Toward No Child Living on Streets– Let's Make 370,000 Street Children in
the Philippines ZERO!
Crowdfunding by ACC21 & ACRP TOKYO(April 12-May 31, 2023)

Let’s work together to make 370,000 street children
in the Philippines ZERO by 2030, the final year of
SDGs!
According to the survey conducted by LifeBank MicrofinanceFoundation, Inc. and Social Weather Stations (SWS), there are about
370,000 "street children" as of 2015 who spend most of the day on
streets in the Philippines. Such children are more common in urban
areas. While they have their respective reasons to spend their timeon streets, their main reasons are rooted in poverty of their families.
Some children beg on streets, scavenge for leftover food or smoke
addictive paint thinner to drown their hunger. Others earn a little bycollecting garbage and peddling small items to help their parents inmaking ends meet. Due to the spread of COVID 19 in the past years
since 2020, the living conditions of these children have deteriorated
even more.
The Asia Community Center 21 (ACC21), an Approved Specified
Nonprofit Corporation with the special status of tax-deductible
contribution granted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and the
Asian Conference of Religions for Peace Tokyo (ACRP Tokyo), havelaunched an international campaign to help make street children in the1

Philippines ZERO by 2030, the final year of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Why don't we work together to realize
SDGs’ basic idea of “leave no one behind” and help street children tohave a decent life where they can have secured access to food andclothing, live in a safe environment with their family, study at schooland be productive members of the society by enabling them to pursue
their chosen careers? Let us join hands to realize the goal of nostreet child in the Philippines by 2030!

Calling Organizations
Asian Community Center 21 (ACC21)
ACC21 was established in 2005 with the vision of "Creating a sociallyjust and peaceful society in Asia where people live together andsupport one another".
As one of its main projects, it serves as the Secretariat of the Asian
Community Trust (ACT), the first charitable trust established in 1979
based on bequests and donations from citizens and businesscorporations in Japan. Since its establishment up to March 2022, theend the fiscal 2021, ACT provided a total of 814 grants for projects
conducted by local NGOs for marginalized people in education, health,environmental protection and rural development. The grants covered
15 countries and regions in Asia, amounting to 888 million Japaneseyen (about 6.34 million US dollars). Among others, Philippine NGOs
received the largest number of grants. ACC21 also serves as the
Secretariat of the Japan-Philippines NGO Network (JPN) composed ofJapanese NGOs concerned with Philippine development and protectionof natural environment. ACC21 initiated the establishment of JPN in
2006. Thus, ACC21 has long-standing and extensive networks with
Philippine NGOs.
In 2018 ACC21 started its voluntary project “Street Youth
Empowerment Project” (now called “Project Bamboo”) for the youth
living on streets in selected cities in Metro Manila in partnership with
the Childhope Philippines Foundation, Inc. In 2020, the height of the
COVID 19 pandemic, ACC21 extended emergency assistanceconsisting of food and hygiene kits to street children and families withhelp of the Foundation.
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More information: https://www.acc21.org/en/
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Asian Conference of Religions for Peace Tokyo (ACRP Tokyo)
ACRP Tokyo was established in 2017 when the secretariat of the Asian
Conference of Religions for Peace was placed in Japan. In addition to
the secretariat services for conferences and conventions of the ACRP,
it promotes peace activities and relief operation to victims of natural
disasters, refugees and displaced people in conflict areas incooperation with religious organizations and NGOs/NPOs in Japan. It
also promotes one of the ACRP flagship projects in the Philippines byworking with its members to stop trafficking of poor women andchildren.
More information: https://rfpasia-tokyo.org/tokyo-sec/

Why do we support street children in the Philippines?
 To ensure Children’s Right and Human Dignity
Many parents of street children suffer from extreme poverty. They
migrated from the rural areas to find jobs in the urban centers but
there are no decent jobs available for them due to their lack of
education and vocational skills. Consequently, their children are notgiven enough food and proper education, instead they are forced toengage in begging, peddling on streets to help support their family.
Some children hunt for leftover food or smoke addictive paintthinner to quench their hunger.
Some street children run away from parental abuse and start livingon the streets where they sometimes get involved in crimes. Others
are sexually exploited. In the evening, some sleep in the shade ofbuildings or in a gutter by the road. These children are pushed tothe margins of society and forced to live in such conditions that
trample their “human dignity”.
As fellow human in our society, we consider it our duty to provide
opportunities for street children to live in an environment that3

promotes “human dignity” and to enjoy children’s rights set out on
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 To implement a SDGs guiding principle: Leave No One Behind
Leaving no one behind is the central promise and guiding principleof the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which was
adopted by the United Nations member countries in 2015. This
guiding principle stresses combating inequalities anddiscrimination against individuals, families and whole communities
marginalized and excluded. Street children are among the poorestof the poor who have been left behind for decades. It is the
responsibility of the international community to prioritize andembrace this principle.

 To ascertain children as treasures and the future of humansociety
Whatever nationality children hold, they are treasures and thefuture of human society. They have potential to grow themselvesand contribute to the advancement of society by using knowledge
and skills which they can acquire through proper education.

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Childhood living environment has a great impact on the future ofchildren affecting not only their career but also their personality. It
is wise to provide children with proper education, which should
include children on streets, and encourage them to become
productive members of society. Children are the treasures of thenext generation.

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What actions do we take?
1. Raise awareness among Japanese citizens, government agencies
concerned and business corporations about the current situation ofstreet children in the Philippines.
2. Extend financial support and/or collaborate with Philippine local
NGOs engaged in protection and support of street children.
3. Develop cooperative relationship with the Council for the Welfare ofChildren (CWC), the focal inter-agency body of the Philippine
Government for children and local government units concerned withstreet children.

How will your donations be used for fiscal 2023?
Your donation will be used for street children-related projects
implemented by two Japanese NGOs listed below and for necessary
costs incurring in the administration of monitoring the funded projects,
the donor relations and other necessary services.

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Two Projects to be Funded: Project Bamboo: Street Youth Empowerment Project by ACC21
conducted jointly with Childhope Philippines Foundation, Inc.
This joint project started in 2018 with the aim of helping youth tobe equipped with knowledge and skills to secure decent jobs. It is
for the youth aged 16-24 who have participated in the Street
Education and Protection (STEP) Program of the Childhope
Philippines Foundation, Inc. (* see Partner Organizations below for
the organization overview) with two batches of education/trainings
being conducted annually.
One batch extending over 6 months is composed of the following
education and trainings:
1. Alternative Education: The sessions are life skills-based
modules designed to equip the youth with values and necessary
knowledge and skills to protect themselves while on the streets.
2. Financial Education: The sessions provide the youth withknowledge and ability to understand the complex principles of
earning, spending, saving and investing. The youth is expected
to develop the ability to control properly over their money andother financial resources.
3. Vocational-technical skills training: This training focuses onproviding youth with lectures as well as hands-on experience injobs like housekeeping, hotel and restaurant services, cookery,baking, cosmetology, etc. The youth participants attend thecourses offered at the Manila Manpower Development Center(MMDC). The resource persons are the trainers certified by thePhilippine Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(TESDA).
4. Entrepreneurship: The sessions are designed to encourage
youth to have an interest in starting a small business and learn
the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. It aims to build skills
and knowledge necessary to succeed as an entrepreneur.
5. Livelihood training: This training provides youth with anunderstanding of business concept that they can choose tostart on their own. Among these are food processing, t-shirt
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printing, making of perfume, dishwashing liquids and fabricconditioners.
6. Skills Enhancement for Employability: The sessions aim toprovide enhancement of skills that equips the youth to havehigher chances of getting a job. It includes making of resume,
personality development and job interview coaching.
In addition to the above six education/trainings, Project Bamboo
provides microcredits for capital assistance among youth whohave good business ideas but do not have the money for start-up.
The loans are repaid on a regular basis with very minimal interest
to familiarize them also with how loans and credits work.

The photo on the left shows youth acquiring life skills. The photo on the right shows
vocational technical training (barista).

Your donation will be used to cover the costs for theeducation/trainings of the youth such as teaching materials,
transportation and meals, and honoraria for resource persons.

 Sport-based Life Skills Training for Street-Connected Youth
Leaders by ICAN
The second project to be funded is the "Sport-based Life Skills
Training for Street- Connected Youth Leaders" Project
implemented by ICAN, a certified NPO that has been supporting
street children in the Philippines since 1994. (*see Partner
Organizations below for the organization overview)

8Most children on the streets in the Philippines have low self-esteem
due to discrimination from other people and a lack of experience
with being praised or relied upon by adults, as well as limited
exposure to role models for them. As a result, their consciousness
is confined to the status quo: they believe that they cannot change
their current situations.
In partnership with its long-time partner, KALYE, a cooperative
made up of former street youths, ICAN will raise awareness ofchildren’s rights among the public and government officials. This
will be done through training street-connected youth leaders who
advocate children’s rights, so that preventive measures and earlyintervention system for street children could be put in place.
In the project, 46 street youths and orphans will receive leadershiptraining as well as sport-based life skills training. Through teamsports like basketball, soccer and volleyball, they can gain a senseof accomplishment, a sense of fulfillment, and success by working
together. The trained youth leaders will then pass on to the 40
children on the streets what they have learned in the project. In
addition, the project will also hold a “Youth Leader Congress” toshare what they have learned and the future action plans at theend.
Donations will be used for court maintenance, training venue costs,
transportation expenses for participants (vehicle rental fees,
gasoline costs) and staff salary.

Children at sport-based life skills training9 Administrative Costs
Your donations will also be used for administrative and promotion
costs of the Campaign. The main costs included are as follows:(1)

monitoring the above funded projects and report back on theirprogress and results to donors(2)

continuing the campaign for years to come by raisingawareness among Japanese people about the current status ofstreet children in the Philippines and raising necessary funds
by holding public seminars and events(3)

developing cooperative relationship with Philippine NGOs,
government agencies and other international NGOs concernedwith street children in the Philippines by visiting on site andpromoting dialogues with them.

10Partner Organizations
Childhope Philippines Foundation, Inc.
Childhope Philippines Foundation, Inc. (Childhope in short) is a nongovernmental and non-profit organization for children in thePhilippines that works to promote, advocate for and protect therights of children living on the streets. It traces its history back towhen Childhope International was founded in 1986. Individuals fromchildren’s agencies saw the need to address the plight of children
needing protection, especially those living on the streets. In 1989, aregional office for Asia was established in Manila after the First
Regional Conference of Street Children in Asia. This forum facilitatednetworking and collaboration among agencies working for street
children in the Asian region.
After Childhope International ceased its operations in 1989,
Childhope (Asia office) still continued its operations. Projects
included outreach, protection, and education on the streets
program, and technical assistance to other Asian nations whowanted to address similar problem in their country.
In 1995, Childhope (Asia office) officially became Childhope Asia
Philippines, Inc. registered under the Securities and Exchange
Commission. In 2013 its name was changed to Childhope Philippines
Foundation, Inc. and began to show its focus on streamlining
programs and services for Filipino street children.
Childhope currently promotes the Street Education and Protection(STEP) Program, basically to children under 18 years old. STEP
carries the following four activities: (1) alternative education forstreet children through videos and interactive learning sessions; (2)social welfare interventions through counselling and therapy; (3)primary health care such as preventive and curative health care,
medical assistance and health education using mobile clinic and (4)skills development in music, sports, volunteer outreach and youth
leadership. Additionally, street youth empowerment project, now
called Project Bamboo, has been carried out since 2018 jointly with11

ACC21 for the youth aged 16-24 who attended alternative education
as mentioned in item （1） above.
STEP Program is conducted in 14 different areas in 3 cities of Metro
Manila: Manila, Caloocan and Paranaque. Approximately 500
children and youth are benefited by the Program annually.
Childhope is staffed by 30 full-time workers and 1 part-time worker
as of April, 2023. They include, among others, 2 top management, 1
Program Manager, 6 Street-social workers and 6 Street educatoralternative education teachers who are engaged in STEP Program, 1
Project Officer and 1 Project Assistant for Project Bamboo.
More information: https://childhope.org.ph/

ICAN
ICAN is an international NGO that works to improve the lives ofchildren living on the streets and people living near dumpsites in thePhilippines. It addresses issues by bringing individual actions
together. ICAN was established in 1994 by a Japanese office worker,
who saw the children on streets under extreme poverty in thePhilippines and thought about "There must be something I cando." Its motto is Not "for” the people, but “with” the people.
More information: https://ican.or.jp/12Please join us to make 370,000 street children in thePhilippines ZERO by 2030, the final year of SDGs!
To ensure children on the streets restore “human dignity” and enjoy
children’s rights set out on the UN Convention on the Rights of theChild so that they can receive education and lead healthy andproductive lives as recognized members of the society.

Tax incentives for donations
Donations to this campaign will be managed by the Asia Community
Center 21 (ACC21), that serves as the secretariat of the Campaign.
Donations are eligible for tax benefits. For more information,please visit the ACC21 website.

Inquiries"ZERO Street Children in the Philippines" Campaign Japan Office (c/oAsia Community Center 21) Tel: 03-3945-2615 (Weekdays
10:00~18:00)
Email: kifu@acc21.org; info@acc21.org

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