Street children
The farmers are the ones who must ship between the big picture and the local decide what do to about globalisation. situation." We try to help them identify the relation- PFTAC's training programme includes strategic planning sessions, so that the farmers' associations can themselves identify new projects (rather than passively accepting the recommendations of their technical and political advisors). Corruption and co-option
PFTAC also educates the rural poor about the dangers of exploitation of poverty and popular movements by unscrupulous Non-Governmental and charitable organisations, which can have their own bureaucratic interests, or which abandon a particular project as soon as foreign funding is no longer available.
"There is a constant turnover of "development" groups which pretend to sympathise with the rural poor, but are primarily motivated by their own religious, zoological, political or economic agenda, says Loquellano.
"Goups like our own are in for the long haul. But we have always told the peasants that, if the day comes when they no longer want our help, we will go."* the parents less dependent on their children's paid labour."
The long term goal is the formation of a resident's association in the
Th alt for
Urban poor intervention Street children are a very visible consequence of the crisis in Philippine society. Ignored by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and brutalised by the police, street children in Mandaue City have gradually come to trust the "aunties" who opened a drop-in centre in their district.
"Options" offers an integrated programme: educational counselling and support for those who want to rejoin the school system and those who do not. It also offers welfare services and livelihood skills.
Many of the children survive by scavenging and recycling refuse, or washing the city's Jeepney buses. Most of what they earn is given to their mothers, to buy food for younger brothers and sisters.
"The Principal of the local school didn't even realise that these children were on the street!" says Options director Ligaya Abadesco. "Teachers only saw that these children were often absent, often tired, and often distracted. We cover the costs of those children who want to attend school, though our resources are limited. We may try to persuade the city government to pay these expenses. But street 24 International Viewpoint #313 July 1999 squatter zones. As a matter of principle, this organisation would be invited to join Options' board of kids don't vote, and neither do directors. many of their parents." In one squatters camp, Options is
Beyond the immediate project, helping mothers regain collective Options staff are trying to dialogue control over the single water outlet.
The original installation was finanwith and organise the squatter communities from which the street ced by an NGO, but, over the years, children come. Options community the unorganised residents failed to development officer covers five pay the water company, and the tap urban poor communities. is now under the control of one
"The urban poor face a daily diet individual. "Since she has the of injustice. They are very hard to money, she can always lend the organise, and we can only win their mothers a bit of money to buy respect and confidence if we can food," said one organiser. "Which help solve some of their immediate makes it very hard for the other needs." mothers to challenge her."
Projects like Options are Subject to funding, Options plans question of principle, not 'mere" to train a series of paralegal humanitarianism. "We need to advisors on labour law, to assist provide an alternative to the depen- individual workers (and to provide dent, clientelist relationship which paid work for some blacklisted the government, politicians, and activists!) most NGOs encourage among the Options also collaborated with rural poor," explains Abadesco. medical students at San Carlos (the need to build a long term relation- country's oldest university) in ship, that will continue even if our training the urban poor in the funding runs out. Of course we production of herbal medicines. concentrate on basic issues like In the housing boom, the urban access to water and education. But poor are the first to be ejected or this is the only way to begin to forcibly relocated. Without the organise and educate the commu- support of organisers like Options, the urban poor will be unable to
In collaboration with other use the legal mechanisms that offer popular organisations, Options is them a degree of protection. * trying to develop income-generating projects. "We need to make
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