Education in the Slums

Completed Project

PROJECT LOCATION:
Pasig City, Philippines

Construction of a new elementary school in the slum region of Pasig City.  This school will be built on our orphanage campus, and provide education for both the resident children, and the neighbourhood children. Be A HERO has partnered with JLLCI (Jesus Loves the Little Children Foundation) to construct River Springs School, which will be the first of three construction phases to improve the living conditions of our orphaned children.

OVERVIEW  – Jesus Loves the Little Children Foundation

Jesus Loves the Little Children Foundation Inc. (JLLCFI) was established out of a deep conviction to meet the needs of the orphaned, neglected, homeless, abandoned, and/or abused street children in Metro Manila.  It was incorporated and registered as a charitable organization in December of 1998 and in March of 2000 a license to operate was issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Jesus Loves the Little Children Foundation, Inc. (JLLCFI), under the direction of founders Chito and Rachel Sanchez, has been working in Pasig City, Philippines (a suburb of Manila) for the last 8 years, reaching children, youth and adults through their various humanitarian services. They have channeled into community outreach programs such as: formal and informal education; construction of restrooms and showers; building and operating a Children’s Home for orphaned and former street children; supplemental feeding for hundreds of community children; educational health-related seminars and workshops; and assisting various micro-enterprises.

Pasig City Issues:
Pasig City is ranked 4th in terms of population size in Metro Manila.    It has 30 districts (Barangay); 2nd largest area is Pinagbuhatan with the largest number of slum dwellers.  A Barangay is a small Philippine village, and is considered as the smallest political unit in the country.

JLLCFI has focused their efforts in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, the biggest
slum area in Pasig City, with a population of over one million. The houses in this area are poorly constructed, made of scrap materials.The streets are narrow, dilapidated, and dirty.  There are many swamp areas, where the children play and wade. The unemployment and under-employment rate is staggering. The mothers accept domestic jobs to supplement the family income, yet many families cannot even put food on the table. The children are malnourished and often hungry – they roam the streets, hanging around. Many have stopped schooling and are forced to work in the market, as baggage boys or carriers of market products. Young girls are lured into prostitution and are forced to work to help their families’ survival. These children have little or no hope for their lives.  With no education and no caring family these children will stay on the streets until they die at an early age.In an area of such extreme poverty, the situation for orphans is grim. In 1994, the UN estimated the number of street children in Metro Manila to be 500,000, with 1.5 million in the Philippines

Jesus Loves the Little Children Foundation Inc. targets three main areas of aid:

1. Residential Care Program – providing care and proper case disposition for the neglected, abandoned, orphaned and abused children who are referred to the Home. The children in care are: orphans; children of prisoners; children of sex trade workers; children who have been abused; and runaways. Due to space limitations, only 40 children at a time can be accommodated, supplying them with a temporary home, food, clothing, education, medical and dental services, case management, counseling, vocational training and sports and recreational opportunities. Since 1999, over 350 children have been cared for and educated.  They were re-integrated to either their families, or to foster families. Some were taught to live independently, and have pursued lives with direction and purpose. Note: JLLCI is the only orphanage in all of Pasig City.
2. Education Program – JLLCFI provide education to 100 children both from the Home, and from the community in pre-school, elementary, and high school programs. Through Educational Assistance and Sponsorship provided by partnering with Be A HERO, all these children; have been and continue to be supported. JLLCI is the only child-care facility that operates both a regular, and a special-needs education elementary school.
3. Community-based programs – JLLCFI assists 250 – 300 families monthly, with over 1000 families estimated to have benefited from the outreaches since 1999. They present workshops and seminars (health, skills training, nutrition, AIDs awareness etc.); provide medical and dental services; provide rice assistance; provide loan assistance for small-scale business and tricycle operation as income-generating projects; feeding program; and Christmas gift-giving to the community children.

It is of interest to note that over 100 of JLLCFI’s former clients, received into their programs as street people living in the slums, are now off the streets, living in homes, working at jobs, their children are in the sponsorship program, and they have been trained to work in the rehabilitation program to assist others.  With the help of 7 teachers and 8 support staff they have assisted and given hope to a great number of children and their families.

Nineteen ministries have sprung up from the leadership that started with Jesus Loves the Little Children.  The main church is called River of God and ministers to street kids and children from the slums. One man, Larry San Pedro was once a street kid who was helped and guided by this organization. He has become one of the main leaders holding slum church services and offering care and outreach to over 200 kids in all sorts of conditions. Chito Sanchez, Founder of JLLCFI, is working with 50 leaders in other slums to replicate the model they have pioneered in Pasig City.

Current Project:  Construction of a new Elementary School  

The Situation

The land hosting our children’s home and school has been recently purchased for $120,000. Previously, the land was leased, which precluded any improvements or new construction.  Now that the land is owned by JLLCI, the first priority is to replace the classrooms.  Currently, the 100 students learn in a converted chicken coop.  The building has deteriorated to the point where it must be torn down and replaced.  We plan to build a new school, and renovate the existing children’s home in three phases.

Phase One:
Building 1, as shown on the above architect’s drawing, will house four large classrooms on the first floor, with an office, library, clinic and guest quarters on the second floor. Each floor will have a boys washroom, and a girls washroom. Total cost for Building 1 is $230,000 USD. Amounts in line-item budget have been converted from pesos to USD at a rate of 46:1.  A significant portion of these funds have been raised including a large donation from HSBC bank, and goods and materials from local businesses. Volunteer labour will be used wherever possible. 

Cost for furnishing and equipping the school will be $17,050 USD (See line-item budget next page).

Cost for uniforms is:

1. Boys: 2 uniforms @ $11.00 each x 50 boys = $1100
2. Girls: 2 uniforms @ $13.50 each x 50 girls = $1350

Cost to furnish and equip the office and library is $21,815 USD (See line-item budget next page)

Phase 2:
Renovation of two existing 2-storey townhouses on the property, which house the pre-school, the orphanage and provides a base for the community programs. (see Building 3 in the architect’s drawing) The Home is in poor structural condition; the foundation and walls are deteriorating.  After construction of the new building, the renovated building will be used for: 1st floor:  kitchen and dining hall; showers and restrooms; 2nd floor: bedrooms for up to 40 children. These existing buildings will be renovated as funds become available.

Phase Three:
Building 2 in the architect’s rendering will house three large classrooms on the main floor, and three large classrooms on the upper floor. Each floor will also have a boys washroom, and a girls washroom.

Future Plans:
The area behind the yellow guard house will developed into a playground, with a basketball court. Playground equipment, including a slide, see-saw, monkey bars and a playhouse will be installed in front of Building 2. An obstacle course will be constructed in front of Building 1. Cost for playground site preparation and equipment will be $3,260 USD

Current school – to be demolished.

Education:

According to a UNICEF report about Filipino literacy, there are 832,420 children aged 7-12 who are out of school and 3 out of 10 Grade 1 pupils cannot reach Grade 6.  Therefore, Pre-School & Elementary Centers are urgently needed to respond to the current demand and state of education where schools are not available in the barangays. River Springs School will provide education to 500 children.

Project Location: 19 A Esguerra Street, Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City 1602 Philippines

Phase One: First quarter, 2008 – Purchase of (previously leased) land. This purchase has been completed.

Phase Two: Second Quarter, 2008 – Processing of Documents (Plans, Specs, Designs, Permits) Completed

Phase Three: Third Quarter, 2008 – Construction Building 1

Phase Four: Future renovation of children’s home building (Building 3), and completion of school construction (Building 2)

Immediate Impact: Purchase of the land, renovation of the existing building, and construction of the new buildings will enable the home to double the number of children in care and increase the number of children in school from 100 to 500. An increase in the number of classes and teachers will expand community outreach programs through seminars and workshops thereby reaching and instilling awareness amongst parents the importance of education and parents’ participation in childhood development. The clinic room will provide medical care for the children attending the school, and for the surrounding neighbourhood.

JLLC Preschool and elementary graduating class of 2006

The children who live at this home are supported by Be A HERO’s Child Sponsorship program. A partial sponsorship, which contributes towards the food, shelter, and clothing costs, is $33.00 per month. A full sponsorship is $63.00 per month, which also contributes towards the medical and education costs for the child.