Our work.
We support teens to achieve self-sufficiency and end generational poverty. We find and recruit the poorest teens on the island on Mindanow. Our goal isn't just finding just any teen who wants to go to school, but to find the teens who are academically, socially, and emotionally ready to achieve their degree.
Choosing Recruits
Charity Ed Philippines recruits and serves fragile teenagers.
We are different because we serve fragile teens who have little hope for education. We search and recruit Teens from the poorest province areas. These are the areas where schools are over 10 Km (6.5 miles) away. Even if they could go to school the transportation fees would be over $20US a month. So, these teens mostly remain on the family farm to help and market the crops and education is not a priority for the family.
Skills & Qualifications
Although we would love to help everyone gain self-sufficiency, not all students have the desire or underlying skills to achieve advanced education. Many times the head of the family requires qualifying students to remain on the farm to help. In short, to apply for the Next Step Program, recruits need to fill out an application, give a writing sample, have family permission, and pass a basic skills test. Our overall goal to work with students until they have a four-year college degree. As teachers, we know students need some basic skills and a positive attitude to achieve success.
Group sponsorship -vs- individual Child Sponsorships; what is best for our cadets?
Making an individual gift to a single cadet account can cause unforeseen problems. Individual cadet sponsorship connects personal relationship with the donor and receiver. This is great for the cadet and helps them feel encouraged and keeps the cadet motivated. However, this single bond can lead to unrealistic expectations for the cadet and sponsor. They may both develop unachievable goals and this may give a false illusion of success over time. Furthermore, single individual sponsorship may have future problems if the sponsor stops their membership and a replacement sponsor is not found. Thus, leaving the single cadet “out to dry” and stopping all school achievement for that semester leaving them depressed and confused.
The poverty and hopelessness are so visible here in Mindanao. Young girls and boys go to school with dirty clothes, no shoes, no pencils, no backpacks, and often without underwear. They survive on the staple of products like rice, ramen noodles, canned sardines, and cheap bread rolls. Many do not attend school because it is kilometers/miles away and it is not affordable to pay for transportation. Transportation is about $1US to ride the tricycles and or the jeepneys round trip. Often the families only make $20US per month so transportation is not affordable. It is so sad these teens do not receive an education because they cannot afford the $1USper day for the ride to school.
Although every community has very special and geographical needs, Northern Mindanao is considered the poorest island in the Philippines. Not to mention, it hosts Marawi City where active terrorists live and far-right Muslims maintain control. Very few “Sponsorship Programs” even come to Mindanao. But, the need to stop severe poverty, provide hope with education, and preventing human trafficking will not stop Next Step Philippines from helping and providing the main catalyst to end generational poverty – an Education.
Current progress
As an organization we need to start somewhere. God has not yet blessed us with the $532,000 to build out the necessary campus to support the 160 cadets. So, currently we are helping selected students with books, materials, transportation, and as needed tuition. Our goal is the build a thriving academy to support 160 students to achieve their goals. However, we are not there yet as an organization. So, we do what we can with what we have. Currently we have volunteers who help with marketing, web development, roundtable discussions, and donor relations. We are still a few years out from hosting 160 students. As a result, we are doing the best good.
Our future
Charity Ed Philippines works in the Philippines. We hope to fund 160 students by May of 2022. We strive to serve young adults and recruit for the province areas where poverty overwhelms the hope and desire to receive an education.
Why help teens. The fact is that there are many organizations that help younger kids. We can see groups that focus on feeding and providing elementary education. This is great as these groups are necessary and needed, God, bless them! Yet, as these cute kids grow up to be teens the support weakens. It seems like donors would rather support a sweet, kind, and cute 7-year-old than a 17-year-old teen. As we look at teens we sometimes feel as though they can matriculate into the community and provide work for themselves. Yes, these older teens can work and will work their bodies until they wear out. They will live a very hard life and only be able to support themselves and struggle to make ends meet as they develop a family and thus, continuing the cycle of poverty.
Charity Ed Ph is here to help these older teens to receive an education that changes their lie and end the cycle of poverty and gain self-sufficiency. Charity Ed Ph., is the Next Step these teens will take after their elementary years are over.
Charity Ed Ph. is the path to end poverty and gain the education and experience to be successful in achieving their degree, helping their community, and becoming a successful leader.
Education ends generational poverty and leads to self-suffiency.
Join the class today!
We recruit disadvantaged teens directly from the poorest areas in Mindanao. There are many things that can get in the way of a teen seeking an education. We provide what is needed for school and college success.
In fact, about a quarter of the Filipino population is said to live below the poverty line as of today. The average Filipino child only has one pair of shorts for school. The boys and girls both go to school without wearing underwear. Dejectedly, teen girls have to make do without basic things such as sanitary pads and refuse to go to school one week a month.
Learn how extreme poverty affects education.
Our recruits start the program which begins the transition from survival mode to learning mode. We provide equity for school support.
This may mean transportation, books, tutoring, supplies, and many other things for success. Next Steps PH Inc. gives what is needed to provide self-sufficiency.
According to figures from the Department of Education and the National Statistical Coordination Board in the Philippines, 1 in 6 Filipino kids will not attend school, and only 7 out of 10 kids will complete elementary school.
Learn how poverty stops education.
Unfortuanility, life in poverty enacts survival mode and people will resort to anything that brings food and shelter, even when it crushes their core values. In the poorest of poor areas teens are sent to work by their parents to bring something home to the family. Parents have abandoned their children in hosp that the children will be found by the government and get well taken care of. However, child services can not monitor 7,000 islands and even enforce the laws where they are located. Child labor, child pornography, child prostitutes are real threats many teens find themselves in. In 2013, the Philippines ranked fourth in the world for the number of sex tourists from countries such as Russia and Turkey. A recent UNICEF report indicates that the Philippines ranks number one globally when it comes to child pornography.
Learn the real threats teens face today.