Playcare centers for poor kids
Here in Cebu, there is an interesting model in multisectoral cooperation to help poor children get a good start in life. About 100 children aged three to six years, many of them homeless, get to spend up to three hours at what its founders call Balay Amuma (home for playcare).
In 2021, Grace Cabaero Ferreros, founder of KidsLIFE Foundation, obtained a multimillion-peso grant from Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) to operate a “playcare center” near the harbor, where homeless kids and poor families abound. RAFI President Amaya Aboitiz-Fansler is very interested in early childhood education. She is the daughter of the late Bobby Aboitiz, former president of RAFI, and Maria Cristina Cabarrus-Aboitiz, who was into microfinance.
The choice of area to serve was made by KidsLIFE founders in consultation with the local government of Cebu City and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to ensure that the Balay Amuma would fill a need. DSWD operates daycare centers that serve eligible children around the country. So, Balay Amuma operates in an area not currently served with daycare centers by DSWD. The local government provides funding support for two teachers.
Additional funds for operations are provided by Wadah (Bahasa for “Women”) Foundation whose Chair, Anie Djodjohadikusumo has been providing support for many projects in Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Nepal. Anie’s brother in law, Prabowo Subianto is the current president of Indonesia.
Presently, the Balay Amuma is rent-free at a building constructed by the Young Ladies Association for Charity (YLAC)) on land owned by the archdiocese of Cebu. Ownership of the building has recently been turned over by YLAC to the archdiocese under the terms of their contract. The archdiocese has authorized Balay Amuma to use the facilities for free until 2026.
Grace Ferreros, who holds a doctorate in education, explains that Balay Amuma is really a model for an approach referred to as Waldorf, which emphasizes creative play for numeracy and literacy rather than the standard approach now used in schools. Music appreciation, carpentry, cooking, arts and crafts and gardening are some of the processes. Children have the right to play. The kids have fun while they learn and develop themselves as persons. This right is exercised more creatively than when the kids are glued to their electronic gadgets.
KidsLIFE takes its playcare approach seriously. Care is something the teachers are oriented on because the kids are either homeless, or the parents are so focused on survival from day to day, that the kids do not get much attention, if any. The care they get at Balay Amuma has turned them into self-confident and happy persons.
KidsLIFE Foundation has begun to promote the Waldorf approach in DSWD-operated daycare centers, notably in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City where they send a teacher once a week to practice the playcare approach. In San Roque, another barangay, one of the teachers works full time at Balay Amuma whence she will return to her own barangay to use her learnings.
Balay Amuma also provides food for the children, half of them (ages three to four) in the morning, and the older half (ages four to six) in the afternoon. It seems that for many of the children, it is their only meal for the day. Probably why the kids are hardly ever absent from “class.” The food is a complete meal, with carbohydrates, vegetables and protein. YLAC provides P10,000 a month for the food. Simply Share Foundation donates rice. Some of the food is funded by Tina Ferreros, Grace Ferreros’ sister-in-law through her Wadah Foundation Philippines.
Sometimes, volunteers from overseas such as Germany, as well as the US Peace Corps, assist as teachers’ aides.
At present, KidsLIFE Foundation is concerned about its physical facilities after 2026 when the lease-free arrangement ends. Jose Palma, the archbishop of Cebu, explains that as he is retiring this year, he does not want to preempt his successor who may have other plans for the facilities.
Wadah Chairperson Anie Djojohadikusumo has indicated willingness to fund construction of a building for Balay Amuma and its offices; but only on land that they will not fund. So KidsLIFE founders are now seeking donations for the land.
Teresa S. Abesamis is a former professor at the Asian Institute of Management and fellow of the Development Academy of the Philippines.
