their music. The whole band first held a concert at the SDC on December 1st. Following the positive feedback from the children, they have started organizing three music sessions per week. The young participants have been practicing on the bamboo drums made by Sandra.

The objective of this music project is to prepare the children to perform in front of a public. The attempt schedule is to have the children ready by March 2013 for the next Family Day, which will be the opportunity to play for their families and friends.

The musical therapy aims at encouraging the children to express their feelings in another way than through violence or anger. It also promotes mutual respect and communication to get successfully involved in a group. It should help increase the self-confidence of the children, as well as their ability to follow social norms and collective behaviors.