Dear friends,
Warm greetings from the Philippines! For those who have just joined our big family, let me tell you what our center does. The Pag-asa Social Center Foundation Inc. is a Social Assistance and Development agency that provides community services to children, young people, families and disadvantaged communities and is accredited by the Inland Revenue as a charity institution. With a staff of just 7 people, the center provides school, medical and nutritional assistance and other services to 350 children (aged 2 to 21) from 230 needy families in various districts of Tagaytay. It also offers an ethical and human formation to its members, in order to enable them to participate concretely and consciously in the journey towards self-sufficiency and responsibility, to become productive people within their own families and the community.
Continuing with our annual updating, as usual, we would like to draw your attention on the importance of the results, that is the diplomas, for our community.
Were you born in the 70s when university education was still considered a luxury? If so, do you hang up at home or in the office your degree or master’s degrees or those of your sons and daughters? Do you boast about them showing them somewhere visible to others? Or are they hanging in a place where only you can see them?
It is 2019 and here in the Philippines, children and their parents continue to hang diplomas not only on the walls of their house but also on the walls of their social media accounts. You will be surprised that other than excellence awards, you will find even a kindergarten diploma or an “Eager Beaver” award among them. Some of them seem small achievements to our eyes, but they are instead significant accomplishments that the parents of the children of Pag-asa are proud of, because they are the fruits of their children’s hard work and effort. Who knows the stories behind each award? They might even be bigger than the awards themselves. And for that, parents have all the right to recognize their children’s successes and we rejoice with them because we know what story is behind every single and/or apparent little achievement!
An award or diploma is a source of pride for the majority of local families where it is not at all obvious to achieve such results. In fact, in the Philippines, not all members of the family have the opportunity to receive an education. Actually, some of the parents of the children supported by Pag-asa were not able to finish even elementary school. However, the biggest percentage goes to those who did not finish high school, while the lowest percentage goes to those who have obtained scholarships or have managed to work and save enough to obtain a degree. So for parents, the results of their children are their aspirations that have become a reality. And this is a source of pride, not only for the families, but for the entire community to which they belong.
In the second quarter of this school year, 38 children beneficiaries of Pag-asa excelled in their academic performance (35 of them got a general percentage average (GPA) of 94 while 2 of them got a GPA of 97). Sixty-seven (67) others bagged gold medals and received certificates in Leadership and Social Responsibilities, including Athletics. We will go deeper in this topic in a future issue of our newsletter. However, with or without these achievements, we remain proud of our children.
Dear friends, let us continue to cheer for our children at Pag-asa because we are sure that they will continue to achieve good results, thanks also to your economic and moral support that has borne and continues to bear fruit.
ACTIVITIES FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER
(Please check the photos from the Photos page of our website)
JULY
- We participated in the observation of National Nutrition Month promoting the right food that we should eat to become active.
- We organized our very first YOUTH CAMP tackling the Techniques of Unity, Boy/Girl Relationship, and Friendship with speakers from the Focolare Movement.
AUGUST
- Wan Hua Hoi, our teacher friend from Singapore, once again organized a toy and school supplies donation drive for our children. The donations will be included in the gifts of our beneficiary children at Christmas.
- Maria and Gianni Salerno, the ones in charge of the New Families of the Focolare Movement worldwide, and other delegates from Italy visited us.
SEPTEMBER
- Family Day
- DENGUE PREVENTION – Being a child-friendly foundation, our children’s safety is at the peak of our priorities so we participated in the Dengue Prevention strategy of the national government to intensify our fight against the dengue outbreak because the children are the most vulnerable.
- Teacher’s Month
OCTOBER
- School of Life for parents
- Ping Pong Clinic with International Coach Dan Millare and wife
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
(September to November)
Pag-asa uses basketball to keep fathers away from the bad habit of smoking and alcohol. This sport keeps them occupied in a healthier activity and in a safe and supervised environment, away from violence. They have to play according to our rules, where there are no verbal or physical clashes; they play in a spirit of brotherhood and our ultimate goal is to win a relationship with the opponents, while winning the game is just an eventual prize!
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
November
- National Children’s Month
December
- Children-Family Christmas Party with the theme: CHRISTMAS IN THE EYES OF A KID
ONE-TIME DONATIONS
- Children’s shoes from Ms. Grazia Fabietti
- Treat for Teatro Pag-asa from Rosie Carter (Chicago)
- On the occasion of MKG-Praxis Dr.med. Dr. Mrosk clinic’s 25th anniversary attended by more than 250 guests and the Rotary Club of Papenburg, he collected (with the help of Frank Schmelzer) 16,000 euros for Pag-asa.
WARMEST WELCOME!
New sponsors from The Netherlands
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2020!
Heero Cayasa and your Pag-asa family
PS:Â If you want to write to your child, please use the following address:Â
Pag-asa Social Center c/o Arlyn Laroya
P.O. Box #78
4120 Tagaytay City, Philippines
Or email us at:
pagasacenter@yahoo.com
info@pagasasocialcenter.org
If you do not have the possibility to continue to help the child, it is essential to communicate it. The notification must arrive promptly at our office in Tagaytay. This gesture will allow us to continue to help the child looking for another supporter. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.