austraLasia #1967
Laura Vicuña Foundation promotes Filipino Bright Child
MANILA: 26th October 2007 -- For
the past fifteen years the Filipino nation has celebrated and
recognised
Filipino children as the most valuable asset of the nation through the
observance of National Children’s Month. Through the signing of
Proclamation No. 267, the month of October was designated to
commemorate Filipino Children and emphasise the importance of the
role of the child within the Filipino family and within Philippine
society. As a partner NGO of the Council for the Welfare of Children
(CWC), the lead agency for this celebration, and an accredited
organization of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the
Laura Vicuña Foundation spearheaded activities in
relation to this year’s theme dubbed as BRIGHT CHILD:
Karapatan Nasa’yo, Isigaw sa Buong Mundo. (
Let the
world know your rights. ).
On
the afternoon of October 20, 2007, about 400 children and youth from
the LVF Centers in Sta. Mesa, Tondo, Cubao, the LVF Pasay Street Camp
and VIDES kids from Delpan gathered together at the Laura Vicuña
Hall at Don Bosco School Sta. Mesa, Manila, for the National Children’s
Month
Celebration spearheaded by the Laura Vicuña Foundation, Inc.
Through
songs, dances, drama, poetry, arts and literary works, the
children had the whole time of the celebration to assert their
rights, express their views and share their talents.
This huge
event is a culmination of a series of activities organized by the
Laura Vicuña Foundation for the whole month of October to make
the
National Children’s Month celebration meaningful and empowering for
every child being served by LVF. With the full support and cooperation
of the communities of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians (FMA),
LVF was able to actively involve the children in various activities
that deepened their awareness on children’s rights and created a sense
of responsibility to respect, protect, promote and uphold their rights
as well as those of other children.
The grand
showcase of talents last
October 20 speaks so well of how the activities (i.e.
Seminars on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Protective
Behavior Training for Child Abuse Prevention participated in by 800
children; essay writing contest and mural painting contest; and
advocacy thru streamer display) influenced
their line of thinking with the way they conceptualised their
presentations in various forms. The children and youth partners in
LVF-Negros Occidental also gave their very best effort in all the
activities
especially the essay writing contest, bagging the second and third
prizes.
