MANILA, Philippines – For the past 27 years, Childhope Asia has been providing education without borders to street children in Metro Manila. Through their holistic development programs, they have been motivating countless street children to study, work, and move towards a better future.
Now, they are hoping to reach more.
Childhope Asia signed a partnership with Rappler's civic engagement arm MovePH on Wednesday, September 14, to tell stories through Rappler's X platform. They hope these stories will inspire others to act and support their advocacy.
Childhope Asia executive director Herbert Carpio said he is excited with the potential the collaboration presents.
"This partnership with Rappler would enable us to reach not just thousands but also millions who want to be advocates for street children," Carpio added.
Having helped over 10,300 street children in Metro Manila since 1995, Childhope Asia is eager to give the public a glimpse of the lives of the children they assist, as well as the stories of the people behind the organization's success. (READ: From sleeping in slums to a scholarship in Germany)
Carpio expressed relief to finally be presented with a stable platform that would allow such stories to be shared to the public. He explained that some previous efforts went unnoticed. "Sometimes we write a lot of stories but they get filtered by media outlets," he added.
The lack of a reliable open space for discussion also prevents certain stories to be heard – accounts that Carpio believes will "(move) our audience to action, encouraging them to act for the street children that we serve."
As part of the Move Network, Childhope Asia plans to use X as a tool to fulfill its goal of eventually expanding beyond the Philippines and further into Asia.
MovePH executive director Rupert Ambil reiterated the organization's commitment to tell stories that inspire action.
"There are a lot of good and inspiring stories from the work of groups like Childhope Asia and MovePH wants to be the platform to amplify these stories and advocacies. We want these kids to have a platform to tell their own stories," he added.
MovePH will train Childhope Asia in running social media campaigns and storytelling.
Launched in July 2016, Move Network is a community of student organizations and non-governmental organizations that share MovePH's vision to use social media as their platform for advocacy. More than 150 student organizations and 30 NGOs are part of the expanding network. – Rappler.com
Do you want your organization to be part of the Move Network? Send us an e-mail at move.ph@rappler.com.
A student of the Ateneo de Manila University, Michael Valera is a Rappler intern.