Hi and some advice

[Timmy]

Hi

I'm a British male, been involved with a charity for street children in the Philippines and been going there on and off for a few years.
I was hoping for some advice on what people think would make the most impact on Filipinos street children's lives (maybe this is aimed a t Filipinos)
Kind of from a give a man a fish or teach him to fish prospective.
The charity I'm involved with has a limited budget.
But everything is possible.

Sorry bit of a weird question but really want to make an impact in the lives of those that need it most.

[Timmy]

Sorry, I never really introduced myself before I just lurked as I was looking for Tourist Visa info

[alan_macd]

Hi

I was hoping for some advice on what people think would make the most impact on Filipinos street children's lives (maybe this is aimed a t Filipinos)

I'm happy to give my reply though others may disagree.

For me young filipinas need two things:

1. Education.
2. Condoms.

From what I know there are huge numbers of smart Filipinos who could achieve much on the world stage if the had acess to education.

Also, so many bright filipinas leave education through either lack of finance or pregnancy.

So when I have enough money I wil set up 1. An education fund in Manila and 2. A condom distribution centre.

[Terpe]

Hi

I'm a British male, been involved with a charity for street children in the Philippines and been going there on and off for a few years.
I was hoping for some advice on what people think would make the most impact on Filipinos street children's lives (maybe this is aimed a t Filipinos)
Kind of from a give a man a fish or teach him to fish prospective.
The charity I'm involved with has a limited budget.
But everything is possible.

Sorry bit of a weird question but really want to make an impact in the lives of those that need it most.

Interesting question.
We have a couple of Charities we support, but most of our support goes towards education for the extended family.

No offence intended here Timmy, but I would have imagined that you would have the experience and knowledge much more than most folks here. Well certainly me any way.

Do you feel able to suggest some ideas and have people here give comment on those.

My idea would be to pursue a strategy that actually gets them off the street and into a safe environment where they would feel happy and willing to voluntarily remain (Well mostly)
Provision of food.
Help with some education
Possibly help to find a way back to family (if that's possible)

Ideally these centers should be close to the areas they know.
Can't be more specific with details, I just don't have the knowledge. But just seems logical to me to provide th

Don't forget the people on the ground helping these kids also need support to get the job done.

See, I told you I don't know much.

Maybe you need some creative ideas on how to expand your own fundraising without increasing the time you need to spend doing it.

[Timmy]

Thanks for your answer.
Main idea I'm having is to invest in a centre that would be a school and boarding house.
Just wonder the likely success of turning a number of young street kids into kids who could turn into productive adults.

[stevewool]

Don't forget the people on the ground helping these kids also need support to get the job done.


sorry to say i have never thought about these people, to me thats a very good place to start

[Timmy]

Thanks, yes the team there are so special and work so hard.

[J&G]

Hi Timmy,

Greetings to a fellow forum newbie!

I actually work in international development and poverty alleviation with a world-renowned think tank here in London, so feel qualified to offer some advice. Does your charity have a website or business plan or anything yet? (I would be happy to take a look) It sounds as though you are still in the very early stages of developing it?

One thing to remember: The Philippines has one of the world's highest concentrations of (local and international) charities. So, in order to distinguish yourselves, you need to find your specific niche and voice on an issue of importance. Focusing on Philippine street children is a good start, but you'll need more specificity than that, as many organisations already have a similar mandate. It would be good to study the approaches of these other organisations (e.g. Save the Children or UNICEF, to get you started) - and see what you like or don't like about them. Then try to do things better!

Hand-outs are definitely a thing of the past in development (still fine for emergency/humanitarian settings, but not if you want actual 'development') - Most donors look for programmes that will provide quantifiable long-term benefit to the recipients, such as through training / learning. It's not enough, for example, to just give away free condoms, but to ensure that recipients know how to properly use them, and that women are empowered/strong enough to demand them of men and not let men boss them around in this regard. (C'mon guys, I'm sure you've all been there, where you try to think of any excuse in the book to not wear one!) There's lots to think about here, and lots of examples of other charities/governments doing programmes like these in other parts of the world - to varying degrees of success!

In short, be led by your big and exciting ideas, but don't forget to study what has already been done in the charity sector around the world - to avoid making the same mistakes and to avoid having to 'reinvent the wheel'. Again, I'm happy to comment on any organisational documents you may have already written!

Cheers,

J & G