Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Amazing Women: Teresita L. Silva


It’s in the Genes – the Legacy Lives on

Teresita L. Silva - Keeping Children Off the Streets

Ma’am Silva, as she is fondly called by her staff, has been exposed to social work since she was that high! Her mother, Felicidad Alvarez of the Alvarez clan of Roxas City, Capiz, was the first professional social worker with a master’s degree in the Philippines. The degree is from the Catholic University in the United States. Ms. Silva herself took advanced post graduate pre-doctoral courses at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Her master’s degree in social work is from the National Catholic School of Social Work.

Tagging along with her mom to the various church-based social work commitments, Ms. Silva developed an affinity for working with the less privileged sector of society. Seeing how her mom’s work helped the communities where she devoted time and effort, Ms. Silva observed how community organizing alleviated family economic conditions and imbibed the humanitarian and compassionate nature of her mom. Seeing the need for income opportunities for developing communities, Ms. Silva, in her own time, and through her own foundations, developed programs and services to help families keep their children off the streets.

Ms. Silva has three foundations, interrelated and held together by the belief that children should be kept safe and protected at all times. These are all non-stock service foundations that bring together government agencies, NGOs and community volunteers to promote social and economic development in depressed areas of Districts 5 & 6 of Manila through community-based services. The family, especially the mothers, are given opportunities to augment the family income so they will not need to send the children to beg in the streets.
Child Hope Asia Philippines Foundation focuses on street children. These children are taught skills for life, values and through the Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System Program with its accredited modules and programs reaches out to street children and teaches them basic education. At present, Child Hope is in 20 areas in Districts 5 & 6 of Manila and has more than 300 street children in attendance. There are success stories here and Ms. Silva is proud to introduce her children who have become teachers and coordinators themselves.
The Tahanan Sta. Luisa Crisis Intervention Center Foundation concerns itself with street girls and sexually abused girls. The programs are geared towards psycho-social activities which help these girls.

The Families and Children for Empowerment and Development Foundation, Inc. (FCED) ties together the three programs held dear by Ms. Silva who believes that when the family is strong and is economically stable, the children grow in an atmosphere conducive to learning and becoming a useful and responsible member of society.

The Foundations’ main mission is to provide opportunities for the education, skills training & increased income of children, youth and their families. In this endeavor, Gifts and Graces is a major help in bringing the products of the mothers to a bigger market and a wider clientele base.

These Foundations are close to Ms. Silva’s heart and has been her life project. Her staff and many volunteers look up to her for guidance and inspiration. As one volunteer, a former streetchild who benefited from the Foundation and now a Doctor of Medicine says, “Ms. Silva inspires us with her passion and dedication to the welfare of the children and their family”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Families_and_Children_for_Empowerment_and_Development


No comments:

Post a Comment