To have a dream is a great motivation to live a day with greatness and knowing that there is something that awaits us, but to make it possible is beyond expectation that we can be bigger than our dreams.To have a dream is a great motivation to live a day with greatness and knowing that there is something that awaits us, but to make it possible is beyond expectation that we can be bigger than our dreams.
Education lights the path of those who have dreams. It is a privilege of learning and enhancing skill that gives opportunity to widen more our horizon. Until now, education is still one of the biggest problems that our country is trying to give remedy to. Because in this case, several organizations have been established and initiated to support children’s needs in school.
Kapatidkita Mahalkita Foundation – Payatas B, Inc. (KM Foundation) is one of them, founded and supervised by Fr. Walter L. Ysaac, S.J. It means “You are my brother/sister, I love you.” . The keystone is sharing, and sharing that comes from authentic love and leads to genuine action and an enduring personal relationship. KM Foundation supports the Payatas Dumpsite Community. This organization believes in community-building in the most poverty-stricken areas where children are given great opportunities to learn and to have access to information. Through providing educational assistance to the underprivileged children living in the area, children are sent to schools and become useful members of their respective communities.
One of the first areas KM Foundation entered into its years of work for the very poor is Payatas B, the section where the first “mountain” of garbage is located. We started serving the Payatas community in 1985 when the Payatas dumpsite was just starting and the shanties around the dumpsite were being set up by the scavengers. It is the place where 218 people died and caused 300 missing persons because of the landslide of garbage on July 10, 2000.
Payatas remains as one of the very poor area in Quezon City although several groups aim to lend a help on it. Also, as years goes by, the number of population increases.
About 117,000 people are living in Payatas and a large percent of it used scavenging as the source of their living. They often sort, segregate, cleanse recyclable materials and transport it to nearby junkshops so that in a small amount they can able to live a day. Because of the little amount that they earn from scavenging, parents can’t support the school needs of their children. Instead of going to school, children opted to help their parents by scavenging.
Education lights the path of those who have dreams. Until now, education is still one of the biggest problems that our country is trying to give remedy to. Because of this case, several organizations have been established and initiated to support children’s needs in school. And Kapatidkita Mahalkita Foundation – Payatas B, Inc. is one of the non-governmental organization in Metro Manila that aims to support the education of the less fortunate Filipino children. KM Foundation supports the Payatas Dumpsite Community. This organization believes in community-building in the most poverty-stricken areas where children are given great opportunities to learn and to have access to information. Through providing educational assistance to the underprivileged children living in the area, children are sent to schools and become useful members of their respective communities.
Kapatidkita Mahalkita Foundation – Payatas B, Inc. (formerly known as Kapatidkita Mahalkita Foundation, Inc. or KM Foundation is founded and supervised by Fr. Walter L. Ysaac, S.J. It means “You are my brother/sister, I love you.” The keystone is sharing, and sharing that comes from authentic love and leads to genuine action and an enduring personal relationship. The Lonergan Center, based in Loyola House of Studies, Ateneo de Manila University began to apply the principles of philosopher-theologian Bernard Lonergan of community- building in the most poverty-stricken areas.
In 1976, Fr. Walter L. Ysaac, S.J. started working in two priestless barrios in San Mateo, Rizal. In March 1983, he got the community to help 43 children of the poorest of the poor were identified, and helped in their schooling from kinder to college to become useful members of the society. Fr. Walter L. Ysaac, S.J. realized the that the community needs to have not only community celebrations and community sharing but also the need to go out of their area to help and share with the very poor of their own and other communities. Since KM Foundation’s modest beginnings, it has blossomed to over 8,000 sponsored children/aging and candidates by 1998 with the help of Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) as its partner foundation in U.S. On October 31, 1998, KM Foundation and CFCA decided to separate. CFCA formed another foundation to be able to support the 8,000 members and candidates. During that time, KM Foundation has only sixteen scholars being supported by Ateneo Grade 5 students and faculty.
Year 2002, Fr. Walter L. Ysaac, S.J. went to Utah and California, U.S.A to meet some volunteers. On the same year, we were able to have more than fifty sponsors abroad and Puso Philippines was our partner foundation in U.S.
In September 2011, Reed Elsevier Philippines began supporting 26 children in Payatas B, Quezon City. For this year, REPH have 150 sponsored children.
In August 2013, Mrs. Imelda H. Armstrong, our volunteer in Utah decided to put up Philippines Humanitarian to continue the legacy of her mother, Mrs. Amelia Hernandez. At present, Philippines Humanitarian is helping us with the sponsorship of 140 sponsored children from grade 2 to college.