FAEALA welcomes a partnership with Tina Monzon-Palma and Bantay Bata

When Bantay Bata's program director Tina Monzon-Palma contacted Daniel Gumarang earlier this year to explore how the Filipino American Educators Association of Los Angeles (FAEALA) might assist, FAEALA and its members expressed more than interest. Banta Bata 163, is a non-governmental organization created by the Philippine media network ABS-CBN. As a child welfare program, its core mission it to rescue and help abused children. According to Ms. Monson-Palma, she is visiting with a variety of community organizations in the United States to solicit support for her organization's efforts to provide "for a child go to school, and to support a child to be able to eat everyday.” As a professional group of educators, FAEALA may be an untapped resource given its members' skills and knowledge.

During the meeting that included a presentation followed by a two-hour conversation on topics that include the state of Philippine education, teacher professional development and other areas of mutual interest, Ms. Monson-Palma described several instances of child abuse occurring in the Philippines and what Bantay Bata in conjunction with local authorities are doing. According to Ms. Monson-Palma, "the biggest kind of abuse that occurs in the Philippines is neglect. We are experiencing an upward trend in the number of children now being neglected. Not only are their stomachs not fed, their minds are also starving for an education. We are concentrating on feeding and education because the number of neglected, uneducated, and unhealthy children is expected to grow and this cannot be good for the Philippines or any other country."

As the conversation progressed, it became clear that there are specific areas of opportunity for FAEALA members to collaborate with Banta-Bata beyond financial donations. In terms of providing professional development to Philippine service providers for example, Ms. Monson-Palma was elated about the possibilities. "I’m really so pleased that many of you here are experts when it comes to the education of people with special-needs. We have a difficulty looking for special needs teachers and providing the latest training to those we have. I don’t know how I can convince you to go back there...”

This visit and conversations are just the initial steps of what FAEALA hope to be a meaningful and sustained partnership with Ms. Monson-Palma and Bantay Bata.