Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy Taguiwalo is leading the conduct of a consultation workshop for the enhancement of the agency’s programs and services for children, families, and indigenous people (IPs) at-risk on the streets at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati City. The  consultation dialogue began yesterday and will conclude this afternoon.

Sec.  Taguiwalo emphasized the importance of further improving the Department’s programs and services to lessen, if not eliminate, the number of children and families on the streets and to better address their needs.

“The state of children seen roaming around the streets is one of the main concerns of our government and the DSWD. We are deeply concerned over the increasing number of children who stay most of the time on the streets to help their families earn a living. Most of them no longer attend school and are deprived of their rights to a safe environment, education, and their most basic needs for food, health services, and safe shelter,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

According to a 2015 report by an alliance of local non-government organizations (NGOs) in the country, there are about 30,000 children on the streets of Metro Manila. Meanwhile, the data showed that there are 11,695 children in Metro Manila have been reached out on the streets from January to September 2016 by the DSWD National Capital Region (NCR).

“The number of children and families on the streets keeps increasing despite the many programs that we continue to implement. It is patently clear that these programs are not enough.The problem is systemic and chronic; it is a symptom of pervasive poverty in our society, and such, our solutions to help children must be part and parcel of our comprehensive solutions to fight poverty and improve the economic status of poor families ,” Sec. Taguiwalo stressed.

The welfare secretary underlined the importance of talking directly to children and families living on the streets.

“We should not neglect to always consult with our kababayans who are deep in crisis and have been rendered homeless or forced to take to the streets because of poverty. We will not decide for them or make decisions without consulting them or getting their input so we can collectively find solutions to this social problem, “she said.

The two-day consultation workshop aims to further enhance the Department’s current program, the Comprehensive Program for Children and Families At-Risk on the Streets and Indigenous People (IP), Especially Sama Bajaus. It also intends to present the risks that children and families on the streets face, recognize the good practices by local government units (LGUs) and NGOs, and come up with action plans for 2017 that will keep children and families off the streets.

The workshop is participated in by LGUs, NGOs, and members of the academe. It involves the presentation of data and statistics on street children and families by DSWD National Capital Region (NCR) Assistant Regional Director Jacel J. Paguio and Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) Executive Director Patricia B. Luna, and the sharing of good practices on the conduct of programs and services for street kids and families by the LGUs of Mandaluyong and Cabanatuan City, and Sun for All Children, Incorporated.

DSWD-Social Technology Bureau Director Thelsa Biolena presented the Department’s initiatives for the reduction of  street dwellers like the Comprehensive Program for  Children and Families At -Risk on the Streets and Indigenous People.

The DSWD Comprehensive Program for Children and Families At-Risk on the Streets and Indigenous People (IP), Especially Sama Bajaus is an integrated approach in responding to the needs of street children and their families. It provides a package of services, interventions, and opportunities for them to live productively in a safe environment.

The program has provided, among others, educational assistance to 6,938 children and Sama Bajaus, served 15,928 kids in 58 activity centers, birth-registered 78 Sama Bajaus, and given 1,015 families with capital assistance and skills training.

“I am aware that thorough economic reforms are needed to help street children—and these reforms have to do with the provision of sustainable employment for millions of Filipinos in the cities and the provinces where poverty rates remain so high,” said Sec. Taguiwalo.

“We will do our part in the DSWD, but even now we know that our efforts as one agency will not be enough. Because of this, I ask all of you for help, and we also need to tap other agencies of the national government for what other assistance they can give us by way of addressing issues of deep-seated poverty,” she ended.  ###