DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman shows the card bearing the twitter account for rescue of streetchildren in NCR @savestreetkids during her recent press conference
Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman encouraged the public to help report sightings of streetchildren in Metro Manila through the DSWD twitter account for rescue of streetchildren @savestreetkids.
“Through this twitter account, the public may now report sightings of streetchildren by tweeting to us where they exactly saw these children. They can use the format: savestreetkids at / exact name of street / nearest landmark/ Metro Manila City/time of sighting. Updates will be posted within eight hours in our twitter account on whether the streetchildren have been rescued. They will then be brought to reception action centers of local government units and to DSWD managed-centers to determine where they came from and to be provided with appropriate services and interventions,” Secretary Soliman explained.
“We are closely coordinating with LGUs and non-government organizations (NGOs) to monitor streets where there is high concentration of streetchildren. The children will be invited to the barangays especially this Christmas season. Activities will be held at the barangay level to keep the children off the streets,” the Secretary added.
The streets where there is high concentration of street children are: Roxas Boulevard in Manila; Kalayaan Road, Barangay E. Rodriguez and Quezon Avenue in Quezon City; Balintawak area in Caloocan City; Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City; Greenhills, Ortigas in San Juan City; Kapasigan in Pasig City; Madrigal Avenue, Alabang in Muntinlupa City; and along NAIA Road in Parañaque City. Based on a Rapid Appraisal conducted by the DSWD, more than 4,000 streetchildren were identified in these areas.
Secretary Soliman also said that the DSWD is implementing the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) program that benefits homeless streetfamilies. The Secretary stated that this is being pilot tested in Metro Manila but will soon be implemented nationwide.
One of the activities under the MCCT is a series of family camps for the 900 streetfamily-beneficiaries wherein they will participate in productive activities, such as games, skills enhancement and family development sessions.
The MCCT extends cash and housing assistance to homeless streetfamilies provided that they comply with the conditions of the program.
The conditions that they should comply with are: parents should ensure that their children do not stay or work on the streets; parents/guardians should participate/attend the Family Life Education and Counseling, and Family Development Sessions conducted in their locale; children should be attending any mode of learning, either regular school, Alternative Learning System (ALS), School on Wheels or Supervised Neighborhood Play; parents/guardians should bring their children to health centers for immunizations, weight and height monitoring and preventive check-ups; and household beneficiaries must stay in alternative residences after identification, relocation and/or provision of shelter assistance for them. ###
