Dear Friends,

It is only appropriate that it has become a tradition for everybody at Stairway to end our year under the magic spell of theatre and play.  Spiced with loads of humor and a stint of satire, the Stairway boys had the privilege and the pleasure of spreading the true spirit of Christmas, as the 2011 rendition of “One Wish” pulled in large audiences from near and far.

2011 has passed with new concepts and ideas transformed into programs and activities.  It was another year shaped by innovation and creativity,  a year where we launched our nationwide Break the Silence Campaign, where we opened an office in Manila, where we reached and trained every single police cadet in all of the country’s 17 regional Police Training Institutes, where our animations and trainers entered into yet another Southeast Asian country, Burma, and it was the year that our Youth for Change camps expanded to include schools from 3 continents and 6 nations.  

We would like to take the time to express our gratitude and appreciation, and to let you all know that we could have done little without your support.

From Children, Staff and the Board of Stairway, we wish you all a Very Happy New Year!

Click here to view images from One Wish

November 2011

Since 2008, when Stairway first piloted a project of training selected NGOs on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention, the goal has been to develop more organizations to serve as resource centers on CSAEP advocacy in order to reach out to more children, families and communities.

Stairway has pursued this initiative of continuously capacitating more NGOs and in the process forming the Break the Silence (BTS) Network that would create a larger advocacy impact against child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Early this year, the BTS Network began with 5 NGO partners and in the past 2 months, the BTS Network officially added 5 more NGO partners including 2 groups working particularly for Deaf children—a highly vulnerable sector.  With each additional NGO Partner bringing its own expertise, The BTS Network also enhances its quality as a network while expanding its membership size and geographical reach.

This month, the 1^st batch of 5 NGO Partners (also called the “2008A Partners” since they all came from the 2008 pilot project) will start training 30 other NGOs whom they have selected to be part of the BTS Network. Soon, what started out as a group of 5 NGOs will eventually increase to 40 NGOs. 

Imagine all these NGOs doing massive advocacy campaigning and networking against child sexual abuse, on a nationwide scale. That is truly inspiring!

To view the map of the Break the Silence Network click on the link below.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210092101229080127241.0004ad36eb1af9b060e85&msa=0&ll=11.673755,121.508789&spn=12.285791,21.599121

November 2011

On November 4^th, 2011, the U.S. Peace Corps (USPC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated their 50^th anniversaries by hosting an event at the Mall of Asia with partners and stakeholders in the Philippines. The event celebrated 50 years of promoting peace and friendship in the Philippines, with a focus on inspiring the next generation of volunteers to continue their missions.

Stairway has been a partner with USPC for over 3 years now, training Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV’s), counterparts and staff members in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, and hosting 4 Peace Corps volunteers, each having different roles at Stairway.

One of our current volunteers is working in the nearby indigenous Mangyan community of Baclayan. Because of our current community development work in Baclayan, Stairway was invited to send 3 Mangyan women from the community to showcase their basket-weaving skills at the 50^th Anniversary Celebration.

The 3 women, Susan, Marcelina, and Sinicia were excited and nervous to embark on this new adventure. Two of them had never been outside of Puerto Galera. They didn’t really know what to expect of Manila, so they arrived with fresh eyes and open minds. There were many first experiences to be had, such as riding in an elevator, riding on an escalator, using a flush toilet, having a warm shower, seeing fireworks, and eating new foods. They remarked on how many cars, and buses, and trains, and people there were. And most of all, they expressed how much fun they were having.

Susan, Marcelina, and Sinicia worked hard at their booth. Throughout the day, they quietly worked on weaving their baskets. They seemed undaunted (and maybe a little proud) to have photos taken of them while weaving by media, by volunteers, and by booth visitors. At the end of the day when they were asked what their experience was like, they remarked how happy they were that people showed interest in their work. They gained a new appreciation for the quality and artistry in each of their pieces. They were ready for more adventure! 

Click here to view images

October 2011

Last October 31, Stairway celebrated one of the most exciting holidays of the year—Halloween—with an all-out Halloween Hunt!  Mummies, ghouls, flying goblins, and witches created exciting thrills and fun surprises for the children. 

Thanks to everyone who made this Halloween a super memorable event!

Click here to view images.

October 2011

The United Nations has declared October as Universal Children’s Month and in accordance, the Philippines, in Presidential Proclamation No. 267 dated September 30, 1993, observes October every year as National Children’s Month.  This year’s theme focused on the need to strengthen local bodies:  Local Council for the Protection of Children para sa Bright Child:  Pakilusin, Palakasin, Pagtulungan Natin!”  Stairway celebrated this special month of appreciation of our children with an entertaining show case of the children’s talents in poetry, art, music and gymnastics.

October 2011

For years now, Stairway Foundation has been reaching out to the local Iraya Mangyan in an effort to help uplift the community from poverty. In 2009, SFI purchased some land in one of the local Iraya communities called Baclayan. During the time of purchase, we observed a community that was struggling on many levels. Because of this, Stairway Foundation has since started several community development projects to partner with the community in creating positive and sustainable change, especially for the young generation, the children.

October 2011

U.S. Peace Corps Response volunteer, Hailey Fox, will be working on assistance and development of two separate Deaf empowerment NGOs, based in the municipalities of Cebu and Manila. The target organizations are GVSP of Cebu and SEADC of Metro Manila. Her main objective in this short-term assignment is to enable the NGO’s to become self-sustainable by training them in grant proposal writing and general establishment as an institution. Hailey will offer training in networking, fundraising, annual reporting and technical writing. Her second task is a review and analysis of the NGO’s long-term potential to develop the Deaf community and combat, among other issues, Deaf child sexual abuse.

By spending two months with each institution, she will be able to accompany them on a variety of deaf community development activities, such as International Day of the Deaf, Deaf Awareness Week, and a variety of CSAP trainings in schools and community centers. After analyzing both need and capacity, she will advise the institutions on the best means of soliciting long-term support and enabling their deaf communities to be self-sustaining.  To finalize her service, she will report to Stairway in order to determine the Deaf community’s potential level of participation in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention. 

Hailey has recently completed a two-year service in West Africa working on Deaf human rights.

October 2011

In 2007, Stairway attended a workshop in Thailand conducted by CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center), and since that time, Stairway has been in close contact with the agency. 

Last October 18-20, CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center), a UK based law enforcement agency, facilitated a training course entitled:  ICPN Safeguarding Children for NGO workers, teachers and other child care service provider.  Stairway was invited to the training to present its perspective on “offline and online child sexual abuse.” 

We would like to thank Tim Gerrish and the rest of the CEOP team, Jonathan Baggaley, Dr. Zoe Hilton and Eleanor Browne for inviting Stairway to the event.

September 2011

Ever since 2007, Stairway Foundation has been doing its Online Safety session in order to address the rising trend of child sexual abuse being perpetrated through the use of the Internet and other communication technologies. One of the main difficulties being encountered in the Online Safety sessions was the aspect of reporting. 

To address the issue of rising online abuse of children in the Philippines, the Philippine National Police initiated AngelNet, a policee task force, to handle online abuses against children.  Stairway Foundation has partnered with Project AngelNet and in line with this, we conducted an Online Safety training for AngelNet staff.  Later in November, Stairway will host a strategic planning session for the organization.