MEDICAL SERVICE & FEEDING PROGRAMME IN BAMBOO VILLAGE, TUKTUKAN

NEW Project in 2012

Bamboo Village is inhabited by about 150 families considered as informal settlers. During the rainy season, this region regularly floods and many children have been swept away by flood water. And in areas where water does not recede, the water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

These families, who have been residing in the area for 20 years, have an average of four children whose fathers are either working as scavengers/collectors of rubbish which they sell on, or as site construction workers. Most of these children are malnourished, dishevelled and suffering from dangerous diseases due to the unsanitary conditions that exist – their houses rarely have toilets and no power. These factors contribute to these children growing up in a cycle of deprivation.

This new-build project, will provide a much-needed Medical Care Service and Feeding Programme that will improve the physical conditions and quality of life, together with improving the health and life expectancy, of up to 600 children annually (aged 1-10). This project will enable every child to have access to a free medical consultation every six months, who will assess their medical needs and help to improve the child’s physical well-being. The Feeding Programme will provide children with nutritious hot meals on a daily basis, along with vitamin supplements and weight monitoring.

EDUCATION CENTRE & HEALTH CLINIC, MINDORO

Last supported in 2009

In 2008, CRY was able to obtain a grant for the building of an education centre and health clinic in partnership with 'Ministries Without Borders'. This building was successfully completed in the middle of 2008 and has subsequently been reaching out to the local community, bringing much needed relief and support.

The local Mangyan and Tagalog communities are extremely poor and generally excluded from government provisions - socially, medically and educationally. Schools are distant, difficult to travel to, and people are often too poor to afford required books, uniforms etc. This especially affects the 5-9 year-olds, but also few opportunities exist for young people, and adult illiteracy is high. Mandatory fees for hospital treatment are prohibitive, the nearest hospital being 34km distant, as are the services of professional midwives. The need for basic health checks and treatment is huge.
 
The new centre is already impacting on the lives of these people.