NGO run by French Jesuit priest gives at-risk youth education and work
NGO gives young offenders a second chance
Roger Candela serves up fish balls with his homemade sauce in Quezon City (Photo by John Francis Lagman)
- John Francis Lagman, Quezon City
- Philippines
- June 6, 2012
Roger Candela, 19, wakes up early every morning, heads to the market in Manila's Quezon City and then prepares a special sauce which he sells as an accompaniment to fish balls from his mobile food cart in Siena district.
Just over a year ago, his early morning routine was markedly different. Arrested at 17 for theft, Candela was sent to the Molave Youth Home, a young offenders’ facility in Quezon City.
“Nothing is fun in detention. Life is hard there,” Candela says.
After seven months at the facility, Candela qualified for a "diversion" program and was committed to a youth home run by the Educational Research and Development Assistance (ERDA) Foundation.
He says ERDA helped him turn things around. With the foundation’s help, Candela's case was dismissed on March 7 last year.
“I thought no one else would trust in me again,” he says.
The ERDA Foundation was set up in 1974 after Father Pierre Tritz, a French Jesuit priest, read a study that broke down just how bad the dropout problem was among released young offenders in the Philippines. Addressing the problem became Fr Tritz’s passion for life, he says.
“To allow a child to go to school is to give him hope,” he says. “The best thing you can do for a child is to educate him. Once educated, he can find a job and get out of poverty.”
The ERDA currently provides educational assistance to some 22,000 poor children operating nationwide with links to over 150 organizations. With the support of local and foreign donors, the non-governmental organization has helped about 400,000 children over the past 38 years.
Children like Candela in conflict with the law are enrolled in the education department's Alternative Learning System and are taught life skills.
Although Candela did not finish primary school, he now knows how to make a business plan, do market research, manage a budget and keep accounts.
"Now I realize that I can be independent and productive," he says.
The ERDA’s Livelihood Entrepreneurship Education program gave Candela skills and material support to help set up his street food business.
He earns at least 800 pesos (US$18) every day, part of which covers the cost of capital and paying back a loan he received to set up the business.
Candela says he hopes to expand to three food carts in the future and be reunited with his family in Leyte province.
But his new business is not just about selling fish balls. He also promotes children’s rights by giving away leaflets and stickers.
“Fish balls for you, a future for youth,” reads a slogan on his colorful food cart.
Just over a year ago, his early morning routine was markedly different. Arrested at 17 for theft, Candela was sent to the Molave Youth Home, a young offenders’ facility in Quezon City.
“Nothing is fun in detention. Life is hard there,” Candela says.
After seven months at the facility, Candela qualified for a "diversion" program and was committed to a youth home run by the Educational Research and Development Assistance (ERDA) Foundation.
He says ERDA helped him turn things around. With the foundation’s help, Candela's case was dismissed on March 7 last year.
“I thought no one else would trust in me again,” he says.
The ERDA Foundation was set up in 1974 after Father Pierre Tritz, a French Jesuit priest, read a study that broke down just how bad the dropout problem was among released young offenders in the Philippines. Addressing the problem became Fr Tritz’s passion for life, he says.
“To allow a child to go to school is to give him hope,” he says. “The best thing you can do for a child is to educate him. Once educated, he can find a job and get out of poverty.”
The ERDA currently provides educational assistance to some 22,000 poor children operating nationwide with links to over 150 organizations. With the support of local and foreign donors, the non-governmental organization has helped about 400,000 children over the past 38 years.
Children like Candela in conflict with the law are enrolled in the education department's Alternative Learning System and are taught life skills.
Although Candela did not finish primary school, he now knows how to make a business plan, do market research, manage a budget and keep accounts.
"Now I realize that I can be independent and productive," he says.
The ERDA’s Livelihood Entrepreneurship Education program gave Candela skills and material support to help set up his street food business.
He earns at least 800 pesos (US$18) every day, part of which covers the cost of capital and paying back a loan he received to set up the business.
Candela says he hopes to expand to three food carts in the future and be reunited with his family in Leyte province.
But his new business is not just about selling fish balls. He also promotes children’s rights by giving away leaflets and stickers.
“Fish balls for you, a future for youth,” reads a slogan on his colorful food cart.
