Dreaming Big

It has been a year since the unfortunate stampede at the Ultra stadium just before the anniversary celebration of the noontime variety show Wowowee. For many Filipinos, notorious for having a short memory, the event is now just a vague nightmare, old news. For one group of concerned citizens, however, what happened on February 5, 2006 is a matter of great importance. These are the team members of the 71 Dreams Foundation.

The foundation actually started the day after the tragedy. In a mass for those who died in the stampede, Fr. Tito Caluag mentioned in his homily the headline of one of the local newspapers that day: "74 Dreams Crushed." After the mass, Gabby Lopez of ABS-CBN approached him and said, "We cannot let their dreams die."

They began to conceptualize a foundation for the benefit of the families (the official count turned out to be 71) left behind by those who died in the stampede."We started out thinking that we would just be helping these families with their livelihood," says Menchi, a member of the team. But working closely with the families unearthed problems other than the financial—domestic violence, lack of education, child abuse, even OFW issues. "We could not just ignore that." And the foundation’s mission grew from a mere livelihood project to becoming a holistic support system for the partner families.

In this approach, members of the foundation work closely with each family to guide them in resolving their problems and in the process teach them how to solve these problems on their own in the future. The way the team talks of each family they have worked with—the way they remember each conflict they have helped resolve and the fondness in recalling each of the successes their partner families have accomplished—shows how the members of the foundation are genuinely involved in the lives of their partner families.

"Halos lahat na-meet namin (We’ve met almost all of them)," the team says proudly. A level of trust has been established between the families and the foundation, but the latter is quick to point out that they are careful that the families do not become too dependent on them.

The families choose what business they want to set up, then go through a month of livelihood training. The progress of their small business is monitored for five months. At first, the families were unresponsive to this approach, expecting the usual donations and cash that outreach programs usually provide. Their family members, after all, went to Ultra to win the jackpot and become instant millionaires.

Although the 71 Dreams Foundation cannot make them instantly rich, it provides an opportunity to become more self-sufficient—a much more reliable solution to the problem. Through the course of the year, the families have warmed up to the idea and have started to cooperate with and benefit from the services.

To date, 43 families have received livelihood assistance. "We work with the families," Fr. Caluag says, stressing the importance of working together and involving the families in all of the major decisions that are made.

Aside from dealing with the families, the team encountered other difficulties. For example, they had to deal with the fact that out of the 70 adults that died in the stampede, most of them were the leaders, anchors, and breadwinners of their families, some of them supporting even members of their extended family.

The foundation has also had to deal with criticism. For many, the 71 Dreams Foundation may look like simply a way for the station to cover up for its mistakes—damage control of sorts. To this Fr. Caluag answers, "If that were true, we would have just simply paid off these people."

Fr. Caluag also stressed that filing a suit against the station has no bearing on the services rendered by the foundation. In fact, none of the major decisions of the foundation are decided by the station, despite the fact that Gabby Lopez and Charo Santos-Concio are both on the board.

Furthermore, the project has been implemented for the past year already without much fanfare. "I specifically requested that there be very minimal media coverage until we had solid achievements," says Fr. Caluag.

Despite the criticism, the 71 Dreams Foundation has succeeded in setting up small businesses, sending 81 scholars to school, and providing counseling and medical assistance, among the many other services they have offered the families. Their long-term goal is to create a network of compassion. "Compassion," Fr. Caluag explains, "is the key to entering the world of the people. It is being with and understanding the people."