“Bantay Bata” came to Essen

Tina Monzon-Palma is presently roaming around Europe to present Bantay Bata (Child Watch) to Filipinos working abroad. Last December 9, she came to Essen and had the chance to meet her kababayans (countrymen) here.

Bantay Bata is now on its 11th year. It has grown from a Manila-based hotline and rescue center into a National Call Center with regional offices in Bicol, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga and within the year, possibly Pangasinan, Bacolod and Sarangani. Bantay Bata has a Children’s Village in Norzagaray, Bulacan and a Children’s Home in Davao. It plans to transfer the Children’s Home from Iloilo to Bacolod. This is where it shelters and cares for the children until they can be reintegrated with their families or find new homes for them. Bantay Bata has a preventive role, continuing to conduct outreach and advocacy seminars among the different communities in the country with special attention to parents, school principals and teachers. Its program and services have expanded into a growing Bantay Edukasyon scholarship program and more recently, it has also launched a Feeding Program among the poorest of the poor. It is in the Bantay Eduk and Feeding Programs that it most seeks assistance.

Bantay Bata has the following sites scheduled for this year: Bicol (Anislag and Bacacay in Albay and Nabua, Camarines Sur), Manila (Navotas, Taguig, Quezon City), Pangasinan (Dagupan), Mindoro. To date, Bantay Bata has 271 scholars.

FCC Choir sings and sings!

During this season, the Filipino Choir from the Diocese of Essen has more than enough invitations to perform. Because of this, the choir members are temporarily divided into two groups. Just to note some: last December 3, they rendered several Advent and Christmas songs to the patients in the different wards of the Ruhrlandklinik hospital; they sang again during the Christmas party of the employees and workers in Kamillushaus; they are scheduled to sing on December 14 during the Christmas party in Ruhrlandklinik; and they are invited to sing at almost all scheduled Christmas parties of the different Filipino organizations in this area.

Church Forum appeals for “Illegal” Migrants

The Catholic Forum on “Illegal” Migrants (Katholischer Forum Illegalität) appealed for humanitarian support for undocumented migrants and refugees during a conference of Caritas Berlin attended by Church representatives from various parts of Germany. Priests, religious and lay people reiterated their concern for the sad plight of foreigners, asylum-seekers and refugees in Germany. Represented during the biennial meeting were people from Sri Lanka, Iraq, Spanish-speaking groups from Spain and Latin America, Kosovo and the Philippines.

There are hundreds and thousands of foreigners who have come to Germany and other countries legally and illegally in search of greener pastures. In their social anonymity and hidden identity, they are often called illegal migrants, undocumented persons or in Tagalog, TNT (tago ng tago). There are approximately 650,000 to 1.5 million of them in Germany and more than 30 million worldwide!