Mid-year Narrative ReportFamily Home, Community Assistanceand EACY programs

Family Home Program (FHP)

The 13 boys in the Family Home Program (FHP) continue to thrive and grow, physically, emotionally and mentally. The effect of the group’s extended stay at Stairway is pleasantly manifested in their positive attitudes, motivation, skills, group dynamics and expanded knowledge. Our uniquely beautiful and stimulating environment, along with solid support from their care givers, have not been lost on them.

The Family Home Program is based in the headquarters and center of Stairway Foundation in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. Last March, all members of the Stairway community, including the children, had COVID-19 antigen tests. None of the children tested positive. It proves that children’s compliance with the safety health protocols enforced by Stairway protects them from the virus. The healthy menu served in the center sustains a balanced diet appropriate for child-growing age. As a result, all boys are physically active and continuously increasing in height with 2 to 3 cm., and between 2 to 4 kilos in weight. Some of the boys have had treatment for skin, dental and minor health concerns. All of them display a much higher level of well-being and self-confidence.

The program is persistent in providing effective and efficient services to the 13 children for further holistic development. The children consistently have packed daily activities and classes, including the academic lessons on reading, writing, math, science, computer and digital literacy, music, arts, and livelihood. Divided into four groups of 3 to 4 kids, the teachers and facilitators can address and design effective teaching and learning strategies according to the individual needs of the residential children.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday7:00-8:00 ALL

8:00 - 9:00 ALLFireAir

Water Reading Storybook AcademicsEarth Modular Class MusicFire AcademicsAir Writing

Water Book Report Music Livelihood

Earth Modular Class Academics Modular Class

Fire WritingAir

Water Academics Academics Essay WritingEarth Modular Class Modular Class Modular Class Livelihood

12:00-1:00 ALLFire Song Composition Music AcademicsAir Baking Academics Music

Water Book Reading Baking Book ReadingEarth Modular Class Song Composition Modular Class

1:55-2:00 ALL 5-Minute Math Drills 5-Minute Math Drills 5-Minute Math Drills 5-Minute Math Drills 5-Minute Math DrillsFire BakingAir Song Composition

Water Song CompositionEarth Baking

Fire

AirWaterEarth

4:00-5:00 ALL Laundry Laundry5:00-6:00 ALL Gardening Gardening

6:45-7:30 ALL

8:00-9:30 ALL Basketball Homework/Module/Puzzle/Book Reading

Homework/Module/Puzzle/Book Reading

Homework/Module/Puzzle/Book Reading

Friday Movie Saturday Movie Early Lights Off

Breakfast

Dinner

Cleaning/Gardening

Arts

Arts

Wrap Up

Math Practice

Chess Game/Tournament

Arts

Lunch

General LaundryEducational Board

Games/ Indoor Activity

Academics

Library Books Reading

Computer - Susan

Computer - Susan

Environment Academics

Personality Development and Life Skills Computer - Susan

9:00-10:00 General Cleaning Cleaning/ Gardening

11:00-11:45

10:00-11:00

Story/Book Reading

Academics

Livelihood

Academics

Computer - Susan

Computer - Susan

Computer - Susan

1:00-1:55

Crafts/Bracelet Making

Crafts/Bracelet Making

Dance Facilitation - Jhonnie2:00-3:00

Creative Expressions (Theater) Creative Expressions (Theater)

3:00-4:00 Chess Game/Tournament Chess Game/Tournament Soccer Basketball

Beach/Gardening Beach/Gardening Beach/Gardening

Arts

In the first few months of the 13 children’s stay, we identified that only 69% could write simple and complete sentences, 46% had good reading comprehension, and 38% could solve arithmetic problems independently. However, in the first half of this year, 100% of the boys enhanced their basic literacy skills. Eighty-five percent (85%) can write essays or para-graphs, and seventy-seven percent (77%) can now solve exercises from simple to advanced mathematical drills independently. As a result of two computer classes per week, they are all knowledgeable in using computers, including MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and Adobe Photoshop.

Sample daily activities of the residential children in Family Home Program

Basic literacy development of the FHP children

Four children have completed the school year program under the Department of Education (DepEd) Blended Learning Modality, receiving consistently good grades and recognition for being top students in their class. Two of the children will be graduating from primary school (Grade 6) and the other two have completed grade seven.

There will be no Acceleration and Equivalency (A&E) Test this year for the elementary students under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) program. Hence, we have decided to enroll the boys in the DepEd Blended Learning Modality this coming school year. All of them continue to study safely inside the Stairway center, equipped with computers, tablets, and access to our library and teaching staff.

Throughout the past semester, our Creative Director had the boys explore the past and learn about Greek culture, myths, drama, and how they have shaped today’s world. Through the sessions, the boys created storyboards based on Greek mythology, and armed with vivid imag-inations they delved into creating shadow puppets and shadow theatres. After months of work, the group presented four extremely impressive plays to 35 people, guided with safety protocols.

The boys are impressed by the rap skills and mini-studio of their housefather, and they are highly motivated to compose original songs with his coaching and guidance. They compose songs based on their personal experiences about family, street life, abuse, neglect, and education. Eventually, they record their songs and feel proud of themselves and their creations.

Boys in a creative developmental process.

All the boys are competent in baking bread and producing handicrafts, organic soap, and shampoo. The are all very interested and seriously engaged in organic gardening, which has become part of their daily activities. They expand on their self-made garden plots and pro-duce their own seeds and seedlings, exchanging plants and plant material as well as advice and support between one another. Their weekly environmental class has expanded into a weekly whole day farm immersion at our organic farm in Baclayan. What they learn from their farm immersion, they apply at their garden plots in the center. Planned activities for the coming months are to identify plants and insects, produce organic dishwashing liquid, hands-on organic farming, and beautification of the camp house.

Since the first chess tournament last June 2020, we have made chess part of the boys’ daily activities. With continued practice, the ranking of the players today is very different from a year ago. Some of the kids, who placed at the lowest portion last year, ended up playing in the final rounds of our most recent tournament. Playing chess allows the boys to focus, learn patience, and think strategically. They experience that one is not right all of the time, and one cannot win all the time. Learning to accept failure, learning from mistakes, and learning that practice and improving strategy creates growth. Whether they win or lose, the boys develop their confidence to set goals, make decisions, and persevere - invaluable life lessons that they will carry with them as they grow.

Stairway kids learn about organic farming during weekly sessions at the Baclayan farm.

Community Assistance Program

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affects the local population in Puerto Galera, where Stairway Foundation is based, especially the beneficiaries of our Community Assistance Program (CAP), who are from disadvantaged and marginalized sectors. The pandemic has taught us the importance of resiliency and self-reliance, further prompting a transition plan in our work with the Baclayan indigenous community. With enhanced focus on socio-economic interventions, we have started a five-year phase-out period for the feeding program. Over the next five years, we hope to contribute to develop an active community that will work towards self-reliance and sustainability.

We will focus more on livelihood and social enterprise projects, initially aiming at the beneficiaries of the Educational Assistance Initiative (EAI). In June, we hired a new staff member to focus on this new challenge. As we assist a number of families under the EAI to achieve economic sufficiency and social adequacy, they will no longer need financial assistance to support their children’s education. This means that the number of beneficiaries of the EAI will gradually decrease. Currently, the EAI caters to 616 students from elementary to college level. Among the 616 beneficiaries, 62 high school students are from Baclayan.

The implementation of our Child Protection Project with the LGU has been somehow delayed and modified because of the pandemic. However, we continue to find ways to reach the mandated institutions and conduct consultations and capacity building sessions. The project aims to improve the functionality of existing institutions to respond to child protection concerns in the local community, as mandated by law. Advocacy efforts will be enhanced at the local level through networking, partnership, information, education and campaigns to achieve a clear child protection agenda. The project is a five-year partnership, which started in January 2020 and runs until December 2024.

Baclayan Community DevelopmentHealth and Sanitation.We have intensified our medical services in Baclayan during the pandemic, so we now con-duct medical consultations and pre-natal check-ups every week. In conjunction with the consultations, we conduct health awareness sessions to address not only health and medical issues experienced by the community, but also a high prevalence of disinformation.

Patients often express their gratitude for the medical assistance program. Due to fear of COVID-19, most of the indigenous people (IP) from the community are afraid to go to the hospital for their medical needs. They prefer to go to the Stairway clinic and avail them-selves of free medicine. They regularly ask for Vitamin C to boost their immune systems. We served 208 patients from January to June 2021.

The Stairway staff, in partnership with barangay health workers, conducted an orientation about family planning and encouraged parents, especially men, to use contraceptives and understand the importance of family planning. There were 113 mothers and fathers attending the orientation on family planning. It is good to note that 22 parents were encouraged to take contraceptives after the orientation. They went to the Rural Health center to ask for advice on an appropriate contraceptive to use.

A Family Planning session in the IP community.

Sanitation Stations. The project to build five sanitation stations in five different localities in Baclayan has been under way for a very long time. After multiple delays, four of the planned five sanitation stations have been completed and are in use. Each station has two to three toilet compartments and a washing area. The last station is expected to be completed within the year.

Feeding ProgramIt has been eight months since parents started to run the three feeding centers in the Baclayan community with no or minimal participation from Stairway staff. The process was not always perfectly smooth, as they faced difficulties and challenges in terms of participation and organization. Through these difficulties and challenges, they learned to work better together, support each other and find solutions. The parents themselves initiated meetings to solve their issues regarding the operation. We supported them with consultations to address issues and concerns and capacitate them to manage all aspects of the feeding centers, including the checking of students’ attendance, the inventory of supplies, food preparation, coordination and communication.

A MilestoneOver the past year, we have seen the women in Baclayan take initiatives for the benefit of their families and their community, and they have demonstrated their desire and capability to organize and manage the operation of the feeding stations with minimal support from Stairway. These developments are huge milestones, which we hardly dared to anticipate, when we started working with the community more than 10 years ago. Generally speaking, we were dealing with a very passive group of people, who were willing to receive but challenged by the requirement of active participation. Today, it is obvious that the feeding program has served more than pulling the children into the classrooms and boost their health condition. The required active participation of parents has significantly contributed to strengthen the sense of community and empowered the mothers, in particular. The time is ripe to transition into a new phase of our engagement with the Baclayan community, in which we stress the need for the community to become self-reliant. We aim to end the feeding program by the school year 2024-2025. To solidify the transition plan and get the active participation of the community, we have been conducting consultation meetings with multiple stakeholders. At present, there are already parents who are consistently involved in organic gardening, mush-room production, organic soap production, garden center management, and a community savings credit group.

The feeding centers served an average of 300 students daily from Monday to Friday, including the 62 high school educational assistance beneficiaries, who live in Baclayan.

Food Security and Self RelianceIt is our goal to spend the coming four to five years to improve economic capacities of families and youth through various livelihood and networking interventions. Establishing backyard gardens or community gardens that can provide nutritious food for every participating family is a significant first step. We aim to organize the community to work together and build a strong community spirit, which will be a necessary ingredient in reaching community self-reliance and sustainability.

Baclayan Food Security AssociationThe Baclayan Food Security Group was initially established in February 2020. It is composed of parents in the community interested in starting a community garden. As the plan was about to commence, the pandemic began. Some members transferred residences, making it difficult to continue the project. Other members continued with their own vegetable gardens in their homes. By July 2020, the group had its first meeting since the implementation of the strict quarantine in March. Stairway and the group had to realign some plans to make sure that the livelihood intervention would thrive and be resilient.

There are now 15 mothers participating in the regular meetings. Five are involved in the organic soap production project and the others manage the mushroom house and the herbal/medicinal garden center. There were periods of irregular attendance of mothers and it was a challenge to manage the projects for several months due to family concerns, other commitments, weather, and pandemic-related restrictions. However, the group still achieved the following:

a. The group has formed an Association and six officers have been elected. The chairperson facilitates the regular Thursday meeting.

b. A Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer have started to provide financial reports in the meetings.

c. The mothers from the mushroom production group have Php 697.00 cash on hand from selling mushroom and herbal plants.

d. Mothers from the organic soap production group started doing record keeping and making a simple cash book.

e. The mothers from the organic soap production group have Php2,658.00 cash on hand from the first and second cycles of soap production. They are currently organizing the money from the third cycle. A meeting has yet to be held about percentage for share, for capital reinvestment and for savings.

f. The participants have agreed to do community work in the herbal garden center every Thursday.

g. The participants have agreed to bring materials and build a new mushroom house. Every meeting, they bring raw materials for the mushroom production.

h. The participants became recipients of 30 free-range chickens and corn and other seeds for their gardens, from the Department of Agriculture.

i. The participants became recipients of 700 fruit trees from the Department of Agriculture. The participants facilitated the distribution of the fruit trees to 133 families in Barangay Baclayan and Barangay Aninuan.

j. The group will start a community savings and credit group in July 2021.k. Their proposal of improving the mushroom house was approved, and they will

receive Php50,000.00 from the local government once they submit all the necessary requirements.

Stairway will capitalize on the participants’ enthusiasm and the spirit of camaraderie and volunteerism to inspire other parents to be active and realize the power of collaboration and the potential of other livelihood alternatives for empowerment and self-reliance. The forming of an association is a first step towards forming a Cooperative, which will be a pillar in the journey to transform Baclayan into a prosperous self-reliant community.

With Stairway assistance, the Food Security Association has developed a medicinal herbal garden center in Baclayan next to the Children Health and Education Center (CHEC). The initiative offers an opportunity to share herbs as well as knowledge about medicinal plants as a natural remedy for sickness. The herbal garden initiative aims to inspire the community to appreciate and utilize their traditional knowledge about medicinal plants and transfer this knowledge from the elders to the younger generation.

The herbal garden is also a source of raw materials being used by the mothers from the organic soap production project.

Five mothers are engaged in making and selling organic soap and shampoo. The group is now learning basic technical skills in simple cash book recording, documenting cash flow, expenses, and reporting for transparency.

Thirteen parents have been involved in the mushroom production. The technical knowhow was transferred from the Stairway farm crew and the Mushroom Production Association of Oriental Mindoro.

Stairway Organic FarmThe Baclayan organic farm has been steadily producing crops and vegetables, which are delivered weekly to Stairway’s center in Barangay Aninuan and to the feeding program in Barangay Baclayan.

Here is the farm’s harvest for the first six (6) months of the year:

lemonpetchaybukoguyabanopomelolabanoskangkongcoconut (mature)azollakulitis (amaranth)lettucechingkangarugulacauliflowerkamatismustasasweet pototo topssiling panigangcurly green lettuce

222 kg132 kg

113 pcs90 kg73 kg55 kg47 kg

31 pcs27 kg25 kg25 kg22 kg21 kg19 kg18 kg17 kg17 kg14 kg13 kg

chinese Kalesitaolemon grasscucumberdillsayoteparsleyeggplantsan fernando gabisiling tingalacherry tomatoampalayang ligawyellow gingerpineapplered beetschivemalunggaysweet potato

12 kg10 kg7 kg7 kg6 kg6 kg

5.5 kg5.5 kg

4 kg4 kg4 kg2 kg2 kg

1.5 kg1 kg1 kg1 kg1 kg

Passion fruit is a new fruit we have planted on the farm.

Along with the crops and vegetables, vermicast fertilizer was also continuously produced. A total of 27 sacks (1,350 kilos) of vermicast fertilizer were dispersed for vegetables in plots and greenhouses, as well as for the hundreds of newly planted fruit seedlings.

Last January, we completed planting all the fruit tree seedlings that were purchased in the last quarter of 2020.

We have boosted the growth and chance of survival of the seedlings by applying biofertilizer near the roots of the seedlings, and through the quarterly clearing and weeding of all the 1,766 newly planted seedlings.

The newly-planted fruit seedlings were purchased in a plant nursery several towns away from Puerto Galera. In the future, we hope to produce our own fruit seedlings to be planted in various parts of the farm and to be distributed in the community gardens and food forests. This is why we requested for training from the Regional Department of Agriculture on Orchard Management and Plant Propagation. The training took place last March. The farm team gained new knowledge and skills on the basics of orchard maintenance, pruning of trees, grafting and budding.

We made a mistake in purchasing a batch of Rhode Island Sasso chicks last November. It turned out that the monsoon winds and the rain at the higher altitude posed too much of a challenge for the new chicks, despite the protection of the all cemented chicken house. Many of the chicks did not survive past February this year, so we bought another batch of 79 chicks this summer. The surviving chickens from the November batch started to lay eggs last May.

Seedlings Total Planted KalamansiRambutan (Rongring) Mangosteen Cacao Lanzones (duco) Lanzones (lungkong) Durian Mango Guyabano Dragon Fruit Grapes KiatKiatPomelo Langka Paminta Lemon Coco DwarfCoco MacapunoTotal

350999250

101100

985029

200100

3750505545

20060

1,766

The Farm as a Learning CenterThe organic farm continues to function as a learning center in helping address food security in the midst of a pandemic. Delegates from the indigenous people (IP) community in the district of Bignayan (Sityo Bignayan) participated in a week-long farm internship program and learned about the principles of organic farming, soil analysis, production of vermicast, organic concoctions, composting, and the Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT). After each half day of lecture and discussion, the interns spent the rest of the day helping in various tasks in the farm and learning new skills along the way. What they have learned will be applied in their home gardens and mountain farms (kaingin). The intention is that their knowledge and skills will also be shared with their community.

The farm team leader offered technical assistance to the Baclayan community garden in the creation of the community’s oyster mushroom production facility. The mushroom facility is now regularly harvesting and earning income. The farm team leader also supported the creation of a vermicast facility in a community garden in Barangay Aninuan.

Along with providing internships and technical support to leaders of community gardens established under the Food Security Program, the farm is continuously enhancing its capacity. Recently, two EACY officers participated in two trainings on beekeeping and per-maculture at an Agri Tourism Farm in another town.

After the training on beekeeping, we availed ourselves of two colonies of stingless bees. We have installed the colonies at our Learning and Resource Center in Aninuan. The initial bee colonies will eventually be replicated and placed in various strategic locations to help in the pollination of flowers and fruit trees. This can also be a potential for honey production, which could generate alternative livelihood and income for the community. The training on permaculture will help us in designing our farm to be more sustainable – to produce more with less work by using the logic of nature.

Aiming for certification as a Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA)We are in the process of submitting to the Regional Office of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) an application for our farm to be certified as a Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA).

With an ATI certification, we qualify as a recipient of resources and funding from the government for the trainings we will hold for the local community and others.

Structural Changes in Farm OperationAs a strategic move towards cost cutting, sustainability and lessening community reliance on Stairway, we will carry out a new system of employment of several of the workers on the farm. In order to help change their mindset from being a farm worker to become a farmer, they will be offered to manage a portion of land to grow a variety of vegetables, which Stairway will then purchase from them at whole-sale price. We will also assist them with seeds, seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, water and technical assistance, to help them ensure good and bountiful harvests. There are conditions they must abide by, like only using organic fertilizers and pesticides, and they must agree to give a certain share of their harvest to the community, or the school feeding program. The exact terms and conditions are still in the thought and discussion process. Going from receiving a weekly salary to being an independent farmer is not happening overnight. There will be a transition period in which they will work for Stairway for 2 days a week, and the rest of the time they work on their own plots. After the first harvest and earnings, the distribution of time between Stairway and own business can be adjusted. The idea is that they will have a different kind of motivation, and they will become far more independent and self-reliant.

With this new set-up, we expect Stairway to reduce overheads, while increasing the amount of produce we get. At the same time, we are leaning towards a more developmental approach in working with the local indigenous people, promoting self-reliance and sustainability.

In addition, we will open the farmland to other interested people in the local community. Individuals, families or groups will be allotted an appropriate share of land that they can work. Size will depend on sloping, fertility and crop plan, as well as the number of people that will work and feed from the plot. Initially, we will provide the community people with seeds and technical assistance, and we will purchase their products at a fair price, based on prevailing market prices. In return, they will render occasional days of service to the farm’s projects. The products that we purchase from them will be used in the feeding program or at the main center in Aninuan.

As described in a previous section, students, teachers and a women’s association also have an area, where they grow their vegetables and herbs. As we envision the future utilization of the 16 hectares of land, it will accommodate a number of community gardens that will eventually all fall under a farmer cooperative.

We are confident that we can execute the sustainability plans, as we have hired a key person to supervise this transition. She is a teacher, a social worker and an agriculturist by profession, and she used to work in Puerto Galera’s Municipal Agriculture Office. A definite asset we have added to our team.

Scholarships and Education for Indigenous Youth

Baclayan Youth GraduationFour youth from Baclayan, who enrolled in an Agricultural course from Mary Help of Christian School (MHC) in Calapan last year, have graduated May 11, 2021.

After almost eight months in the school, the four boys earned their certificates from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as graduates of Agri Crops, Poultry and Swine courses, respectively.

They also passed the Farm Scientist Program, an academic and practical curriculum offered by the University of the Philippines Los Banos Sustainable Development Program and by the MHC. For special recognition, the MHC presented the Conduct and Service Award to one of the boys for his sincere efforts to learn and contribute to the MHC program and services.

After the graduation, one of the boys opted to stay for another year in the MHC to continue his studies and be an assistant at the school. The three other boys are now helping in their family gardens and are looking for work. It is our plan to allot them a piece of land on the Stairway farm, so they can continue learning, while producing vegetables and earning a living.

Following the success of our collaboration with the MHC, we have enrolled another four youth from Baclayan for the coming year. Further, after a one-month session of orientation and life skills at the Children Health and Education Center (CHEC), two young men and two young women have started an Agriculture course. It is an 8-month curriculum covering three government-accredited courses. The students will receive an allowance from the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) while in the program.

Creative Learning Activities (CLA), Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), and Let the Children PlayYoung learners continue to meet and study in Aral Kubo in Sitio Managan, assisted by the parent volunteers who serve as their primary teachers. At times, children themselves are the ones conducting storytelling to the younger ones, with the help of books borrowed from the public library of the municipality. The Under-the-tree concept of group learning also made it to other areas of Baclayan last May. Starting with five elementary students and five high school students, the number of children participating is expected to grow as tutorial and creative learning sessions become regular in their area. Stairway volunteers utilize creative ways to engage the students in discussions, problem-solving and critical thinking; skills they need to answer their self-learning modules. Together, the children learn arithmetic, reading comprehension, and art activities in fun and stimulating ways.

These education initiatives are designed to provide students from various levels with opportunities that will spark their interest and motivate them through active learning. The activities are interactive and energizing, after hours of module exercises. For the high school students, tutorial sessions are more concentrated in the math and sciences.

The Baclayan Educators and Storytellers (BESt) members facilitate the sessions for daycare and elementary students from Sitio Managan. Sixteen children participate in the 6-month Creative Learning Activities (CLA) program, which started last February 15. Primary school children continuously show enthusiasm in reading books, while non-readers do book browsing as influenced by their big brothers and sisters. They enjoy experiential activities like science experiments, food preparation and physical movements. Some children display a sense of responsibility in ensuring the cleanliness of the study hut or “aral kubo”, and by informing other children that the class would start.

Last May, the CLA implementation was interrupted, because two residents in the barangay acquired COVID-19. The 6-month program was put on hold, as requested by the tribal leader living in the area.

Both tutorials only accommodate a limited number of students due to the social distancing guidelines. Many students have expressed their difficulty in the current mode of learning. They have shared that it was a challenge to answer the modules without understanding the lesson or the subject matter. Students have resorted to peer teaching and learning, and asking support from other adults in their area.

After School Care ActivitiesStimulating and playful activities are available at the Children Health and Education Center (CHEC) for visiting children after school hours. The venue and the activities provide children a safe and healthy learning and playing space. Reading, playing chess, counting games and practicing creativity and self-expression through writing, drawing and coloring. With the pandemic situation, children now, more than ever, need a place where they are allowed to learn and play together. Since a surge of Covid-19 cases in May, the barangay and school recommended to limit the number of children at the CHEC. Thus, fewer children have been able to benefit from the after-school care activities.

Improving networking and partnershipAs we expand our partnership with different sectors outside Stairway, we also give priority to organize and empower the community through working groups and committees to enhance leadership and organizational development. Through community organizing, we have estab-lished a parent leaders group and two groups of children to ensure their representation in formal procedures of planning, implementing and evaluating. These structures will provide support in the cooperation among different stakeholders and provide them with a sense of ownership of the projects.

Parent Leaders GroupThe four parent leaders from the Baclayan Food Security Association perform an active role not only in their project but also in the health and education component of the Baclayan Community Development Program. They co-facilitate reproductive health awareness sessions, body mass index (BMI) measurement sessions, and creative learning activities (CLA). They also represent the parent sector in the stakeholders’ meetings about the 5-year Baclayan Transition Plan.

The Baclayan Transition Plan will include the strategies and design of what the Baclayan Community Development will look like after five years. It will describe the activities needed to achieve the overall objectives: to facilitate community awareness and community partic-ipation to enable people to solve community problems/issues, provide their basic needs and provide access to opportunities that will help them develop better living standards.

Different stakeholders engage in shaping the work plan, which will be a testament of a community working together for a common goal.

Children’s ParticipationPart of promoting children’s rights is to develop their participation right. Creative Learning Activities (CLA), Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), and Let the Children Play are initiatives that promote children’s developmental rights. Participating in groups provide the children venues for advancement, empowerment and the essential skills to know how to protect themselves from different forms of abuse.

Two groups of children have been organized to spearhead the CLA and Environmental Awareness for Children and Youth (EACY) program activities. In the last stakeholders’ meeting in March, three members of the Baclayan community were invited to participate on behalf of the children in Baclayan. They were invited again in a barangay consultation on June 30.

One of the BESt members is also a member of the young team taking part in the mapping of Puerto Galera’s ancestral domain. She decided to join the team to deepen her understand-ing of the youths’ responsibility in guarding their land and their cultural heritage. If we can encourage more children to take an active part in community programs and policies, we will have more children advocating for a child-friendly Puerto Galera.

Children in the Aral Kubo, initiated and built by community partners.

Child Protection in Puerto Galera during COVID-19

The past year, children have stayed confined in their homes with fewer opportunities to realize their fundamental rights to survival, development, protection, and participation. The lack of stimulation, “real” learning, and participation, brought on by distance learning and unreg-ulated gadget use, expose children to further risks. The pandemic has forced children to be locked up at home, which unfortunately has made many of them more vulnerable to abuse.

Working with the Department of Education Locally. Last year, early into the pandemic, we provided training to all Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) teachers in Puerto Galera, along with the members of the School Child Protection Committees. Trainings covered basic children’s rights, Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Cybersafety, and Safeguarding in Schools in the New Normal. The sessions were designed to equip the school personnel with practical guidance on how to ensure safety and protection among learners in their homes. The schools incorporated into their Child Protection Policies (CPPs) child safeguarding in education delivery, social media policies, and case management protocols in handling online and offline child protection concerns within their schools.

Currently, we are coordinating with both public and private schools to maximize Stair-way’s e-learning platform and integrate on-line courses into the curriculum for the next school year. One of the teachers suggested that the materials should also be presented in the parents’ orientation sessions, before the official commencement of the school year. This will enable the parents to be on guard of their children’s online activities and capacitate them on how to provide appropriate supervision.

Stairway also distributed online safety materials produced by our partner CEOP, 1,275 storybooks (Ang Kwento ni Tam) to public school students of all levels from Kindergarten to Grade 6, and 525 Cybersafe booklets (#BeCyberSafe comics) to Grade 9 students of two (2) public high schools during the Safer Internet Day and Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Week.

Psychosocial Sessions for Teachers.The students are not alone being stressed and frustrated with the closing of schools. Teachers have expressed that they too need support in this new situation, so we extended our assistance and organized psychosocial sessions with teachers of several schools. The activity became a venue to give their mental health a legitimate boost.

Baseline StudyThe research, we conducted last year on the situation of children and the status of child protection systems in Puerto Galera, gives us concrete direction as to where to focus our energies in our work with the Local Government. We have collaborated with a child protection specialist and a member of the academe of the University of the Philippines, Ms. Pasos, for the analysis of the study’s findings. One of her conclusions is that cases of violence against children (VAC) and other child protection issues will continue as long as child protection system activities continue to be unsynchronized, residual, and fragmented. It is therefore one of the recommendations to focus on (re)activation of the local child protection structures, from the LGU to the barrio levels, and do community organization wherein parent groups and child groups will be formed and empowered.

Psychosocial session for teachers

Strengthening of Child Protection StructuresIn the previous year, we started organizing the mandated LGU and barangay child protection structures by providing trainings on children’s rights, child sexual abuse prevention and cyber safety, maintaining their continued commitment and support to address child protection issues. This year, as the project objectives have become more defined, Stairway has facilitated the formation of the project management team comprised of stakeholders, who will directly implement and monitor the project activities. They will also ensure harmonization of child protection efforts. Coordination with local partners has not been easy considering the offices’ respective priorities and regular programs. However, with the team’s formation, the offices, including child representatives, have sealed their commitment in partnering with Stairway in conducting massive child protection work catering to the children of Puerto Galera, espe-cially those who are most vulnerable. The next major activity of the project management team will be strategic planning, detailing all the action plans for the next three years. A 3-day workshop, face-to-face, is scheduled for mid-July.

The LGU partners will also be provided access to Stairway’s e-learning materials to deepen their understanding of the child protection issues existing in Puerto Galera. This will be part of the array of capacity-building activities for the members of the Municipal and Barangay Council for the Protection of Children.

Coaching and Mentoring of LGU Social Workers.Stairway social workers continue to provide mentoring and coaching sessions to our local partners in handling cases of children. Filing cases in court, facilitating family case confer-ences, providing counseling to child sexual abuse victims, prevention and reporting of cyber offenses are some of the areas covered. According to a recent report from the National Police Women and Children Protection Desk, more and more cases referred to them this year have been cyber-related.

Cybersafety sessions with elementary students in Baclayan

Barangay Councils for Protection of Children (BCPC)We have also started building rapport with all 13 barangays and preparing them for (re)acti-vation of their respective councils for protection of children. While it is the Municipal Council for Protection of Children (MCPC) that sets the policies and guidelines for child protection, the BCPCs are the front liners in the local communities. This tedious process of reaching out and connecting with each and every Barangay Council aims to develop them to become child advocates of their communities, who will eventually lead community-based initiatives.

Involving Child LeadersWe have tapped into organized children’s groups from schools through the Student Supreme Government (SSG) and have encouraged them to be part of the child protection work, despite the load of their school work. As a result, a Facebook group page was established, which has become the platform of student leaders for youth engagement, consultation, and continued learning.

The online capacity-building activities conducted with the student leaders have immediately borne fruit, as three cases of cyber-related offenses were brought to our attention right after the sessions. This was an indication of the potential in extending online child protection through peer engagement. An approach we will explore and utilize further.

A Stairway Social worker volunteering her weekend time to inform, inspire and educate IP youth.

Case Management of Children Stairway continues to be a safe refuge for children in difficult situations. This year, we have received several referrals of cases of children needing special protection and intervention, coming from the LGU, community leaders, parents, and children themselves. Below is the breakdown of cases and the interventions provided by our social workers.

As stated, six child survivors of sexual abuse have been undergoing counseling sessions to process the unimaginable trauma and other damaging effects of the abuse. We recognize the need to touch and heal the emotional and psychological wounds of these children by healing together as a group, in which the children give and receive support from one another. The sessions are co-facilitated by one of the local government unit (LGU) social workers, which is our strategy of training our local partners on therapeutic sessions for child victims.

Type of Child Protection Issue No. of Cases Type of Service Family miscommunication and conflict resulting in psychological abuse

Physical abuse

Child prostitution

Child Sexual Abuse Material

Sexual abuse

Family conferences, coordination with schools, referral to BCPC and parent leaders for monitoring

Family counseling with BCPCReferral to MSWDO and PNP-WCPD

Individual and family counseling Referral to MSWDO and PNP-WCPDCoordination with FB Management for the removal of child sexual abuse materials

Group therapeutic counseling and court preparation

5

1

1

3

6

Environmental Awareness for Children and Youth (EACY) Program

The first six months of 2021 did not offer any relief on children restricted to stay at home, so the Sea Adventure School has been on a complete halt. Therefore, we decided to dry dock Berge Apo to repaint the bottom and do some minor repairs, or that was at least what we thought they were. As we got deeper into assessing the health and strength of the wooden parts of the boat, we recognized that woodworm and rot were attacking more of the crucial parts of the skeletal construction, including trusses and outriggers. To stop the decay and secure a healthy and safe boat for many years to come, we embarked on a major operation to replace all wooden trusses and other skeletal parts with fiberglass. We also dismantled all the outriggers, stripped them for paint and removed weak spots of rot, before covering them in layers of fiberglass. The plywood floor and benches have also been replaced with fiber-glass, and currently the pilot is house underway. We will to complete the overhaul in time for the next school year, which starts September 13. There is, however, little chance that we will have any children onboard within 2021.

While the repairs have made a dent in our reserve funds, we had no hesitation to start the project. There were no immediate safety concerns with the condition of the boat, but it was obvious that after a year or two, we would have to replace all the wood for safety reasons. We now have a much stronger, a safer and a more durable boat. The timing for the dry dock and the repairs was obviously also appropriate. We did not compromise the operations of the floating classroom, and we kept the boat crew employed and busy during a time, where it is near to impossible to find work in Puerto Galera. We even hired an additional two men, who are extremely skilled in fiberglass work. Every man or woman working translates into a family escaping a desperate situation of deprivation of even the basic supplies for survival.

Development of Pandemic Inspired ProjectsBelow are some of the developments of the projects that we started last year as alternatives to activities impeded or postponed due to the restrictions of the community lockdowns.

Local High Schools’ Collaborations As monitored by science teachers from our partner high schools, the 2,500 kalamansi seed-lings distributed to Grade 9 students of our partner schools during the last quarter of last year showed a high survival rate of 94%. The teachers also reported that most of their students were able to properly segregate their garbage at home, and the challenge was mostly on how to compost their biodegradables. Because of this, proper composting techniques will be one of our focus campaigns with schools in the second half of the year. We also intend to repeat the tree growing campaign among the next batch of Grade 9 students as the new school year opens in August. We plan to plant malunggay (moringa), a superfood that can grow from cuttings from its mother tree.

We have carried out capacity building sessions among the pool of SAS facilitators from partner schools. Last February, 11 teachers from Puerto Galera National High School (Main, DULEX, SIE, Palangan) and the Puerto Galera Academy participated in a Mangrove Iden-tification Activity that was facilitated by the Fisheries Officer of the Municipal Agriculture Office. The participants learned to identify and characterize eight species of mangrove in the Minolo district (Sityo Minolo) and learned about the difference between mangrove reha-bilitation and mangrove planting. Minolo Bay is home to Berge Apo and the starting point of most SAS trips.

Fewer Fires in the MountainsThe usual sight of entire hillsides burning over the slopes and hills above the IP village of Sityo Bignayan and Sityo Kasuyan in Aninuan during the summer season was basically nowhere to be seen this year. The campaign to lessen the burning of trees and mountain grasses during the kaingin season has proven surprisingly effective.

Fruit seedlings were given to 30 recipients to pilot the conservation strategy. So far, 17 kaingin sites have been visited for monitoring. Despite the challenging conditions in the mountains, like strong winds and lack of water, we found 284 seedlings thriving among a total of 344 monitored. Water is a particular challenge, as the distance to water sources from each site range from as near as 500 meters to as far as three kilometers. It is, however, unlikely that lack of water will be an issue over the next 6-7 months, as the Monsoon season is here.

During a focused group discussion (FGD) with 10 of the community partners, they con-firmed that they have indeed veered away from burning the areas where they planted their fruit seedlings. Not only that, they have also encouraged their neighboring kaingeros to do the same. This is why there is a marked lessening of burning of trees and grasses in their current kaingin areas.

We recently handed out open-pollinated varieties of vegetable seeds to the community to encourage further development of their kaingin areas. Now that the rainy season has come, access to water for their crops is not a problem, at least for the coming months.

Along with the developments in the kaingin area, we have continued with our Creative Learning Activities (CLA) with the children in Sityo Bignayan. The CLA sessions are facil-itated by volunteer EACY Club officers once a week. Usually, there are 20 kids, ages 6 to 13 years old, who participate in the activity. One of the volunteer facilitators concentrates on fourth graders up. He teaches Environmental Education, using our SAS Learners’ Guide Book along with topics on solid waste, composting, pollution, the ozone layer, and more. For the kids below 8 years old, we conduct storytelling, coloring, drawing, puzzles and play.

Sityo Bignayan is a place with Mangyan IPs, who now live side by side with Tagalog, Visayan and Muslim settlers. For the past six months in running the CLA, we have seen great improvements in their interactions with each other. The kids appreciate the CLA pro-gram and claim it has helped them to express themselves and enjoy themselves as kids. Although IP kids are a minority of the participants, they are gaining confidence to speak, play, and move around with others. Before, they usually avoided other kids and preferred to be alone. Parents have also become more appreciative of the activities and now allow their kids to join without hesitation.

Food Security Program We have distributed a large variety of open-pollinated vegetable seeds to over 500 beneficiaries of Stairway’s Educational Assistance Initiative (EAI). Open-pollinated seeds grow and repro-duce seeds in the succeeding generations, unlike hybrid varieties.

A series of capacity building sessions was conducted among community garden groups. The Dulangan community garden members learned about soap making. Members of the Minolo community garden attended some financial literacy lessons conducted by our friends from Teach for Philippines (TFP). Two members of the Aninuan community garden, who participated in the Baclayan Farm Internships last year, applied what they have learned in the internship by leading their groups in creating their own vermicast facility for their community gardens.

The community gardens are continuously producing vegetables for the consumption of their members and to augment their income. Even though it is still small scale, it plays a vital role at a time, where most of the people are still without any earning opportunities due to the continued lockdowns.

A new community garden has been established in Barangay Tabinay through the initiative of parent leaders. Their group received open-pollinated variety seeds and a training session on proper plot preparation.

After a year of implementation, we have now initiated and supported seven community gardens in six barangays, along with a large number of backyard gardens. Most people, who have the space, prefer to establish their own family garden.

Rethink PlasticIn partnership with the Puerto Galera Rural Health Unit, we have identified the beneficiaries of the reusable diapers as 12 IPs and 12 non-IPs. Each mother will receive a set, which is com-posed of two reusable cloth diapers, six microfiber inserts, and six bamboo charcoal inserts. Initially, we received 45 sets of cloth diapers, 150 pcs. of microfiber inserts and 150 pcs. bamboo charcoal inserts. A brochure has been made, where product instructions, product disclaimers, and contact details are provided. The distribution of the diapers will be happening soon.

Climate Reality Talks Among Local Schools We have conducted nine face-to-face Climate Reality Talks among teachers of seven elementary schools and two high schools, with a total of 224 educators. We will continue the Talks to reach all teachers in the municipality.

During the Talks, teachers are encouraged to mainstream climate crisis discussion among their students. They are also encouraged to pitch projects and activities that can raise aware-ness about the climate crisis. A good project idea is the suggestion to install environmental educational videos/materials on the tablets that the fourth to sixth graders use in their distance learning. These tablets compliment the printed self-learning modules that most of the stu-dents are stuck with during the extended community quarantines. The tablets are lent to the students for a period of time, before they rotate to other students. We are currently coordi-nating with the Ayala Foundation Inc. and the Department of Education (DepEd) in order to realize this project. The project can make our environmental awareness materials reach thousands of students in Puerto Galera despite the constraints of the quarantine.

During the Climate Reality Talks, we ask support from the teachers to encourage their students to join a youth/children-initiated environmental project, which is described below. We also encourage teachers to think of ways to recycle the paper used for the modules dis-tributed to their students. The Talks have also served as a recruitment platform for teachers to join the EACY Advocates Group, which is described in further detail below.

Teachers attending a "Climate Reality Talk"

Anchoring EACY amidst the Turbulent Seas of the PandemicSince we have been prevented to work directly with children and youth for more than a year, we decided that this is the time to expand the group of EACY activists to also include adults. Over the past several years, we have had an amazing collaboration with teachers from our partner schools. A few months back, we decided to consolidate their increasing interest and commitment in environmental concerns by forming an EACY group for adult partners, the EACY Advocacy Group. With the teachers’ spirit of volunteerism and commitment, we can anchor the environmental initiatives deep into the local community and start a real move-ment. In terms of scaling or multiplying effect, this is potentially the single most important development since the inception of EACY.

Initially, we organized a core group to design concept and plan campaigns and activities in consideration of the limits set by the community quarantine. The group will mainly focus on sustainable tourism, sustainable livelihood, sustainable agricultural practices, solid waste management and climate crisis. Activities include community forums (both online and offline), lobbying in the government, facilitating SAS trips, social media campaigns, creative installations in the community, tree growing, and cleanups in coastal areas and underwater.

The EACY Advocacy core group is composed of senior Science teachers from the local high schools, who are also facilitators of SAS trips. From the core group of six teachers, the group has already expanded, recruiting more members from other schools in town. EACY Advocacy Group is not exclusively for teachers, but the schools are an obvious and purpose-ful place to start recruitment.

Grasya Pelino educating a group on Mangroves, while she was still working with the Department of Agriculture in Puerto Galera. Grasya decided to join Stairway starting July 1st, 2021. Her extensive knowledge and experience will be a remarkable asset for our work.

Towards Sustainable Tourism in Puerto GaleraOur first campaign on sustainable tourism was launched on June 8, World Ocean’s Day. It took the form of a webinar that was broadcast live on Facebook. The main resource person was from the Society for Sustainable Tourism. The other panelists were representatives from the local government unit, the business sector, the education sector and the youth. The webinar concluded with a consensus to work on a long-term blueprint for the transformation of our town’s tourism practices towards something more environmentally sustainable.

The process of organizing and airing a webinar was a new experience for the group. The EACY Advocates group and EACY program staff learned a lot from the experience, which will be utilized to enhance webinars and online sessions in the coming months.

Upon reviewing the metrics that came out after the live event, it appeared that we were able to reach 6,500 people on Facebook, with 202 who responded with comments. In general, the feedback was positive. Most of the respondents look forward to attend the next webinar, and they expressed eagerness to participate in the next steps.

The panelists in the webinar and the EACY Advocacy Group agreed to form the core group of the Puerto Galera Sustainable Tourism Council that will meet this July to plan for the next steps.

Aside from the creation of the council, it is the group’s goal to enroll in the Green Destina-tions program, presented by the resource speaker. The Green Destinations program will help create a roadmap for Puerto Galera’s tourism industry to transition towards sustainability. Enrolment in the program is free and the first step will be the creation of a baseline study of the tourism industry. In the next phase, comprised of the actual planning and capacity building, there will be an enrolment fee.

EACYp-EACYp CampaignChildren and youth participation has been significantly limited due to the Covid-19 community lockdowns, but it has not completely hindered initiatives to evoke child and youth participation on environmental issues. Last May, we launched the EACYp-EACYp (pronounced in Filipino language as “isip-isip,” which means to think deep). The campaign aims to gather ecological project pitches from young individuals/groups of Puerto Galera that tackle environmental issues such as plastic pollution, unsustainable practices in tourism, agriculture and fishing, and climate change. Below is the campaign brief, which we posted online: After one and a half months of the campaign materials being posted and shared online in local social media pages and groups, and through the word-of-mouth of the EACY Advocacy Group and their network of local educators, we received 13 project proposals.

Here are the project titles and descriptions:

Project Title Towards Promoting Local Practices of Sustainable Ecopreneurship and Environment Literacy

The Tanim, Bigay Tulong Mula sa Puso Project (Plant, Give and Help From the Heart) The MMML ProjectM-akatulong, M-akapangasiwa, M-amuno, L-imot (Help, Administer, Lead and Clean)

Project African Snailbuster

Project HOPE (Heal Our Planet Earth)

One coal, One tree

Project TIRE (Transformative Initiative of Restoring our Environment)

Beyond Greened Blues

Eco-friendly Toy Store and Merchandise

Balatero Ecopark Project

Description

Publishing of an e-magazine that will compile and pub-lish online some original and locally created art, writing, researches, and interviews that promote “sustainable Ecopreneurship and Environmental Literacy, and an articulation of one’s Naturalistic Thinking (or behavior)

Creation of a community food garden that will give its harvest to the neediest in the community

Community cleanup drive in the barangays of Puerto Galera

Lessening and eradicating the snail pests that feed on vegetable gardens of families and communities

Project HOPE will be a yearly activity in search for a HOPE Ambassador, someone who promotes and leads HOPE advocacy campaigns in his/her community, based on a set criteria. It will be kicked off by a seminar-workshop and project launching.

Plant one tree for every sack of paper briquettes sold. We will collect used papers from schools and establishments to make them into paper briquettes.

Train our community on how to repurpose tires and upcycle at least four (4) used rubber tires each month, and sell them to have funds for the educational and environmental initia-tives of the group.

Restoring marine ecosystems through underwater seagrass planting

Support creative people, people that lack materials but have creative ideas, in making toys out of recyclable wastes

Enhancing the landscape of the landfill that was transformed into an Ecopark

The EACY Advocacy Group, through its Children and Youth mobilization committee, will play a leading role in this campaign, as the group members will not only be judges, but also mentors of the youth throughout the project implementation. It is likely that most, if not all of the 13 projects, will receive some form of support. The amount will be determined during the next phase, in which the proponents explain their project plans more in detail and with budgets. The EACY Advocacy Group and SFI will guide them through this process and determine the adequate amount of support to give.

The funds supporting the young people’s initiatives is coming from employees of Berge Bulk as part of a campaign appropriately titled “Live Well – Give Well”. Thank You!

If this campaign turns out to be very successful, we intend to hold this activity annually in the coming years.

EACY Dive.EACY Dive remains closed, so only activity is periodic check of equipment. We do not expect to see the Dive School in operation within 2021.

Project Title Deejay’s Book

Walang Plastikan - Home Needs Refilling Station

KASAMA- Kalikasan: Sandigan ng Mamamayan

Description

Promotion and reproduction of a children’s book on marine ecosystems originally written by a child

Minimize the consumption of goods in sachets/plastics, by providing the option of refilling stations

Creation of native woven bags as ecobags