Transparency Data

Project Info

Below you will find fully detailed information about the project:

1. What is the actual local situation you are addressing?

Recent statistics show that the Philippines has an increasing poverty level with 40% or 36.4 million people living below the national poverty line.

In a country with such a high poverty level and where half of the population lives in urban areas, slums are a common aspect in every town and city. The root of the problem is known; lack of skills and education that are needed for gainful employment. Parents strive to bring their kids to school to address a long-term solution to the problem of poverty, yet they lack means to do so while trying to survive. With both parents trying to earn a daily income, the children are often on their own or abandoned and as such, easily influenced and contaminated by street gangs.

Efren, the project leader became a victim to assaults of his peers as a child and several times was injured by bullies and solvent kids in the area. He was featured in a USA documentary about kids living in the worst conditions. Despite of these conditions, Efren showed communal responsibility when his family started a noodle micro business to help make both ends meet.

2. What has led you (or the organisation) to start the project?

Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) is a group of concerned young people with a mission of making a small yet significant difference in other people’s lives, particularly the small children in slum areas who have no access to education, basic hygiene and sometimes, even love from their families.

The group was founded by four teenagers from Cavite National High School in 1997. The initial group made up of around 20 members and started as a friendship club which was aimed to divert the attention of students from joining violent gangs and notorious fraternities that were thriving on the campus. Their major platform was to cater youth awareness projects, talent, self development activities and community services.

Since slum children often couldn’t go to schools, DTC decided to bring the schools to the children with the Kariton Classrooms, officially known as K4 (Kariton Klasrum Klinik at Kantin).

This simple yet brilliant idea that’s making waves across the world came from one of Efren’s volunteers, a 12 year old boy.No need for a school building, since these pushcarts contain the basic elements of a classroom. Flags, tables and chairs, even an improvised clinic. And of course a mini canteen—with healthy snacks! But the best part, are the young volunteers behind this pushcart who are willing to give time and dedication to make a difference in the lives of other poor children.

DTC is now an organization with over 10.000 volunteers and in the past years, has helped to educate, give shelter and address the needs of over 1.500 slum children.

3. What do you want to achieve?

So far, DTC’s activities were concentrated in the area of Cavity City, located south of Manila. We wish to expand our activities to Manila, where we expect to have the same fruitful results as we have in Cavity. The Kalingain Batang Mahirap (care for poor children) project which ran in 1999 produced excellent results by increasing the health awareness of children, rights awareness and love for learning, thus stimulating the children to return to school.

We will implement the same activities in Manila aimed at transforming teen drug addicts, petty thieves, child laborers and scavengers by stimulating them to finish regular schooling and get a degree. It will also contribute a lot into making the community more child-friendly and give hope and future in areas that are right now filled with hopelessness and despair. Within a few years, we expect the first ex-alumni of that area to help us further to grow our organization and to spent time to educate and inspire youth, showing that the campaign “we are the change” applies to all. We hope to surpass the results of Cavite and to help several thousands of street / gang children in the next 5 years in becoming responsible and empowered adults.

4. How are you going to achieve it?

Our objective is to introduce to teenagers the concept of youth importance, self-understanding and teen moral values. DTC has its annual and weekly activities. The Pushcart mobile school is one of the weekly activities DTC does wherein it roams around the city in four different sites from 7am-5pm catering to children in the slums, those who are abused and underprivileged and living in the streets. DTC is also conducting weekly training for its large group of volunteers to be properly trained and equipped to deal in an effective and loving way with the street children, child beggars and gangs.

Our planning to expand our activities to Manila is as follows:

Preparation and field studies: June – December 2009
Recruitment youth volunteers: Starting July 2009
Rent building, permits: September – December 2009
Training and Orientation volunteers: Starting October 2009
Pushcart school construction: September 2009
Start Weekly / yearly activities: Starting January 2010
Upgrading planning meetings

We organize the following regular programs and activities:

1) BALIK ESKWELA (Back To School): An annual event that distributes 100-500 free school supplies sets to underprivileged children who are enrolled in local public schools

HYGIENE & MEDICAL MISSION: This programme is conducted in January and July where street children receive free medical consultation and check-ups, medicine, and hygiene materials, mostly done by ex alumni of DTC.

2) INTERACTIVE SUPPORT GROUP: DTC leaders and volunteer counselors conduct interactive support groups in campuses during break hours. This aims to help students cope better with pressures and problems confronting them in campus, in their communities and at home.

3) KALINGAIN BATANG MAHIRAP (Care for Poor Children): This project offers feeding, literacy and values reformation programs. It also offers scholarship assistance.

4) LAKBAYAN (Likhang Awit Kabataan para sa Bayan): This is a fund raising activity and encourages youth to channel their creativity through writing songs about share, unity, youth empowerment, and love for others. This culminates by showcasing the songs through a concert.

5) M.Y. RIGHTS (Mind Your Rights): This campaign aims to promote awareness of human rights to youth. Free lectures and fellowship activities and distribution of free printed materials are conducted throughout the year.

6) PANGARAP NA PASKO (Wish for Christmas): This program aims to share the spirit of Christmas to our less privileged street children by giving them their desired gifts as well as food and candy treats.

7) TREAT D’ STREET KIDS: An annual fun-filled treat for street kids held in restaurants or parks. This program is concluded with the distribution of goody bags, clothes, footwear and sometimes toys.

5. What is your long term vision for the project?

In 2007, we launched the “WE ARE THE CHANGE” youth campaign. This campaign is meant to inspire teenagers to be the catalyst for change - in what they want to see in their home, community and the world we live in. For we believe that real change happens when we begin to touch one soul and change one heart at a time. Today, DTC is an organization with over 10.000 members/volunteers and has given a home and education to more than 1.500 slum children through “mobile school push-charts” involving many weekly and yearly activities. With these push charts, DTC volunteers go around the slums, giving mobile education, teaching hygiene, youth moral and giving meals.

It is our long term vision that these youth activities and goals will transcend across the entire nation of the Philippines and beyond, inspiring and teaching teenagers that the potential is dormant within, that we can all make a change to a better future.

6. How is your idea/project going to benefit the community or the situation?

The DTC acitivies are aimed at transforming teen drug addicts, petty thieves, child laborers and scavengers into responsible teens by stimulating them to finish regular schooling, hygiene and by getting a degree. Criminal and beggars’ ratings have thus decreased as a consequence. The programme also contributes in making the community more child-friendly by giving hope and future in areas that are right now filled with hopelessness and despair.

7. Which results do you expect?

The Kalingain Batang Mahirap (care for poor children) project which ran in 1999 in Cavity city produced excellent results by way of increasing the health awareness of children, rights awareness and love for learning, thus stimulating the children to return to school.

DTC envisions similar results in Manila by transforming drug addicts, petty thieves, child laborers and scavengers by stimulating them to finish regular schooling and get a degree. It will also contribute a lot into making the community more child-friendly and give hope and future in areas that are right now filled with hopelessness and despair.

Within a few years, we expect the first ex-alumni of Manila to help us further to grow our organization and to spent time to educate and inspire youth, showing that the campaign “we are the change” applies to all. We hope to surpass the results of Cavite and to help several thousands of street / gang children in the next 5 years in becoming responsible and empowered adults.

8. How can you measure those results (quantifying)?

We work closely together with the local barangays (communities and its governmental authorities) and through our network of volunteers, we stay in close contact with the street/slum children in each district. Measurement as done as follows:

Student records: Will measure progress in learning
Health records: Will measure physical & medical conditions
Pushcart school and clinic: Will operate to conduct the learning tests
Barangay reports ( community government): Will give results of progress in child residents.

9. Communication, visits and feedback

How often will you be able to inform about progress and developments?
We will be able to report and inform about our progress and development QUARTERLY.

Who is the person responsible for communication?
The project head and members are responsible for communication and reporting of the progress and updates

When is the best time in the day/week for participants to contact you?
The best time you can contact us is Saturday or Sunday because it’s our outreach and training day.

What is the best way to communicate (email, skype or other)?
We can be easily contacted through email.

Do you accept participants visiting the project?
Yes

How many per year?
There’s really no limit regarding the number of people or visitors that like to see the project as long as the place can accommodate them.

Which it is the best time?
The best time to visit is during our outreaches so as for them to see how the system works.

Any requirements for visitors?
They should follow the policies and conditions that are being implemented. (i.e. dress code, proper ethics and treatment to kids and co-visitors or co-volunteers)

10. What do you expect from the Uniting People community?

We expect that Uniting People can be a strong partner and benefactor of our advocacies and project’s cause. We see them as a bridge that can connect us with the world enabling us to achieve our goal of having a higher level and system of outreaches that will further be a possible solution to illiteracy.