Consuelo Foundation

Very few people know about Consuelo Montojo Zobel de Ayala, the elegant heiress whose heart and fortune she gave to help hopelessly exploited, abused and abandoned children.  Belonging to the famous Zobel de Ayala clan of Makati, she was a solemn, beautiful young woman dressed in finery, who settled in 1970 in Hawaii with her husband James Dyce Alger,  a retired three-star general in the US Army.

After the  passing away in 1986 of  James, her husband for 36 years, Consuelo contemplated her legacy. To whom would she leave  her fortune?  The answer came when in early 1987, she met Patti Lyons, president and CEO of Child and Family Service Philippines (CFSP) in Honolulu, who was seeking funding to develop a residential shelter for street children in Baguio City.

 Impressed by that meeting, Consuelo, who had no child of her own,  turned to the children in her own country, and became CFSP’s benefactress. Years later, Lyons opened the Consuelo Zobel Alger Home,  a residential center for street children in Baguio.  In 1988, Consuelo set up her own private foundation, the Consuelo  Foundation.

Consuelo passed away on Nov. 29, 1990 at the age of 76. Her foundation, which turned 25 years old last year,  continues to touch lives, as it  provides sanctuary for poor and abused children, builds homes, and gives thousands of disadvantaged children and youth  and families paths to a better future in the Philippines and Hawaii.

 â€œThe unique feature of the foundation,” writes Mia Andal-Castro, CF executive  director,  “is that as an operating foundation, it has effectively contracted the services of organizations who, as partners, serve CF’s target beneficiaries. When the foundation started in the Philippines, its objectives were to strengthen, expand and replicate programs that worked. CF, through the years, has shown that philanthropy in the Philippines, when done using global standards, can indeed work in helping the underprivileged sectors of society.”

Consuelo Alger’s wealth was turned  by CF directors as  endowment. For 25 years, earnings from the investments sustain the foundation where more than $75 million (P3 billion) went to its programs and projects. Some 401,500 persons in the Philippines, mostly children and youth, and more than 5,000 individuals in Hawaii where Consuelo Alger was based, have benefited from CF’s programs.

The first program supported as a partner  by Consuelo Foundation is the Child and Family Service Philippines (CFSPI) which was established by Danny Urquico in 1987 with the help of other local advocates and the support of Patti Lyons, then head of CFS in Hawaii.

From a single shelter for street children, CFSP now operates multiple programs to address child abuse and neglect, and finds sustainable ways to empower families and communities. Its Consuelo Home provides a sanctuary for young girls to heal from the trauma of neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation as well as support when they return home. The Center for Children and Families serves walk-in clients who are victims of abuse. The Restorative Justice Program provides prevention and rehabilitation programs for Children in Conflict with the Law. The Life Skills Center gives youth a second chance to be diverted away from jail and the formal justice system. The Life skills Program helps build self-esteem. The Healthy Start program assists in serving babies  from age zero to 3 and their families.

Melinda Manorina, 41, is one of 75 mothers in the Healthy Start Program She attended pre-natal sessions,  learned to talk to her baby inside her womb,  eat the right food to keep her yet unborn  baby healthy. After Iglot was born,  Melinda taught him to brush his teeth, provided him with stimulating homemade toys, and took him  to regular checkups at the public center.  The program also helped Melinda start a livelihood weaving abaca and selling pinangat, a local dish of coconut milk and gabi leaves from her yard.  Melinda says, “I already had three kids before Iglot, I thought I knew how to raise kids. Now I know there are proper techniques and skills to bring up children well.”

Gilboy Dilao, in his early 20s, was a garbage scavenger when he was small. But he did not end up a hopelessly poor case. He learned essential life skills   through the Skills for Children at Risk Program of  Childhope Asia, a CF partner. Two years ago, he  graduated from Philippine Christian University with a BA in social work. 

CF, in partnership with USAID, enabled Bambai to take Alternative Learning System classes at Notre Dame University in Cotabato and  finish a fast-track program equivalent to a high school education. Three years ago she passed the test given by DepEd to qualify for  college. “There’s no substitute to having an education,” she says.

In 2000, Consuelo Foundation partnered with  Western Samar Development Foundation to  build Balay Ayupanan (house of shelter) for abused girls of the province. One of the wards, Mai, ran away from home in a barrio to escape her father who physically abused her. At the house of shelter, now named Balay Consuelo, Mai, along with 32 girls, gained valuable life skills. “Someday I hope to become a police officer to help other kids like me,” she said.

In order to standardize the response to a child-abuse survivor, CF established the Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention Network (CAPIN) in  a number of localities, from Albay to Baguio to  Pasay City to Zamboanga  City. Through CAPIN, neighborhood officials are more conscious of their roles as a child’s first line of defense against abuse.

CF supports partners to develop and strengthen people’s enterprises. The goal is to find jobs for them, food security through grants, and loans, thereby facilitating  their growth and organization into self-sustaining agencies.

For example, in Bohol, Dennis Drake of  International Deaf Education Association Philippines (IDA) implements academic programs, social skills and livelihood training programs for the deaf. Because business establishments rarely accept job applicants who are deaf, IDA places them in its own food enterprises, as well as teaches them  skills in making artificial fishing bait, baking, and furniture making, among others.  

 Father Marciano “Rocky” Evangelista of Tuloy Foundation, Inc. has inspired countless individuals and corporations to support long-term comprehensive programs and services for street children.

Meanwhile, CF continues to serve Filipinos in Hawaii. It has built a self-help housing community in Ke Aka Hoona (KAH), and with partners embraced a community-driven prevention approach to the problem of child sexual abuse. By engaging ekupuna (grandparents)  and male adults in such efforts as healing of past survivors, outreach to youth, community education, and other creative approaches.

The foundation has accomplished what Consuelo Montojo Zobel de Ayala Alger envisioned. She wrote, “My mission will begin after my death. I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. I would like to renew hope for those who have lost it and give hope to those who never had it.”

Four  valued former members of Consuelo Foundation’s team are Baguio-based Ray Dean Salvosa, Greg Par, Fe Arriola and Mila Ramiro.

The foundation’s directors are I. Patrick Griggs, Constance  Lau, Donald W. Layden Jr., Patti J. Lyons, Alejandro Z. Padilla, Robert S. Tsushima, Jeffrey N. Watanabe, chairman, and Hoyt H. Zia. Jon K. Matsuoka is president and CEO.

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Email: dominitorrevillas@gmail.com