A head start for underprivileged children
The young and the weak bear the full brunt of deprivation. Poor nutrition, inadequate care and lack of opportunities for good education sentence them to a bleak future. Without help, it is often impossible for them to break free from the yoke and cycle of poverty. Thus, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation’s (HSBC) Future First program is noteworthy in its goal of funding projects to improve the lives of disadvantaged children.
Future First is HSBC’s US$10 million, five-year collaboration with SOS Children’s Villages and other local charitable institutions in countries where the company holds business. As an initiative of the HSBC Global Education Trust, Future First’s primary goal is to provide education, healthcare, counseling and shelter to street children, children in care and orphans.
To qualify for funding, non-government organizations and charities are encouraged to submit funding proposals for consideration. Future First projects are identified globally through an annual bidding process conducted by HSBC country coordinators. Thereafter, projects are assessed based on their vision, sustainability, quality, innovation and opportunities for HSBC employee volunteerism.
This year, three Philippine NGOs qualified for total funding of $225,000 or close to P10 million. These agencies include the Philippine Christian Foundation Inc., whose beneficiaries are families who work and live in dump sites and squatter areas; Childhope Asia Philippines, which provides direct service to street children through its Education on the Street Project; and SOS Children’s Villages Philippines, a private welfare organization whose projects in Lipa, Batangas, and Iloilo qualified for the program.
With some 25 HSBC volunteers, we visited the SOS Children’s Village in Zarraga, a fifth-class municipality in Iloilo that is home to 220 children three to seven years of age.
“We don’t like to be called an orphanage. We are a family,” says Village director Renie R. Masongsong. He shares that apart from helping the children housed in the facility, funds from the Future First program have also enabled the organization to reach out to the community by means of a Family Strengthening Program. Health checkups and a nutrition program are key elements of the project, with vegetable planting as an activity to promote access to nutritious food. In addition, an awareness campaign on children’s rights seeks to heighten community consciousness on the importance of this particular concern. The projects are being implemented in six barangays of Zarraga and will involve some 400 children in the area.
Recognizing that a good educational start often translates to learning success, preschool and pre-nursery education are likewise made available for both SOS children and approximately 380 children from the community. “The funding from HSBC helps us afford the instructional materials,” says Masongsong. In municipalities like Zarraga, where the main occupation is farming and income is seasonal, school supplies become a family’s last priority. Future First also supports other SOS Children’s Village programs. These include a program preventing child abuse and abandonment, as well as socio-psychological support programs.
What is the importance of corporate volunteerism in a program such as HSBC’s Future First? The donor-beneficiary interaction is often important. Immersion in various projects allows employees to see firsthand that they are making a difference in other people’s lives. The psychological and spiritual payback from the enthusiasm and optimism of beneficiaries is what spurs them to do more. Sometimes, one has to feel that he is making headway towards good for him to continuously aspire to do better for others.
