By CHICKIE LOCSIN
REDENTOR Betito, 36, used to work as a part-time pin boy and a watch- and -wash your car boy. He is now coordinator of the Cebu City Task Force for Street Children (CCTFSC) program, a non-government organization offering street children shelter and option for a more meaningful life.
At any given time, there are 30 children at its Parian Drop-in Center, a processing facility before they are transferred to the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development or other member agencies of CCTFSC.
NGOs dedicated to social services are dependent on the generosity of philanthropists and funding agencies. The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) used to be a good source of funds until Janet Lim Napoles and some corrupt legislators diverted the funds to their pockets.
That CCTFSC continues its operations minus money from PDAF is credit to the foresight of Margot Osmeña, wife of former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena, who established the Children of Cebu Foundation (CCFI) that serves as the conduit for the donations for the Parian Drop-in Center.
Osmeña single-handedly raises money to cover operational costs of the CCTFSC making sure that she has enough funds in the bank at the end of each month to cover operational costs. She has a core of regular donors whom she runs to when funds run low.
Lydia Sia, a long-time friend and supporter, says that transparency and openness are key factors in raising funds. “Margot updates the community on the activities and progress of the foundation. Personal testimonies of children also help in getting continuous support.”
Osmeña laments the scrapping of PDAF.” The PDAF was meant to do good; unfortunately it was abused. In our case, funds were deposited directly to the hospitals and never passed our account. The medical costs of the patients were charged against the amounts allocated to us based on full documentation of the patients’ illness. It was an invaluable support for our medical cases,” she says.
When her husband was starting his term way back in 1988, he warned her that as the Mayor’s wife she would be pulled in all directions to lend her support for various projects. He advised her that it was best to focus on a single activity where she could make a difference. She opted to work with the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children.
She formed CCFI to make donations easier to manage. CCFI formed a strong linkage with CCTFSC, rather unusual among NGO’s and government agencies. This working relationship was given recognition and was awarded the Galing Pook Award of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Today, the Parian Drop-in Center stands on a property owned by the Archdiocese of Cebu which she leased for one peso a year for 50 years.
Betito says Parian has many successful alumni who have good jobs here and abroad, although less than five percent have gone into social development work.
Betito estimates that almost 50 percent of the children who are sheltered in the center go back to the streets. “The Parian is like a home, with rules. In the streets, the children are ‘masters of themselves’ and can do what they please with the money that they earn-rugby, gambling, pornography. We discourage people, especially foreigners, from giving the children money as this will do them more harm than good.”
Many of them come back to the Center if only to see “Mama Margot” who he dubs as the life and soul of the organization, the “Mother of Cebu street children.”
“She is sincere in her effort to uplift their lives; her involvement is not just lip service; she is hands-on and worries about dwindling funds of the Center,” Betito attests.
Margot confides, “It is not really difficult to raise funds for projects when you are the Mayor’s wife. Cash and materials flow in as many businessmen are willing to oblige. Cebu has a big Chinese community and with their tradition of giving back, they donate generously. “
Sia puts this in context: “Trust does not come easy with the Chinese community but Margot has earned it because she has been consistent in making the foundation what it is today.”
Now that she is no longer a Mayor’s wife, Margot is undaunted: “There will always be generous souls, special gifts when we need it most.”