Greetings from the Philippines! Like nearly everywhere else in the world, the Philippines is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and Bahay Tuluyan is working hard to survive and be of service during this difficult time.
We have now been under quarantine for nearly 6.5 months. Although the levels of quarantine have changed over time, throughout this period children have not been legally able to leave their houses and much public transport has been restricted. Schools have also been closed since March. The opening of the next school year, which should have been in June, will take place in October but there will be no face-to-face classes until a vaccine is available. Most children will be doing modular learning at home using printed worksheets.
All of this is extremely difficult for everyone but most especially the many families living in dense, cramped urban poor communities. Many children in these houses are crowded in with 5 – 6 other family members, not legally allowed to leave, with no schooling and not enough to eat. Bahay Tuluyan has, with your support, provided food relief packages to 600 vulnerable families twice a month since April and will continue this until December. We have also provided rent relief for many months for around 20 families at risk of becoming homeless .
We continue to support children and families with health assistance, including facilitating COVID testing, providing quarantine and also accommodation for frontline workers. We are doing our best to provide support for children and families affected by the implementation of very strict curfew laws and ongoing human rights violations.
In some ways the children in our centers in Laguna and Quezon have been very lucky. Although they are away from their families which is very hard, they are surrounded by other children and people who care for them so social distancing is felt less intensely. They have ample space to play outdoors and they have also been participating in many different educational, psycho-social and recreational activities provided by our committed staff. Many of our children report that the best thing about quarantine has been being involved in farming and gardening.
We are also working hard as an organisation to consistently run our programs without the same financial support. Our social enterprise – Makabata Guesthouse & Cafe – has been closed since March and with that we have lost not only the income we rely on to keep going but also valuable training grounds for young people. We have also been affected by the African Swine Flu which has hit the areas where we farm, requiring us to cull many of our pigs. It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a tough year!
We are committed to doing everything we can to minimise the negative impacts of this pandemic on the children and families that we work with. We appreciate your ongoing support, however small or big – it all counts and is gratefully appreciated. Thank you.
