The challenge

Cebu City is the Philippines’ second-largest metropolis. Each day, the city grows and its urban slums, like the one in Carreta cemetery, swell with families who have nowhere else to go.

For these families, survival is a daily struggle. Some construct make-shift shacks while others seek shelter in the cemetery's tombs. Adequate sanitation, electricity and clean drinking water are simply out of reach.

While parents eke out a meagre living by selling flowers and candles, engraving tombstones, etc., their children grow up without schoolbooks or a place to learn. Even the youngest children are often left unsupervised while their parents toil to make ends meet.

The solutions we’re proposing

Through its educational sponsorship program, W4’s field partner is sending children in Carreta cemetery to school. To help ensure the children’s safety outside school hours, our partner also runs a drop-in shelter called “Balay Bata” (which means “the house of the children” in Visayan). With electricity, sanitation facilities, schoolbooks, toys, and trained supervisors, this center offers slum children a safe place to learn and play.

Balay Bata doubles as a daycare in the morning and a tutoring center for elementary to middle school levels in the afternoon. The daycare currently welcomes 25 children, ages 4 and 5. They spend the mornings learning the foundations of reading and writing, doing art and participating in social learning activities. Under the supervision of a qualified teacher, the children follow a pre-school curriculum to prepare the children for formal schooling. They are also provided with nutritious snacks to help them stay healthy and sharp for their lessons. At the tutoring center, older children benefit from a space to study, with all the necessary learning materials (including books, encyclopedias, and computers). Teachers and staff offer the students support and guidance and lend a listening ear to those in need.

The  impact of giving

By providing girls from Carreta cemetery slum with a safe place to learn and play, as well as supervision and support outside of school hours, you help to ensure the girls’ safety and their right to learn and play. By ensuring the girls’ access to early learning, you help them to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed at school. Help to educate and protect these girls; give them the chance to jump-start their futures!

Take action now!

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