Foundation to help rebuild lives of Ultra stampede victims

There is room for rebirth for 71 shattered "dreams."

The 71 Dreams Foundation has shown families of the victims of the Ultra stampede that the way to fulfill their departed loved ones’ wish is through self-sufficiency and definitely not through a game of chance.

Fr. Tito Caluag, chairman of the 71 Dreams Foundation, said the group’s discussions with the families "move them closer to firming up long term plans."

The victims were killed on Feb. 4 in a stampede outside PhilSports arena (formerly Ultra) where thousands had gathered hoping to win prizes in the first anniversary celebration of ABS-CBN’s game show "Wowowee" hosted by Willie Revillame.

The dead, mostly women, were found crushed under a large steel gate that had given way.

The show’s organizers had promised to give away millions in prizes, hence the huge turnout.

"I think we are far from masasabi na okey na tayo. I think we are still far from that, the only time we can say that is when we realize that these 71 have really grown, in terms, of becoming more self sufficient," said Caluag in an interview with The STAR.

Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus, chairman of the fact-finding body created to investigate the incident, had likened the way the show was promoted to throwing a small piece of meat to a pack of hungry wolves.

ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio Lopez III immediately took full responsibility for the tragedy and vowed to help the victims and their families to rebuild their dreams by putting up the 71 Dreams Foundation.

But Caluag stressed that the foundation is not being used to prevent the victims from pursuing legal actions against the network.

"Whether you sue ABS or not tutulong kami (We will help). We don’t want to make this a carrot for them not to file charges. That is not the point of the foundation," Caluag said.

"I told them if you have legal issue fine, you talk to the legal department of ABS, but when you are ready (to talk with the foundation) let’s talk," he said.

Caluag said the foundation’s vision is to address the poverty and make members of the victims’ families more self-sufficient.

"We want to build a network of compassion to be able to bridge the poverty because we realize that a lot people are turning into shows, raffles, lotto out of sheer poverty," he maintained.

The foundation, Caluag stated, is ready to offer more than financial compensation to the victims’ families. "Although mas madali kung papabayad na lang sila ng P30,000 to P50,000 pero saan makakarating yun (It’s easier for them just to get P30,000 to P50,000, but how far will it take them)? I told them education and skills will help them become more self-sufficient."

Caluag reported that by Aug 4, six months after the stampede, the foundation has identified the needs of the families: educational assistance has 91 potential takers; employment has 41 applicants; rice allowance for 14 families; housing for six families; medical assistance has four applicants; and livelihood with 42 potential family-beneficiaries.

Caluag pointed out that in interviews with the families, "we realize that a lot of them are really very immersed in deep poverty, though there are those who are better off."

"We are working closely with Bayan Microfinance (BMF) for the livelihood needs of the 41 families... This early we are also starting to identify potential partners who can help in setting up the actual livelihood projects for each of the families," Caluag said.

He added that the foundation has been arranging a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to address the housing needs of six families.

"We are aiming to complete the long term plans for the 30 families this month. We hope to do the same for the rest of the 41 families by the end of October 2006."

The 71 Dreams staff hope to take their mission beyond material considerations.

"We have been trying to find how do we make them self-sufficient and to develop their skills to hopefully be on their own, get away on mendicancy," Caluag said.

"Remember the Chinese proverbs-you teach them how to fish, rather than to give them fish. Let’s enable them to be more self-sufficient."

The Jesuit priest revealed that his interaction with families of the victims made him realize that "they are victims of the culture."

"I’m beginning to appreciate it so much more, minsan sinasabi natin eh mahirap ’yan, tamad ’yan (sometimes we say he’s poor because he’s lazy), but you will realize they are victims of the system, while it may be true na tamad sila (they’re lazy), for the sake of argument, I don’t think it was a choice, they are very much victims of the culture," he said.

Caluag said the tragedy should serve as a wake-up call to all sectors of the society, from government officials and private individuals.

"It’s a wake-up call that we have to do more... A lot of good things happening on top, so to speak, have very little impact on the lives of the majority of our people, there is so much we really have to do," he emphasized.

Caluag recalled that ABS-CBN readily took responsibility for the tragedy preventing various sectors, particularly politicians, from using the tragedy as an excuse to grandstand.

"Kung nagturuan tayo, baka walang pang nangyayari (Had we resorted to finger-pointing, nothing could have been achieved). We were able to move with greater freedom to address the needs of the victims and their family — and then to grow from that. Because ABS-CBN took a very clear stand to take responsibility and back it up with action there was very little grandstanding, from all sorts of sectors," he added.