Partnership with Balay Silonganan - House of Shelter, Butuan City, Philippines

Street children are one of the most visible and ever present problems in cities and urban areas in the Philippines. Butuan city is not an exception. Children are the most vulnerable and easily influenced sector of our community. They are at a stage in their lives where their future as members of society is formed. They need love, guidance, understanding, food, clothing and a roof over their heads - things that are not found on the street. Children need a homelike environment, education, healthcare and a chance to create their future as productive and law abiding members of the community of humanity.

That is why Balay Silonganan Home for Street Children, Inc. came to be. As a home for abandoned and homeless children, it caters to male children 3 to 12 years of age. It was established in 1995 by The Rotary Club of Butuan, is led by Dr. Claudio (Dick) Estacio, and operated by the Missionary Sisters of our Lady of Fatima.

Balay Silonganan (which is Filipino for Home of Shelter) is registered with the Security and Exchange Commission as a non-stock, nonprofit organization and is accredited as a temporary shelter for homeless children by the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines. It is likewise accredited by the Social Welfare Dept. of the City of Butuan.

Balay Silonganan accepts children referred to it from Butuan City and the entire Caraga Region, and provides them with food, clothing, healthcare, shelter, love, and education. At present it has twenty-five children under its care. Humanility partners with Balay Silonganan helping to sponsor the children.

*All donations are tax-deductible. 

Children on the street are those who are still in contact with their families, but due to abuse at home, parents who do not protect and provide for them, or poverty, they beg or work on the streets to help their families survive.

Children of the street actually live on the street, outside of a normal family environment. Many have been abandoned, and others have run away from home, often in response to psychological, physical or sexual abuse.

Most of the street children of the world lose contact with school and other societal institutions, and many become victims of human trafficking, syndicate control, commercial sexual exploitation, drug abuse, and crime.

Poverty, natural disasters, war and political unrest, domestic violence and breakdown of families, sexual, physical or emotional abuse, substance abuse and human trafficking are all causes of this worldwide street children epidemic. The three-fold solution of emancipation, education, and empowerment of these children begins with you.