Ace Diloy, Stairway's advocacy officer, married Amie Erni, a school teacher, in a beautiful sunset wedding in Stairway.  In pure Stairway style, it was replete with flowers, great music, billions of bubbles and a reading from Dr. Seuss.  All staff and children were in attendance to witness the happy union.

Congratulations Ace and Amie!

Stairway Foundation will host its first summer youth camp this coming June through July.  The camps aim to offer a unique experience where young people from diverse backgrounds are challenged to develop self-confidence, mutual respect, responsibility and compassion for themselves, their community and their environment.

The workshops will focus on human rights and poverty through using creative expressions as a vehicle to educate and as a tool for advocating for human rights.

The camps are open to young people between the ages of 13-18 years old.  The camps will run in three one week sessions beginning from June 30 to July 25.

For more information click here.

 

Stairway Painting Helps to Create a Safe Environment for Child Victims of Abuse

It is not often that we have the privilege to see the fruits of our labour in advocating for children's rights.  However, our collaboration with the municipal of Silang over the past two years has been manifested not through writings but by paintings on the walls.  A major problem for children disclosing about sexual abuse in the police stations is that it happens in the midst of an office which is often cramped or crowded with people. 

The police of Cavite have come to understand the importance of allocating a separate space for children to disclose about all sorts of abuses and sexual abuse in particular.  To make the room child friendly, and conducive for creating and environment of trust and comfort, Stairway's young artist-in-residence, Antonio Ramos, took up the challenge and brightened up the room with paintings of happy children and colorful flowers on the walls.

Clearly the painting of this room indicates a change in perceptions and attitudes toward children as a result of advocacy work.

Attorney Ignacio, chairman of Stairway Foundation Inc and Mr. Soren Sorensen, chairman of Stairway Denmark, met for the first time in early March at Stairway Foundation. The two chairmen, along with the local board and the Stairway staff, held meetings to discuss Stairway's vision and to make long term plans in strengthening the capacity and the reach of the foundation.

Stairway kids and children from the local community got a chance to explore the wonders of science first hand!  Richard Denny, a former science teacher- turned-stock broker, held two 4-hour sessions for over one hundred enthusiastic children. 

From producing hydrogen gas from water to launching a homemade rocket ship made from a plastic Coke bottle, the children found the workshops exciting and inspiring.

Health-Every Child's Right! was this year's theme for our annual ICARE and Week Without Walls activities.  Hosted by Stairway Foundation, in conjunction with the International School Manila,  Erda Tuklasan Foundation and Kanlungan sa Erma,  the young people staged a fun-filled and informative health fair. Despite the inclement weather, more than one hundred children from the local community and the surrounding areas were in attendance.  Click here to view photos.

Stairway's newest structure, the Yellow House, was completed just a couple a days before our annual ICARE event took place.  A beautiful two-storey yellow building, with six rooms and a large function room, will serve as a dormitory to house the various participants who will attend Stairway's workshops, trainings and camps.  The students from the International School Manila were the first to "warm" the house.  Click here to view photos.

A long time friend of Stairway visited Cambodia last November.  One evening as she sat in a park, she was approached by a little girl selling flowers.  Jenny thought to buy one from the little girl.  As she did so, the little girl dropped a card with the faces of the characters from our two animations, "Daughter and A Good Boy."  Jenny was amazed and asked the little girl where she got the card from.  Exuberantly, the child began to explain in detail the stories of "Daughter and A Good Boy."  The little girl concluded the story by showing Jenny the other side of the card that had a list of telephone numbers for her or any other child to contact if they were "afraid."

This is a fine example of the effectiveness of the animations as well as a brilliant example of what our partners are doing to equip children with the skills to say "No" to child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

Stairway's partner in Cambodia, Chab Dai, has printed and distributed 60,000 of these cards!

Stairway's advocacy group is doing extensive testing on the animation tool kits to find out just how effective they are with processing and without processing of the materials.  The results of the research will be used to determine how to best use the materials in the future. 

The conclusions to this operational research will be for the benefit of Stairway as well as our partners, both local and international, who use our prevention tools.

Sophie-Jo, a long time friend and talented artist, has created a beautiful painting around the theme of children's rights.  Donated to Stairway, Sophie would like to develop products such as mugs, tee-shirts, umbrellas, book marks, etc from the painting to create awareness to children's rights as well as to raise funds for Stairway's programs and activities. Click here to view photos

The children of Stairway Foundation staged their first Christmas play called "One Wish."  It is an endearing little tale about an elf who is kicked out of the North Pole for his selfish ways and ends up in the Philippines where he rediscovers the true meaning of Christmas.  The children played before local audiences and holiday tourists--some of whom came back to see the show twice.

"Involving youth in matters that affect them, will not only bolster their self-esteem and confidence, but it will also prepare them to exercise the rights and responsibilities of adulthood and citizenship." 

Rodeline Dejino, of Stairway Foundation, proudly accepts her award for Global Youth Participation in Taibei, Taiwan.   

As a part of the World Day Prevention of Child Abuse, Stairway kids underwent a 1-day orientation session on child abuse prevention.  The session consisted of:  learning about the different forms of abuse, improving decision-making and communication skills regarding potential and actual child abuse problems, and learning the importance of understanding child abuse and how to prevent it.  To culminate the session, the children watched "Bunso," a film about children, like themselves, who were held in detention.  After the session, one child commented:

“From now on nobody can abuse me in any way because I know people should treat me the way they want to be treated themselves. And that even if I am a child, they need to respect and love me as a person/individual”.

"A breakthrough in efforts to educate the public about the largely hidden problem of child sexual abuse … using the powerful medium of theatre” (UNICEF)

BANGKOK, NOV 19-25, 2007: Asia Cutting Edge was a meeting of 340 Christian leaders from across Asia considering the idea of 'Invisible Children'. 'Cracked Mirrors', a theatre performance about child sexual abuse through the eyes of the children affected, started off the conference. People's eyes were opened to the realities of 'invisible children's' experience by the clear and touching presentation. The play was performed with striking conviction by four members of Stairway's home grown theatre group, TASK (Talented Ambitious Street Kids) who themselves used to live and work on the streets.  The authenticity they managed to emote though out their monologues stems from their personal relation to the issue of abuse that they confront.

Daughter and A Good Boy have been translated into Cebuano, a major language of the Philippines.  It is widely spoken in the southern region of the Philippines, by about 20,000,000 people.  Needless to say, translating the animations into Cebuano will help to expand our reach in the southern region of the Philippines with our workshops and trainings on children's rights and child sexual abuse prevention and treatment.

We would like to extend a special thanks of gratitude to: Dennis, the soundman, behind 'Daughter' and 'A Good Boy,' HIT Productions, for the use of their studios, and to all of the wonderful volunteers who have lent their voices to the animations. 

Your time and talents have enabled us to reach many children all over the world in our efforts to create awareness to this awful scourge of childhood innocence--child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The animations thus far, have been translated into:  French, Spanish, Tagalog, Cebuano, Khmer, and Thai.

So much beauty concentrated in one place overwhelms the senses. 

Click here to view

Congratulations to Rodelyn Dejino for winning the bronze medal for the 2007 Global Youth Participation Award.  Supported by ECPAT Taiwan, this award is given annually to young adults who have participated in promoting children's human rights and/or fighting against sexual exploitation of children. 

A former client, turned youth advocate/actor, Rodelyn has generously used her talents to champion the cause of children's rights and to fight against the sexual exploitation of children.  She will participate in the awarding ceremony in Taiwan this coming December where she has been invited to give a speech and to share her outstanding work and valuable knowledge of participation with youth participants and government officials.

"Red Leaves" is Stairway Foundation's third animated feature film.   It is a gripping story about sex trafficking of children and child pornography.  It also stresses the fact that without the demand for children as sex objects, no child would be ensnared in this most cruel and dehumanizing form of slavery. 

"Red Leaves" is written and directed by Monica Ray and animated by YUP Productions.  It is produced with the support of:  Kindernothilfe, Microsoft, Love 146, Embassy of Finland, Manila, Leger Foundation, CIDA, Danida, Unicef, CordAid, Stairway Danmark, Axel and Paula Nielsen Fond, Rødkilde Gymnasium.

To learn more about child sex trafficking click on the following links:  Love 146; ECPAT; Shared Hope International

He never wanted a birthday party, but we gave him one anyway in the hopes that he would see many more there after. 

Arman Noda, fondly know as "Ourman," passed away last week in a provincial hospital in Calapan.  He was suffering from rheumatic heart disease that originated from an untreated strep throat infection from childhood.  He was 23 years old.

We love you and we miss you dearly --Your Stairway Family

For fourteen years now, the students of  Rødkilde Gymnasium in Vejle, Denmark have been raising funds to support the continuation of Stairway's programs and services.  This year, students added a new creative twist to their fundraising efforts.  Alongside the traditional bake sales, busking and doing odd jobs, some 30-40 students painted in gold, silver and bronze acted as live statues on the main walking street in downtown Vejle. 

An impressive display of creativity, they made a fascinating contribution in helping to increase awareness to the plight of street children in the Philippines and elsewhere.

The annual Stairway Treasure Hunt was a feat for the imagination, wit and endurance.  The kids spent an entire week in preparation for the grueling tasks which they had to undergo.  Their mission-- "to save the various territories of the universe from all out chaos and destruction." 

Last August, members of PHILINC visited Stairway. PHILINC is a network of various faith communities (Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Muslim, Buddhist, Baha’i, Mormon, and other faiths) who work together to uphold and protect the rights of children. 

Over a two day period, we shared with them our materials, animations and methodologies on child sexual abuse prevention and treatment.  The outcome of the visit resulted in a collaboration to pass on our methodologies through training to their people around the country.  However, the implementation of such a large task will depend upon funding.

Each year, students from the Cairo American College (CAC) embark upon exotic and exciting travels all over the world to learn about other countries and cultures on their Week Without Walls program (WWW).  

Over the past three years, Stairway has been host to some of these students, and each year has been an especially overwhelming experience for everyone involved.  Many of these experiences have been compiled into a wonderful travelogue, by Angela Sackmann and the High School Students of CAC, called "Leaping off the Edge of the World:  Tales of Teenage Travel."  One of the trips featured in the book, "Ate, Kuya:  Big Sister, Big Brother," tells about the students' experiences during their stay in Stairway.

An inspiring and touching piece of work, it is unfortunate that we cannot host these amazing young people this year because of travel restrictions to the Philippines.

Stairway has made the Daughter animation into a full-colored picture book.  Now children, young people, parents and care givers in remote areas can be informed about child sexual abuse prevention. 

Thanks to the support of our partners:  Kindernothilfe, Cardinal Leger Foundation, CIDA, DANIDA, Embassy of Finland, Philippines and Unicef Philippines

World Concern, is a relief and development organization helping poor and oppressed families become self-reliant through food, jobs, health care and education. Along with their partners, they have translated both animations, Daughter and A Good Boy, with their accompanying manuals, into Thai. World Concern ware now well into training and distributing the animation tool kits to their various partners around Thailand.

In the past four months, Stairway has been building up new structures to accommodate the expansion of our programs.  New structures include: an office building, a conference hall, a kitchen, and a new dining area.  Plans are underway to also build dormitories and more staff housing.  Click here to view

After an orientation session about Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSAP) conducted by Stairway, at the University de Manila, some social work students later disclosed their own repressed memories of suffering sexual abuse to the facilitator.   In response to this, Stairway invited the group down for a one week treatment session. 

Dealing with their repressed memories of suffering sexual abuse now, can result in more effective care for helping sexually abused children with whom they will be dealing with later in their careers.

If anyone can give good advice it is, Brando, the Voice of Experience.  Brando came to Stairway two years ago from a rehabilitation center in Manila to be treated for tuberculosis.  After successfully treating him, he was referred to Tuloy ng Don Bosco in Alabang, where he would have a formal education.  Unfortunately, while there, Brando, contracted pulmonary tuberculosis again and was referred back to Stairway.  But this time, not just as a client to be treated for his illness, but as a voice of experience for the new batch of incoming kids.  Brando's invaluable experiences helped to make their adjustment to their new surroundings smooth and trouble free.

Click here to read what Brando had to say to them.

Almost daily, street children are rounded up in "clean up" operations around the city of Manila and are thrown into detention centers. Many are detained for no solid reason and others are detained for crimes so petty, that the amount of time the children serve in detention is totally out of proportion to the offense committed.  Left to languish under inhumane conditions and susceptible to all forms of abuse, the children when released are many times worse off than they were before.

However, for the new batch of boys, who were taken from the annals of the detention centers in Manila and brought down to Stairway, there is a sense of a new beginning and a renewed hope for the future.

Twice a year, the child residents of Stairway Foundation go on a two-day retreat to the Saint Benedictine Monastery in Calapan.  The retreat is designed to help the children to reflect over their stay in Stairway, their ultimate "graduation" from the program, and their future lives outside of Stairway.  For most of the children, they find the retreat a rewarding and fulfilling experience.

Cracked Mirrors in Thailand

Cracked Mirrors will be staged in Bankok, Thailand on March 26 before an international audience of law enforcers from various South Asian countries, including Australia, Japan and China.  Sponsored by Microsoft, the conference aims to address computer technology related crimes against children, particularly in the areas of sexual abuse and sex trafficking of children.  

Microsoft has also committed to substantially support the production of Stairway's third animated featured film called "Red Leaves."  Other sponsors include:  Kindernothilfe, Justice for Children International (JFCI), Finland Embassy Manila, CordAid and Unicef.

After undergoing training workshops on the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSAP), police officers, at the Bagong Diwa Training Camp in Bicutan, viewed Cracked Mirrors. Staged before 800 active police officers, the riveting theatre piece awakened many of them to the urgency and the gravity of the problem of child sexual abuse and its devastating effects on children. 

Children from the streets of Manila and students from the prestigious International School Manila converged on Stairway Foundation for the seventh annual ICARE event. Initiated by the International School Manila in 1998, Stairway Foundation has become a very special venue for street children and students alike to forge bonds of friendship and understanding over the theme of children's rights.

Cracked Mirrors was performed before an international audience of 40 child delegates from various countries in South East Asia at the 1st South East Asian Children's Conference (SEACC). Held last December 10-14 in Antipolo, Philippines, the child delegates came together to express their opinions on issues affecting them, such as access to quality education, HIV/AIDS, trafficking and the impact of natural disaster. 

The South East Asian Children's Conference  was sponsored by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) in co-operation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Colonel Chuck Guinto of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) has engaged Stairway Foundation to facilitate workshops and trainings on the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSAP).  Initiated last year, Stairway is now in its second year of providing the prevention training workshops to all of the graduating cadets.  Plans are underway to incorporate the workshop/trainings into the academic curriculum to ensure that all cadets undergo the workshops.

Stairway in collaboration with UNICEF adds an innovative dimension to our ongoing campaign against child sexual abuse and exploitation.  The "Cracked Mirrors" theatre presentation and the animated film series, "Daughter" and a "Good Boy," will be presented to thousands of students, teachers, care givers and law enforcers around the Philippines. Click here to find out more.

The jury from the VIII DerHumALC International Film Festival awarded "A Good Boy" for its ability to offer an educational solution directed to the protection of minors from sexual abuse.

Starting in March of 2005, Stairway Foundation, in partnership with Child Hope Philippines, have been gauging the effects of  "Daughter" and "A Good Boy," on street children who have watched the animations.  Click here to find out more.

An international group of 30 young people gathered for a one week workshop at the Tugdaan Center for Human and Environmental Development in Mindoro, Philippines to discuss sustainable peace in Asia.  During their stay, they visited Stairway Foundation for a bit of R&R, as well as to gain some insight into how Stairway uses the creative expressions to educate and to advocate about children's rights. The group watched " Cracked Mirrors," a theatre piece about child sexual abuse and exploitation.  After the play, an engaging two hour discussion ensued.

Excerpts of a "A Good Boy" were aired recently on Reporter's Notebook, a public affairs program here in the Philippines.  The story covered, took a look at the status regarding child prostitution in the Philippines. 

"A Good Boy" won the Jury Special Prize at the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Film Festival (SICAF) in May this year.  SICAF in a short period of time has found its place as a representative animation film festival in Asia and it has developed into a world festival that has attracted many cartoon and animation enthusiasts.

Students from the International School Manila (ISM) and the Cairo American College attended the annual ICARE and Week Without Walls service learning programs held at Stairway Foundation Inc.

Each year Stairway brings together children from more privileged backgrounds with children from the streets of Manila.  The plethora of creative and interactive activities that go on during the week serve as a wonderful medium in dismantling stereotypes and changing perspectives for everyone involved.

This year's theme:  The Quest for Children's Rights, The Ultimate Global Challenge," culminated into a magical treasure hunt throughout Stairway where the children designed and created their own costumes, banners and coat-of-arms. 

Amihan Bajade and Rowena Panguio facilitated a 5-day workshop on children's rights and child sexual abuse prevention in Phnom Penh.  The training workshop was hosted by Chab Dai, a Christian organization, fighting for children's rights.  Chab Dai has translated both animations, Daughter and  A Good Boy to Khmer along with the manuals.  They also produced a flip chart so that the workshops can be taken to isolated regions around Cambodia.

Katrina Nyholm, film director and president of Stairway Denmark, has completed three new documentary films about the work and activities at Stairway Foundation.  The three films include:  The Pencil, a 30 minute short that depicts the interaction between a street child from Manila with a young person from a privileged background during an annual ICARE event in Stairway.  The Girls from the Island, is a documentary about survivors undergoing treatment of sexual abuse and the use of animation as a part of the therapy and healing process.  The last film, is an orientation about the programs undertaken by Stairway.  The Pencil will be shown on Danish television.

Dr. Gundelina Velazco, PhD. visited Stairway Foundation to explore a possible collaboration between Stairway and Justice for Children International (JFCI), a US-based organization, which campaigns against the exploitation and trafficking of children.  As Program Director for Aftercare of JFCI, Dr. Velazco travels the world training professionals and para-professionals in the aftercare of exploited and trafficked children.

Lars Jorgensen, director of SFI, and Ace Diloy, a community developer worker on Stairway's advocacy team, participated in a ten-day training on Result Base Management in India.  The event was arranged by Cardinal Leger Foundation and was well attended by 70 participants from 32 organizations from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.  Lars and Ace delivered a presentation on children's rights and child sexual abuse prevention.

There was an explosion of stars... We knew it had to be you.  Thank you for the music you infused in the hearts and minds of the forgotten people in the world.  We won't forget you.  -Stairway

On behalf of the Children and Staff of Stairway Foundation Inc, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

An Evening of Animation and Theatre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

Stairway's premiere showing of its latest animated feature, "A Good Boy," alongside its latest theatre piece "Cracked Mirrors" was a night to remember.  Held at the Malate Republic Theatre in Manila, it was well attended. Amongst the guests were: the Honorable Lourdes Balanon, the Undersecretary of the DSWD, Dr. Nick Alipui, country representative of UNICEF Philippines and Riitta Reesch, the ambassador of Finland, Philippines

Animation on Wheels

"A Good Boy" not only played to a distinguished audience of guests, but also to those mostly affected by sexual abuse, the children of the streets.  Stairway Foundation in collaboration with Child Hope Asia took "A Good Boy" to the streets of Manila where it was shown for more than 300 children and adults from the streets and neighbouring barangays. After the screening of "A Good Boy," the children were divided into smaller groups to process the animation.  Following the showing, everyone was given a comic book of the animation to take away with them.  It was an amazing sight to see!

Songs for a Cause

The Danish premiere of "A Good Boy" was the feature presentation at the grand opening of the Kolding Film House last September.   It was attended by the mayor of Kolding, Per Boeder Andersen and the culture minister of Denmark, Brian Mikkelsen.  Thomas and Anissette of Savage Rose, who created the music to "A Good Boy," also presented a riveting performance.

Rødkilde Students Bike for Stairway

Premieres were not the only exciting activities happening in Denmark.  Once again, students from Rødkilde Gymnasium, in Vejle, took to the streets to collect money on behalf of the foundation for their annual “Days Work Day.” This year’s activity included a cycling marathon around Vejle that went on for twenty-four hours. 

Candle-Making to Make the Season Brighter

What is Christmas without candles?  This year the Stairway kids and youth created an array of colorful scented candles in preparation for the holiday season.  Take a closer look at the beautiful Christmas display!

On Nov. 29, we received a text message that a former client of ours, named Daniel, was murdered on the streets of Manila. We would like to take this moment to reflect on the fragility of our lives especially those thousands of nameless, vulnerable children and youth who die violent deaths on our city streets everyday

Anisette and Thomas Koppel of the internationally acclaimed The Savage Rose, spent three memorable, melodic-filled weeks in Stairway. Aside from creating the music to our latest animated-film, "A Good Boy", they did what they do best — shared their great gift of music with those who are less fortunate and forgotten — the street people of Manila

Young people from the Cairo American College (CAC) in Egypt visited Stairway Foundation Inc. for its 2^nd annual Week Without Walls excursion. It was an unforgettable exchange of two worlds coming together over the issue of children’s rights

Students from the International School Manila (ISM) made their way down to Stairway for their annual ICARE service program. Now in its 6^th year, it was a magical display of the power and the greatness of the child

Using the powerful medium of animation to deliver a social message, children and youth from far and near worked with talented animators from the Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. They produced some very interesting and creative animation shorts about children's rights.
The week long workshops also provided a creative and therapeutic outlet for a group of young survivors of child sexual abuse. Click into get a glimpse at www.animavocacy.org

A new documentary film about Stairway is underway by filmmaker/director, Katrine Nyholm. She has spent a month in and around Stairway documenting the activities surrounding this year's ICARE program, interviewing the students from ISM and the Stairway kids. The film will be aired on Danish television

Squeezing out great tunes on the accordion whilst the beautiful Anisette sang soulfully, the clear voices of the Stairway children and youth rose up joyfully filling the moon-lit sky with their new song called "Up! Up! Stairway!" An exuberant, uplifting song about children's rights, it was created especially for the Stairway kids by Thomas and Anisette (Savage Rose) and performed before a group of visitors during a splendid and enchanting evening concert

The Benedictine Sisters of Calapan underwent training for child sexual abuse prevention. They found the experience urgent and enlightening. The training workshops will be extended to youth leaders, catechists, aspirants and leaders in the ecclesiastical community

Stairway has mounted a new theatre piece called "Cracked Mirrors", written and directed by Monica D. Ray. It is a stark and challenging collection of vignettes about child sexual abuse. Performed by members of the TASK theatre troupe, it will eventually play in colleges and theatres in Manila. For bookings contact us

Stairway trained college students from the Prince of Peace College in Puerto Galera to be facilitators of child sexual abuse and prevention workshops