A New Perspective

Volunteer Cristina Lobregat shares the experience of watching the Azkals-Galaxy game with twelve exuberant Mano Amiga kids in tow, and the insights she gained along the way.

"Kung nandiyan lang sana si Coach Richard, siguro panalo na yung Azkals." Said in the most matter-of-fact tone, this was one of the endearing moments that really put the Philippine Azkals-LA Galaxy match into perspective; Particularly, the perspective of a grade 2 Mano Amiga student. Though it may come as a surprise to some, the students in Mano Amiga are actually football fans, thanks to the generosity of Coach Candice and Avery del Rosario of Futbol Funatics, who together with Coach Richard, volunteer to teach football every Friday to the Mano Amiga kids. The weekly games in Mano Amiga, coupled with the growing popularity of the Philippine Azkals peaked the students’ interest in football. With their newfound love for the sport, it was almost too good to be true that twelve students were given the chance to see the much-anticipated match last December 3.

While many people who watched the friendly match were looking forward to seeing David Beckham, the Mano Amiga students who trooped over to the Rizal Memorial Stadium from FTI, Taguig barely had an idea on who he was. In fact, they were more excited about finally seeing the Azkals live, so much so that the students actually prayed before the game, asking God to help the Azkals win. What a sight they were, twelve small children sitting quietly in prayer amidst a noisy, cheering crowd. Their excitement showed as their voices stood out from the rest during the National Anthem, prompting others seated around them to look over, where many, if not all, couldn’t help but smile.he Mano Amiga students were oblivious to the hype over LA Galaxy, continuously rooting for their home team, cheering with the rest of the crowd when the Azkals had finally scored a goal. The energy and excitement in the air had gotten to them as they were running up and down the bleachers, calling out the names of the most popular Azkals they knew.

But as with all children their age, by the time the game was winding down, so were they; Understandably so, it being way past their bedtime, the game ending at almost 10pm. But despite their sleepy eyes, tired but grateful smiles filled their faces as they walked out of the stadium. While waiting for the van, there was a renewed energy as the students recounted the highlights of the match. This experience was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event for all those who watched the game, but for these students, the reason for that differs from the rest. In the end, it didn’t matter that David Beckham and the rest of LA Galaxy were there, nor did it matter that the score was 6-1, what mattered was that these students were able to watch a team they knew, play the sport they love.

Tax Exemption for Mano Amiga donors

Mano Amiga Academy, inc. is proud to announce that it was recently granted by the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), a certification for donee institution status.

The PCNC accreditation gives corporate and individual donors exemption from donor’s tax and allows the donated amount to the Foundation to be deducted from their taxable incomes. Based on the Philippine Tax Code, the cap for deductibility is 10% for individual donors and 5% for corporate donors. Only organizations with a successful track record for at least two years could apply for the status.

PCNC was established as a response to the growing number of “fly-by-night” foundations and those that are being used solely to avoid paying taxes.

Mano Amiga Academy received its accreditation after PCNC conducted a thorough review of its operations, finances and policies. PCNC also looked at the dif- ferent resources that the school had in place to ensure project sustainability.

“Acquiring our PCNC accreditation is an important milestone for Mano Amiga Academy because it helps attest to our legitimacy and professionalism as an organization,” Development Director Lynn Pinugu said. “My deepest gratitude goes to the Grupo Integer administrative team for helping us prepare the necessary requirements, as well as to the Mano Amiga staff, students, and families who had given powerful and inspiring testimonials all throughout the evaluation.”

Healing Hands

British Alumni Association holds Medical Missions in Mano Amiga

A child from a disadvantaged family has to work doubly hard in order to succeed in life. Giving him access to quality education is part of the solution, but hardly enough to ensure that he would be able to rise from his circumstance. This is why Mano Amiga Academy is more than just a school. It also serves as a community center, seeking to provide students and their families all the necessary support for them to build a better life.

One important aspect is addressing the health concerns of the community. As part of the PHIL-UK friendship week, the British Alumni Association (BAA) and the British Embassy Manila staff held Medical Missions at Mano Amiga Academy.

The project veered away from the traditional “one-day” format of giving free food and medicine. Under the leadership of Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, the team focused on health education and patient diagnosis. BAA seeks to inculcate among the residents the discipline of regular visits to the local health office and for them to take advantage of the different medical services it offers.

BAA also asked for feedback from the families on how the public health centers could improve their services. It is part of BAA’s objective to help the Taguig local government better address the health concerns in marginalized communities.

The health education component during the Medical Missions focused on disease prevention, reproductive health, proper nutrition, drug abuse responses and other necessary information. Beneficiaries had access to free screening for diabetes and hypertension for adults, and free medical checkups for the children.

*Special thanks to Ms. Nell Belgado for the photos. More pictures from the event could be seen at her flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68837301@N07/page4/

Students receive TOMS shoes

In PNR Taguig, the community of shanties where most Mano Amiga students live, majority of the population live on less than a dollar a day and a sturdy pair of shoes is a luxury most families cannot afford. Children running barefoot are an ordinary sight and slippers are not replaced until the soles are completely torn open. Siblings close in age often take turns wearing a pair of worn-out shoes to school.

It’s an all too common scenario that happens in every impoverished community in the world. In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie saw how children in Argentina often played outside without anything to protect their feet from skin infection, diseases and injury. This moved him to start TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. It became known as the One for One movement.

TOMS received overwhelming support and has given shoes to rural and urban communities in different parts of the world- Argentina, Ethiopia, and most recently, the Philippines.

To help the children from the PNR community, Mano Amiga Academy, in collaboration with TOMS and Philippine based group WE international, organized a shoe-giving event in the school last September 16. Each student received a new pair of TOMS footwear.

Mano Amiga volunteers also organized a fun workshop for the kids to teach them the importance of wearing shoes, particularly in preventing soil-transmitted diseases that could cause long-term physical and cognitive harm.

“We feel incredibly fortunate that our community was chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the program,” Mano Amiga Development Director Lynn Pinugu said. “The long-lasting pair of shoes is a powerful intervention to help keep the children healthy, allowing them to stay in school and work hard for a brighter future.”

One such child is Johnny Canares, 8, who experienced wearing new shoes for the first time. Before his TOMS pair, he had always worn hand-me-downs that his 5 older brothers had outgrown.

“I love my shoes. They smell nice and they feel so soft,” he said with a proud smile. “I’m going to wear them everywhere!”

Raising Little Heroes!

School year 2011-2012 marks another exciting development for Mano Amiga Academy as the One Core Success Center launches Born to be a Hero Values Program, a highly interactive program where character building and formation is done through exciting and fun-filled activities.

The program features afternoon workshops filled with laughter and creativity. The program aims to instill in young minds the core values they need in order to maximize their potential and achieve their goals.

In the first session, the students talked about their dreams and ambitions in life by creating a small mural. The activity also allowed them to realize their responsibilities and commitments that would help in keeping their dreams alive for themselves and for their families or communities.

Coaches Auee Umel and Elie Diccion facilitated the second session, which focused on the theme, "WHO IS MY HERO?" It allowed the pupils to share the heroes they look up to and how they can become heroes in their own ways.

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HELP BRING OUT LITTLE HEROES!

OneCore Success Center accepts supplies donations, monetary contributions and volunteers for our sessions!

Contact Koi Mejia at 09285501702 and o.mejia@theonecore.com or Patricia Sumbingco at 09209326049 and p.sumbingco@theonecore.com.