Share a Child Movement

A Short Story on Atty. Esperanza G. Valenzona and

Atty. Esperanza Valenzona
Founder and President

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Celebrating its 25th Anniversary
on March 10, 2007

Contact Us

Atty. Nina Valenzona
Executive Director

The Share A Child Movement, Inc.
3F FSV Building, 91 Rizal Avenue
Cebu CIty 6000 Philippines

  Email: shareachild@gmail.com
  Phone: (6332) 238-2487
  Fax: (6332) 253-6980

The Founding of Share a Child Movement

As their chief legal counsel for the Development Bank of the Philippines, Attorney Esperanza G. Valenzona was a woman who cared more about people's rights and welfare. Together with her husband Francisco, they raised nine children. She was active as President of the Cebu chapter of Federacion Internacional de Abogadas (FIDA) in civic activities. In cooperation with Filipinas Foundation and University of San Jose Recoletos , she was a pioneer in launching literacy and skills training programs for inmates of the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC). It was there and then that she realized there were a lot more youth offenders than adult prisoners. The juvenile prisoners were given the same treatment as that of adult prisoners. The FIDA seeing the plight of minors who were mixed together with hardened criminals decided to focus their interventions on youthful offenders to prevent them from being influenced by these felons. They included the boy scouting movement in their set of interventions. The following year, their efforts began to be noticed by local officials who challenged Atty. Valenzona to start a program that will focus on children and the youth from poor families to prevent them from landing in jail. This started the Share A Child Movement which sourced sponsors from the city's more affluent families for educational assistance to bright children from poor families. The organization was formerly incorporated in 1989. Attorney Eufrocina “Nina” G. Valenzona, her daughter, had succeeded as Executive Director in 1990 and is managing the company up to the present.

For the past 15 years (1987-2002), SACMI has helped send more than 3944 needy children to school by serving as a bridge between the city's rich and the poor. In the past, it assists an estimated 914 scholars in elementary, 2751 in high school and 279 in college. From 1993 to 2002 it has produced 769 graduates; 161 graduates from elementary, 554 graduates from high school, 51 graduates from college and 859 graduates in street education.

This school year (2006-2007) SACMI has helped support 121 Preschool students, 31 to Elementary schools, 117 to high school, 19 to College and 3 to vocational schools. SACMI covers the cost of tuition, uniform, books, school projects and provides rice allowance to families of scholars.

The organization has expanded its services to cover child rights advocates, preschool for poor children. And a livelihood program for the parents. It is also involved in a radio program called “Tingog sa Kabataan” where 16 of its scholars served as radio announcer and script writers. Its office has library and computer facilities for the use of children. It has also established mini-libraries in poor barangays and plans to started reading enhancement programs in one of the poorest barangays in the city where a container van housed library were stationed. Projects were funded with the assistance from Terres de Hommes, save the Children-UK, and individual and institutional donors like the Norkis group, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Jaycees, ZONTA, and Rotary club. The Norkis group even pays the salary of one of the social workers who has been with the group since its inception. Other projects like Balay Bata, Family Development, STEP-UP and A&E were recently included. “Balay Bata Centers” for Preschool children were set up in three selected mission areas of Cebu Since 1994, Aus-AID provided the construction and maintenance this project. The “Family Development Program” was introduced in 2004 as a project funded by Inter-AID. “Accreditation and Equivalency Project”, which started in BBRC minor detainees, was reintroduced in 2006 as part of the Alternative Learning System funded by the International Labor Office (ILO) to stop child labor in Cebu , particularly in Mactan and upland areas of Cebu.

SACMI also worked closely with other organizations involve in children's causes. It is an active member of the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children (CCTFSC) and was part of a successful lobby for the creation of separate facilities for jail children. Now, a Children's Detention Center has been constructed in the city and the group has been asked to train jail personnel in handling children's cases. SACMI has also provided leadership training for children in hazardous work situation under “Project Second Chance”, a CCTFSC project.

Scholars assisted by SACMI are continuously encouraged to participate in one or more of the group's projects. These students can choose to work as a child advocates, help in the literacy and Boy Scout program for youths in conflict with the law and/or provide tutorials in English, Math, and Computer Literacy for younger kids on Saturdays. In summer, scholars take part in summer camps with the older children and SACMI graduates serving as house parents and kitchen staff.

Strategies for Children's Participation

Advanced levels of children and youth's participation can be seen in its Child Rights Advocacy Program (CRA) in schools. The program involves the organization and training of student child rights advocates (CRA's) in public high school. Currently, the program is continues to be implemented in 10 schools where SUgboanong Pundok Aron sugpuon ang Child Abuse (SUPACA) Chapters are formed. The DECS (Department of Education Culture and Sports) has provided legitimacy to SUPACA activities with the endorsement by the DECS Division Superintendent of SUPACA program to school principals.

Two of the schools where the SUPACA have been formed are the Abellana National School (ANS) has a membership of 50 students while that of Go Thong National High School (GTNHS) has a membership of 32. About 70% of the members in both schools are females. Each SUPACA has two sets of officers – senior and junior – to facilitate transition when the senior officers graduate from high school. Females are equitably represented in the decision making structure of the organization. The Other SUPACA chapters recently formed included students from Pardo National High School, Florencio Urot Memorial National High School, Carlos Go Thong Memorial National High School, Don Sergio Osmeña National High School, Don Sergio Osmeña Night High School, Vicente Cosido Memorial National High School, Guba National High School, Adlaon National High School, Mambaling Night High School, Don Vicente Rama Memorial Night High School, Zapatera Night High School, City Central Night High School, Abellana Night High School, Regino Night High School, Pasil Night High School, Tiange Night High School, Babag Night High School.

The members in all schools cite the following as their group's objectives: increasing awareness on children's right; and prevention of child abuse by increasing vigilance of students. Their groups' major activity is the conduct of information campaigns on children's rights with particular emphasis on child abuse. School and community awareness on child abuse enhanced through these activities. Aside from these awareness-raising drivers, SUPACA also participate in beautification campaigns and anti-drug abuse education drive.

Nature of Children's Participation

Children participate in the SACMI program in various ways. They strive to raise awareness of the people about child rights, mobilize other children for specific activities, manage their organization and plan their activities, and represent the children sector in regional bodies.

Serve as Child Rights Advocates (CRA's) As CRA's children conduct awareness raising drives consisting primarily of room to room campaigns where CRAs talk about children's right focusing on child abuse. These provide the venues for disclosures by the children. Most of the disclosures are about physical and psychological abuse. CRA's refer the victim to SACMI if the victim wants to file a complain against the abuser. SACMI has assisted in filling a case against an ice cream vendor who allegedly sexually molested a child.

SUPACA also hold symposia on children's right particularly on the month of October and participate in public hearing of proposed legislation affecting the welfare of children. Some members in school are also part of the crew of announcers and scriptwriters of “Tingog sa Kabataan”. Plans are afoot to start work in poor communities in the city.

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