NPAW 2020 Highlights The Importance of Play amidst Pandemic

In the face of global pandemic and natural disasters, our daily lives have been put to a standstill and many children have lost access to play. Because of this, a huge part of children’s activity, creativity and learning have come to a pause affecting their holistic development and overall wellbeing.

Moreover, some have placed play within the limiting context of “laru-laro lang”. With this, play advocates continuously address the misleading notion and provide the right perspective that play should be given priority as it is considered one of the basic rights of children as stated in Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Supporting the promotion on the right to play, the Philippine Play Coalition (PPC), a network of organizations which Unilab Foundation, Council for the Welfare of Children, World Vision Philippines, Unang Hakbang Foundation, Kythe Foundation, Tukod Foundation and Educo Philippines are actively involved in, has been working to ensure that every child will not miss their experience of play even amidst the time of pandemic. Amplifying this great cause, the National Play Advocacy Week 2020 was celebrated last November 16 to 22, 2020. The celebration successfully reached over 10,000 children via offline and online platforms, 300,000 Filipinos through online platforms and engaged 150 partners to participate and conduct play activities. The Local Government of Iloilo City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Zamboanga City also showed their strong support and eagerly participated in the celebration.

This 2021, Unilab Foundation is continuously strengthening its play advocacy under its program, Bayanihan for WellBeing (BWB), through the distribution of Resiliency Play Bags. These play bags aim to spark hope, harness creativity, and develop resilience and coping skills among Filipino children, who were not only strained by the presence of the coronavirus outbreak, but were also victims of the recent calamities that struck our nation in the previous year.

A Bayanihan for WellBeing Resiliency Play Bag is composed of the following:

1. Toys like sipa and kickball, which are intended to help children release tension.

2. Cape and mask which they could design, allowing them to identify their strengths and make them feel like Superheroes.

3. Writing and coloring sheets to encourage their creativity and help them express their emotions. As little as Php250 / $5.00 will help warm the heart of a child and build his/her resilience.

Donation can be done via bank deposit through the Bank of Philippine Islands:

Account Name: Unilab Foundation, Inc.

Account Number: 0181-0489-72 Branch:

BPI, Mandaluyong Swift Code: BOPIPHM

or via PayPal at healthierPH@unilabfoundation.org

Finally, a screenshot of your donation transaction needs to be sent to headsup@unilabfoundation.org.


Visit the Bayanihan for WellBeing Facebook page to support this worthy cause and share the initiative with your loved ones, friends and colleagues.

Let’s continue to make play happen this year. Let us nurture resilience and withstand change through the power of play!

Emirates Airline Foundation spotlights work in improving the welfare of children around the world

 

World Children’s Day is a day for children celebrated every 20th of November. And this year marks 66 years from the time United Nations established the Universal Children’s Day.

Emirates Airline Foundation and its NGO partners share their hopes for improving the welfare of disadvantaged children around the world, and speak on projects that provide children with safe shelter, basic necessities such as food and medical services, and access to opportunities through education and skills training.

Tim Clark, Emirates Airline President and Chairman of the Emirates Airline Foundation said: “In the 18 years since its establishment, the Foundation has been helping to channel the generous donations of our passengers and employees towards projects focused on improving the welfare of children in need.

The Foundation currently supports 19 projects in 12 countries around the world, and we would love to do more. Children are our world’s collective hope for the future, and they deserve every dignity and opportunity.”

A number of projects supported by the Foundation include: the Virlanie Foundation in the Philippines which helps provide housing and protection for 42 marginalized children; the Little Prince Nursery and School in Kenya which provides nursery and primary education for over 400 underprivileged children from the Kibera slums; and the Italian NGO Emergenza Sorrisi which sent medical volunteers to perform life changing plastic surgeries for over 100 children last year. In South Africa, Singakwenza, which works to build sustainable early childhood programs in economically disadvantaged communities, trained over 1,400 parents, caregivers, and educators last year; and in India, IMMPACT provides education through community-based learning centers to 3,000 girls each year who come from underprivileged families mostly in rural areas that have little or no access to schools.

The Emirates Airline Foundation is a non-profit charity organization made up of volunteer employees and friends of the Emirates Group, and managed under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saaed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

The Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for children, regardless of geographical, political, or religious boundaries by partnering with NGOs and community groups. Projects supported by the Foundation are located primarily at Emirates’ destinations, where the airline’s employee volunteers can participate and oversee their management.

Visit: www.emiratesairlinefoundation.org for more information on the Foundation and its projects.

Advertising industry partners with DOH on having a healthy world for children

PANA President, Ms.Blen Fernando expressed the commitment of PANA together with other advertising industry partners in helping DOH to provide a healthy environment for kids last November 20,2013 at the “Working Towards a Healthy World For Children” forum.

The Ad Standards Council and Ad Foundation organized the forum in partnership with the Department of Health.