NPO DAREDEMO HERO
The Reality of the Poor Left Behind the Philippine Economic Growth The Philippine Statistics Authority announced that real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2022 was 8.3% year-on-year, returning to pre-corona growth. On the other hand, we must not forget the existence of the poor who have been left behind by economic growth.
DAREDEMO HERO, an NPO active in Cebu, reports on the current situation of the local poor, aiming to solve the fundamental problem of poverty in the Philippines.
Food called Pug Pug (Alice)
DAREDEMO HERO, which mainly supports education, is currently working on a project to improve nutrition for the poor. The trigger for this was the meals of the people living in the garbage mountain, one of the support districts. People who work under the scorching sun all day covered in garbage. However, this job doesn’t even allow him to buy his family’s meals for the day, so he re-cooks leftover food he finds in the garbage.
[Image 1
People looking for food leftovers
Work as a scavenger
At the Inayawan final disposal site, one of DAREDEMO HERO’s support districts, there are people called “scavengers” who make a living by looking for salable items from garbage. Their income is about 500 pesos (about 1,200 yen) a week, but even so, there is no way to earn income other than scavenging garbage here, so they can’t leave here. With this limited income, I have to support my large family. As a result, even small children have to scrounge through the garbage heaps where excavators come and go, and even hop on trucks to find something that can still be sold.
[Image 2
Children picking up garbage on a truck
What we can do as international cooperation
Among the children supported by DAREDEMO HERO, there are children who grew up eating Alice from an early age.
For them, Alice is their daily food. They have no choice but to eat Alice. Children who have grown up eating such a diet have poor nutritional balance, so their physical strength is low, and they are more likely to contract diseases such as infectious diseases. No matter how hard I try to study for my dream, my body won’t allow me to do my best.
“Don’t let children eat things like Alice, but let them eat
well-balanced meals!”
Even if I said to the guardians, it’s not like they like it and let their children eat Alice. The only way to keep the children from starving is to feed Alice.
Providing food for them is also important. However, support groups cannot continue to provide meals for the rest of their lives. Instead of simply denying the current situation and imposing a feasible ideal, we have no choice but to work with the local people to find feasible and sustainable improvement measures that suit the current situation.
For that reason, DAREDEMO HERO is subsidized by the Ajinomoto Foundation, conducts thorough interviews and diet surveys, and conducts activities so that they can eat as hygienic and healthy meals as possible on their own.
[Video 2: https://prtimes.jp/api/movieim.php?url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8rifEJGVTw]
Fostering “future leaders” who will solve social problems from the poor NPO DAREDEMO HERO
◎Organization website
https://daredemohero.com/
◎The latest information on local activities can be found on Facebook and Instagram!
https://www.facebook.com/DaredemoHero2013
https://www.instagram.com/daredemohero/
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000004.000107819.html