Fifty years of helping the needy - From The Stands

What began as a Methodist missionary's personal obsession to help needy people in the Sampaloc area in Manila 50 years ago is now a established non-governmental organization dedicated to the development and rehabilitation of children, particularly victims of drug abuse and street children, young women, and elderly women, and the training of community leaders.

The missionary, Madeleine G. Klepper, for sure rejoices over the fruits of what she started as the Methodist Social Center and which is now called the Kapatiran Kaunlaran Foundation Inc. (KKFI).

One of the highlights of KKFI's year-long celebration of its 50th foundation day was its receiving of gifts from the USAID, in the form of P700,000 worth of equipment including computers, radios, a television set, a sound system and tape recorders as well as a power generator which were turned over by Mission Director Patricia K. Buckles. The Japanese Embassy also donated a check, through Minister Rynichi Shoji in the amount of US$83,333 for the construction of a new center for street-children and livelihood projects outside of Metro Manila.

Ms. Buckles emphasized that the gift-giving was "one more building block in the ongoing efforts of the US and Japanese governments to collaborate in supporting the development priorities of the Philippines."

During Tuesday's simple celebration at the KKFI headquarters on Lerma Street, Sampaloc, teen-aged boys and girls presented dance numbers. We were told that those kids had been brought to the center as malnourished and in need of educational instruction.

Under the Social Services and Community Development Department, scores of street children have been housed in the Kapatiran Shelter for Street Children who have been victims of child abuse or abandoned, or whose parents could not afford to send them to school or feed them. At the shelter, they have been given "street-based" education and Christian value formation. A feeding program for those not living in the shelter is ongoing, and out-of-town field trips are conducted periodically to expose the kids to the good life outside the city.

Under the same program, out-of-school youths and women have been given training in dressmaking and watch repair. Free medical and dental services are rendered to needy patients from nearby urban poor communities in cooperation with Kiwanis Club, International, and other NGOs.

The Women and Family Department provides lively activities at the Day Center for senior citizens, including Bible studies, ballroom dancing (they danced last year at Manila Mayor Lito Atienza's ballroom dancing extravaganza), group discussions, gateball tournaments, livelihood generation, birthday celebrations, home visitations and business meetings.

A telephone counseling center attends to hundreds of distress calls, ranging from financial difficulties to someone in the family being on drugs, academics and health, homosexuality, communication, and depression.

Worship services and Bible studies provide the avenues along which the beneficiaries as well as the KKFI staff find "strength in knowing that God is on the side of the poor."

KKFI prides itself in its offering of housing accommodations for young women studying in the city, particularly within the university belt. The Hugh Wilson Hall dormitory for 335 girls is one of the revenue-earning facilities of KKFI. Other facilities that help raise funds are the gym, commercial spaces, and seminar house. These revenue-sources keep the organization self-reliant, although donations and gifts -- such as those given by USAID and the Japanese Embassy -- have helped bolster its programs.

Women, who have actively participated in KKFI's vision of helping in the wholistic development of people, include Ruth Prudente, the first executive director, Nellie Lacson Mercado, and Priscilla R. Atuel. Dr. Ester Sy-Quimsiam is the chair of the board of trustees, Jean Makasiar Puno, vice-chair, and Dr. Betty Molina is treasurer. But a man served as chair for some time -- Architect Serafin G. Aquino, Jr.

In her 1998 annual report, Mrs. Atuel acknowledged the growth of Kapatiran through the years. She said, "We are challenged to move on our faith journey of being sustainable and self-reliant in the midst of the country's economic crisis. We face the coming years with the resolve that everyone involved in the mission and vision of Kapatiran will continue to work with more zeal and dedication towards the total human development of our people and our country."