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Australian volunteers help Filipino children understand the MDGs
Inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a group of Australian volunteers from Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) and Volunteers for International Development Australia (VIDA) programs in the Philippines, are busy creating an event to empower Filipino children to make connections between the MDGs and their own communities.
On 3 February 2010, over 100 underprivileged Filipino children will participate in the ‘Kids Creating Change’ Festival at La Mesa Ecopark in Manila. Supported by the Australian Government Aid Program, this creative arts-based event is designed to inspire young people, enhance their understanding of development issues, and present practical and imaginative approaches to achieving the MDGs.
Coming from a foreign country, Australian volunteers find a real challenge in trying to discern locally-appropriate benchmarks for development. That is why the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as a framework, helps to clear away so much of the ‘values’ clutter by articulating concise and worthy objectives for communities to work towards.
A Fresh Change for Smokey Mountain and Payatas Kids
The children attending the event come from Smokey Mountain, Payatas and other disadvantaged communities in and around Manila. Indeed, the inspiration for the event came from a visit to Smokey Mountain II by a group of AYAD volunteers, including Lea Czikowski. While there, the Australian volunteers ran a hands-on environmental-arts based session with the children of Smokey Mountain’s Day Care Centre, and visited their homes on the waste site of Smokey Mountain.
Kids Creating Change organiser Czikowski said: “Although the experience was heartening in many ways, it was also very difficult to witness children being exposed to dangerous toxins being emitted from the waste site. As a result, our group was determined to assist the children in any way we could.”
Around 3000 families live on the steaming mound of rubbish called Smokey Mountain II. The ground is comprised of decomposing rubbish, emitting a certain hazy heat that can enable spontaneous combustion, hence the ‘smokey’ name. Smokey Mountain is infamous for having collapsed on families who made their homes in the rubbish.
Residents make their living from the rubbish by scavenging plastic bottles and various types of plastic bags. They are paid 20 cents for a kilo of salvaged plastics. When a fresh barge comes in, people swarm to get the best pickings. It’s not easy to assemble one kilo, let alone what you’d need to feed a family of twelve.
This living environment is not ideal for children’s development, hence the Australian volunteers decided to get involved.
Addressing Social Problems through Art and Creativity
The MDGs addressing literacy, environmental sustainability, children’s health and livelihood projects will be featured as part of the event’s activities. The children who will participate will gain skills, inspiration and confidence to lead change in their communities.
One of the highlights of the ‘Kids Creating Change’ Festival is the ‘Nylon Zoo’, a massive inflatable salmon which holds 30-40 children and will be a venue for dress-up animal parades and story time. The day also involves a performance by the Hope Worldwide Puppet Theatre Troupe and a theatre performance by former street children from Bahay Tuluyan Philippines.
Czikowski said: “The empowerment of children means that they can act as the drivers for development in their community. I strongly believe that the creative arts are intrinsic to development and that together we can achieve wonderful things.”
Global Partnerships to Benefit Filipino Kids
Kids Creating Change has been organised by AYAD and VIDA volunteers who have forged partnerships with local organizations including HOPE, Kids Ahoy Creative Playshop, Save the Children and the Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade Inc. Acclaimed Canadian-Australian artist Evelyn Roth, creator of the Nylon Zoo installation will also be visiting the Philippines for the first time as part of the Festival.
The AYAD and VIDA programs are funded by AusAID as part of the Australian Government Oversees Volunteers Program, which supports Australian volunteers to help reduce poverty and create sustainable development in partner countries by sharing skills and knowledge. The AYAD and VIDA programs are managed by Austraining, a specialist project management and international development organization, which oversees bilateral and multilateral projects throughout Asia and the Pacific. Australian volunteers are highly skilled and specially selected. While overseas, volunteers often identify and seize opportunities to broaden the impact of their work by creating their own projects or community activities, such as the Kids Creating Change Festival.
Jerome Vinarao, President and Artistic Director of the Center for Arts Foundation in Manila, and key local partner in Kids Creating Change said: “I believe this project will make a lasting impact on the lives of the children who will benefit from this.
“It must always be our goal to help these children discover their creative talents and assist them in reinventing themselves. Once this is achieved, a better generation and a creative society will emerge. I want to see that happen.”
Kids Creating Change Festival will be held on February 3. The event will close with participants signing a personal pledge to take action towards the MDGs in their own communities.
About Kids Creating Change 2010
Kids Creating Change (KCC) 2010 is a one-day event involving group activities, workshops, costume parades, installations, film, drama and dance presentations. The aim of KCC is to create an interactive experience that harnesses the creative arts to inspire and empower underprivileged Filipino youth to work towards the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
KCC is a collaboration of local and international artists, Filipino non-government organizations and international volunteers.
For more information contact: Lea Czikowsk on 0939 639 2016 and
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