A typical Filipino yuppie (young urban professional) will celebrate his brithday like this: Good friends will be invited to a birthday party in a bar, a classy restaurant or the new It place in town. Said good friends will grace the occasion dressed to the nines - with the ladies wearing their newly-purchased party or clubbing attire paired with stilletos; while the guys will be wearing their shiny watches and intoxicating perfume. The party begins and in comes the sumptuous food and the copious amounts of alcohol which will be served all night. Dancing and a morning hangover might soon follow.

 

But there are some who stand out from the collective - one of them is Mr. Christian Ivan, who celebrated his birthday with 20 poor Haligi ng Bata, Inc. (HBI) sponsored children. Christian Ivan, fondly called C.I. by family and friends, shared delicious meals and played fun parlor games with these children who hailed from the slum areas of Barangay Holy Spirit last June 5, 2011 in Jollibee, Don Antonio, Quezon City. With him celebrating his birthday are some family members and close friends - one of them is longtime HBI donor, Ms. Lyra Galvante.

 

Click the read more button below to check out C.I.'s fun Birthday Bash with the HBI sponsored children!  Want to spend your birthday with the HBI sponsored children? Click this link to know how or contact us for more details!

 

 

On February 3, 2011, the Haligi ng Bata, Incorporated or HBI through the support of Deacon Dante Manalo and Engr. Ronald Parcon from Oxnard California, implemented a one-day feeding program dubbed as the Pagkain Para sa Lahat Feeding Program. The program was held in the HBI sponsored areas in Navotas, Metro Manila for 500 undernourished children. The communities served were the fire-stricken community of R-10 in Navotas and the Daanghari community located on the banks of the Manila Bay. Play the video below to watch the Pagkain Para sa Lahat Feeding Program in Navotas, Metro Manila, Philippines.

We have reported earlier that the Haligi ng Bata, Incorporated (HBI) has received a 3-year Accreditation from the Philippines' Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), but just today, the Haligi ng Bata, Incorporated has received their Registration and License to Operate from the DSWD after undergoing rigorous evaluations and submitting all necessary documents. This registration and license is important for any legitimate Philippine non-government organization for it assures that an NGO with license and registration is very capable of implementing developmental programs and is a duly-recognized and legitimate. 

 

HBI's Registration and License to Operate covers the areas of the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila), Region 1 (for La Union project areas), Region 3 (for the Bulacan project area), Region 4-A (for the Montalban, Rizal project area) and Region 6 (for the Talisay City, Negros Occidental project area). HBI's new license and registration is good for three (3) years from August 23, 2010 to August 22, 2013.

 

Aside from HBI, there were other non-government organizations who receive their new licenses to operate and registration certificates. Notable among the other NGOs is the ABS-CBN Foundation - the non-government/corporate social responsibility arm of the biggest television network in the Philippines. Below are some photos of this event:

 

 

 

On November 2009, the Haligi ng Bata, Incorporated with the support of their longtime partner-in-service, CO-OPERAID Switzerland, and the funding support of the Swiss Solidarity group, initiated a year-long project which aimed to provide relief and rehabilitation programs to those affected by Typhoons Ketsana (Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng). The project, dubbed as the Phase 1: Relief and Rehabilitation Project, was implemented in a total of nine (9) Metro Manila and La Union communities and 12 Metro Manila and La Union public schools which were all affected by the typhoons. The following were the schools and communities aided by the said project:

 

La Union public schools

The identified needs of the communities were relief assistance, medical services, housing renovation and livelihood aid and support. On the other hand, the identified needs of the schools were school renovation and replacement of damaged books, instructional materials and classroom paraphernalia. The following were the goals of the Phase 1 project:

Armed with the tireless dedication of the HBI team members - the Executive Director, Operations Manager, Administration Head and Area Social Workers; the efforts of grassroot organizations like the Parents and Teachers Associations (PTAs) and HBI Area Leaders, Committee Members & Volunteers;  and the support of the local government units (city offices, barangay leaders, local Department of Social Welfare & Development, Department of Education and Department of Health), all planned programs under the Phase 1 project were successfully implemented. The project has ended on October 31, 2010 and its accomplishments could be read by clicking the Read More button below. On the other hand, be sure to view photos of this project by clicking on our photo gallery link .

Every morning, 9-year old Psalm Bethaniel Maala walks to school carrying his school bag containing some notebooks, pencils, pieces of pad paper, a packed lunch, at least two worn-out face towels and an extra shirt yellowing due to age and complete with holes; His mother, a seasonal farmer, checks her son’s backpack every morning to ensure that the boy goes to school with extra towels because “it’s very hot in his school”.

The “very hot school” Bethaniel’s mother is talking about is the General Prim Elementary School in Bangar, La Union. Located just a stone’s throw away from the Northern National Highway, the school bears the brunt of the highway’s smoke and heat making the insides of the schools’ classrooms very hot and humid (temperatures range from 33-39 degrees Celsius according to the school’s Science teacher). Because of this, it’s not uncanny for schooling children to be lugging backpacks and plastic bags with towels, clothes and fans every school day. Also, most children, who are sons and daughters of farmers and blacksmiths, do not bother wearing their uniforms and instead they come to school wearing shorts and sleeveless blouses or undershirts just so they could cope with the heat.

 

Know more about the General Prim Elementary School by clicking the Read More button below.