Who We Are
Batang Pinangga – is a coined Visayan word
which means Beloved Child.
In the year 1990, poverty incidence of the country was at 34.4 percent for a population of 60.7 Million, or approximately 20.8 Million individuals were wallowing in poverty. In the year 2000, children under 15 years old were at 37.1 percent of the population of 76.3Million.
The situation of the children confirmed the statistical data. During the 90s onwards, street children were becoming highly visible in the urban areas due to urban migration, when the cities were becoming highly industrialized. In the rural communities, the children were not in school instead helped out in earning income for food for the entire family, by working as a farm hand, or as helper in the house, or in a store.
The families of the poor were slowly falling apart, leaving the children very vulnerable. Many children were sexually abused. Many were abandoned and left on their own. Helping these children was urgent.
Thus the concept of Batang Pinangga was born. There must be a place where the children feel safe and cared for.
With the help of donations through contacts in the country the Netherlands, and through the facilitation of the Order of the Dutch Carmelites Philippines, in 1998, a piece of land was acquired and structures were slowly built to soon become the residential homes of the children. In 2001, upon approval of the license with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the first batch of children arrived.