For the love of kids

MANILA, Philippines - Children need and deserve a healthy, supportive environment to develop their unique, innate gifts. Based on this principle, the John D.V. Salvador Foundation (JDVSF) was established in 2005 by Lizelle Salvador and Hugo Bänziger.

The foundation partners with local organizations and individuals with a proven track record of serving at-risk communities. It now serves as a trusted conduit for generous donors who wish to see their pledges put to best immediate use.

JDVSF’s current partner is St. Martin de Porres (SMDP), a charity for the estimated 250,000 street children in the Philippines. In 2006, JDVSF started financing several cottages, a multi-purpose dining hall and an administrative building for SMDP to build a children’s village that is only two hours north of Manila. This venture was completed in 2012 and now shelters 125 street orphans. SMDP raises them on four principles: everybody gets a Catholic education, has to go to school, has to play an instrument and has to work on the premises.

Another project inaugurated on July 1 was Centro Salvador, a halfway house in Tondo, Manila. It is a dormitory for up to 30 teenage boys who are in vocational training for jobs such as bricklayers, carpenters, mechanics and sailors. JDVSF works closely with organizations (like Don Bosco) and other established vocational schools. Centro Salvador also serves as a medical center for poor mothers and food corner for malnourished children.

During the inauguration last month, Salvador said, “Today is a very special day for the John D.V. Salvador Foundation, for me and especially for my family because Centro Salvador is about hope and has been built on hope. When we looked for a solution to meet the hopes of our children, we did not immediately see the answer. Instead we found an empty plot of land in Tondo. And when we visited some vocational training centers here in Manila, we understood that there was an urgent need for accommodation of young apprentices. Bringing these two ideas together is how it all began. We hoped for a solution and we found one.”

JDVSF’s next project is the construction of an equivalent center for around 30 teenage girls. The land, located near St. Martin de Porres, was purchased earlier this year. Groundbreaking is set in November this year.

In the last eight years, JDVSF has raised over $1.7 million of funds primarily from friends and family. The organization has no permanent staff and all work is performed by volunteers. Thus, the average 96-percent efficiency ratio is high.

JDVSF’s three registered charities in the US, the UK and the Philippines operate in close coordination. The foundation also works closely with an affiliated Swiss Chapter. A high level of transparency is important to JDVSF. Its accounts are annually audited by KPMG and fully published on its website. The foundation is also monitored by the UK Charity Commission (charity no. 1113085).

(For more information on the foundation’s activities, visit www.jdvsfoundation.org.)