MANILA, Philippines – Presented with a chance to experience life in the outdoors, former streetchildren who had lived life away from the streets for some time naturally felt daunted at first. To them, the absence of a permanent home easily gives them a feeling of homelessness.
Fortunately, when the Center for Outdoor Recreation and Expedition (C.O.R.E.) engaged with the Visions of Hope Christian School for its very first youth summer camp program to let former street children gain a deeper appreciation of the outdoors, they found that the camping adventure was all worth it.
Held at the CCT Community Center in Magdalena, Laguna, the summer camp program comprised 60 children from Madalena and Puypuy, Laguna. Both communities are supported by the Center for Community Transformation, an organized Christian response against poverty and social injustice.
According to Rlove Rojas, CCT Community partnership development officer, the children under their care were abandoned, orphaned or neglected, if not belonging to street-dwelling families.
“Sila ‘yung mga nakikita nating mga tao sa kalye na walang permanenteng bahay,” Rojas said. “Ang ginagawa namin, kinukupkop namin sila dito. We provide them their basic needs: a home, food, and we also give them education.”
During the summer camp, children aged nine to 17 learned basic camp knowledge from Great Escapes, as well as tent pitching, and demo cooking. They also gathered around bonfire activities as a way of socializing with their peers and with event organizers.
“It was the first time they learned how to pitch a tent,” Rojas said.
Ten-year-old Jumie (not his real name) recounted that he was anxious about spending the night outdoors considering the hardships he encountered when he still lived out in the streets. But during the event, he said he felt safe with his newfound ates and kuyas from Primer Group.
Deng Queddeng, Great Escapes business development officer, said it was refreshing for C.O.R.E. to create such a unique activity for the kids because it enabled them to share the beauty of the outdoors to children who are averse to living life outside of their shelter.
“Malaking privilege at maraming pasasalamat sa C.O.R.E. na mayroong pagkakataon na ganito, para ‘yung expertise namin mabigay namin sa mga bata,” he said.
For U!Happy Event internal vice president Maria Amy Gonzaga, the kids were not the only ones who learned something new during the event. “Lahat kami first timers na nag-camp, and natutuwa kami dahil lahat ng activities ay naging successful,” she said, adding that volunteers and participants had a good time mounting the bonfire activity and being given a chance to come up with a presentation in 30 minutes.
“It was really a great experience,” she added.
According to program manager Kristine Villaflor, the CCT Community is a regular recipient of donations from C.O.R.E. With the “This Side Out” initiative in place, more street children will be able to see the outdoors in a different perspective and embrace it as a way of life.
Villaflor concluded, “We have always wanted to share the outdoor experience not only with adults but also to young children who want to kickstart their adventure. We know that these vulnerable children may not be able to hop on their next outdoor journey if they don’t have the courage to do so because of what they’ve gone through, and this is why we’re here. We want to help them in the best we can, and hopefully we can let them see the outside world as a newfound home.”
C.O.R.E organized This Side Out in partnership with Great Escapes and U!Happy Events. Sponsors include Eddie Bauer Philippines, Brushstroke Creatives, Lagalag, R.O.X. Philippines and JanSport.
Aside from the camping event, C.O.R.E.’s Nature Class Project arranges outdoor immersions and field trips for teachers to give them first-hand knowledge and experience about nature. These include Reef and Bird quests, and also Native Flora Tree Walks. The project won a 2015 Quill Award.
C.O.R.E. also conducts projects that promote environment conservation and betterment.
C.O.R.E. is the advocacy arm of Primer Group of Companies, the company known for the retail and distribution of premium consumer brands in outdoor, urban lifestyle and travel.