THE SHARE A CHILD MOVEMENT INC: a legacy of child empowerment
At that time, she visited the juvenile delinquents at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) city jail where she and other lady lawyers would conduct literacy classes for the youths. They instituted a lot of reforms including separation of adult inmates from juvenile delinquents so that there may be true rehabilitation. Wanting to find a way to prevent children from ending up in jail in the first place, Atty. Valenzona solicited funds from her friends, co-workers and benefactors to provide financial assistance to keep poor but deserving children in school. This was where The Share A Child Movement Inc was born.
The Share A Child Movement Inc (TSACMI) has been in
existence for the past 33 years and has gone a long way from the one-woman
operation by our founder Atty. Esperanza G. Valenzona to a 20-employee organization, with most staff doing advocacy and community development work.
Our advocacy work aims to empower communities to prevent child trafficking, the worst kind of child sexual abuse. With projects supported by the Caritas Switzerland and Terre des Hommes, the strategy of training, advocacy and organizing (TAO) is done in partnership with the local government units at the barangay levels in the municipality of Consolacion, Mandaue City, Cebu City and Talisay City. Community-based children protection networks were organized into proactive engaged groups to identify, reeport and refer suspicious cases to authorities.
Cebu was identified as a hotspot for child traffickers and pedophilia.
The Share A Child Movement Inc was mentioned in local news dailies today as one of the partners of the international organization Terre des Hommes fighting to protect Filipino children from sexual abuse.
TSACMI
aims to empower children and youth to become productive citizens of the world
primarily by providing educational assistance to poor but deserving children to
help them break the cycle of poverty.
Based on
available records since 1993, TSACMI has helped keep 1051 scholars in school,
many of them now successful professionals.
In 2014, a year of transition and necessary changes for our organization,
we provided educational assistance for 110 existing scholars from poor
barangays of Cebu City. During our recognition ceremonies last April 6, 2015, we
had 5 graduates from college and vocational school, 19 graduates from high school
and elementary school, 5 of them with honors. We also had fifty two (52)
children moving up from our Balay Bata Daycare Center, ready to be mainstreamed
into formal educational system.
Oh, wow! A 33-year-old advocacy on child’s rights and welfare. I salute your lola for her efforts in keeping children out of the streets and giving them a better future. I wish your group the best of luck. May you be able to transform and empower many more children
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