EVERY CHILD IS A DREAMER

My Dream in a Shoebox reaches out to children of Quezon Province

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is one of the most common questions asked of children by adults. It is a fun question, which kids answer with wide-eyed hopefulness that we don’t see every day. The future is wide open for them and they could be anything that they want to be—and this should be true for all children from all walks of life.

And this dream of the future is what My Dream in a Shoebox (MDIAS) wants to open up for all children, especially those who are underprivileged. MDIAS’s mission is to provide children with school supplies and inspire them to dream and reach for a brighter future. This annual education campaign, which started in 2009 with only 200 boxes, has now grown to give away over 338,000 shoeboxes and has expanded to providing educational assistance to children in poverty-stricken communities all over the Philippines.

But MDIAS doesn’t stop there. Through partnerships with organizations that share the same vision, it has started to hold outreach programs and workshops with its beneficiaries. One such event was held in mid-October, with the Payatas Orione Foundation Inc’s (PAOFI) scholars of Talao-Talao in Lucena City, Quezon Province for an improvisation workshop with Third World Improv member and the chief learning officer of B&V People Business Co., Vina Vidal Vicente.

No dream is too small
That Saturday afternoon’s improv workshop gathered 30 students from Talao-Talao and Dalahican public schools at the San Roque Chapel in Lucena City, including 10 MDIAS scholars. There, the children played games and shared what they wanted to be when they grew up during the dream mapping session.

Afterward, Vina led them through the improvisation workshop.

Through different games and activities, Vina reinforced the idea that dreams could come true, and they do come true if people put in the work. She also encouraged children to let their imaginations soar and not to put other kids’ dreams down. “No dream is too big, no dream is too small,” she tells them. “You can be whatever you want to be as long as you do it excellently.”

At the workshop, most of the children shared that they wanted to be teachers, engineers, policemen, and soldiers.

From the inside out
It can happen that children give up their dreams to survive from day to day. One out of 10 Filipinos from six to 24 years old give up school to work and earn money to help their families, for example. At the face of poverty, dreams are often put on hold and eventually forgotten.

The children of Talao-Talao and Dalahican come from low-income families. Most of their parents earn their livelihood from the sea. Through the assistance of PAOFI and MDIAS, they are able to stay and be equipped to go to school to work toward a brighter future.

While children still have the capacity and desire to dream of a brighter future for themselves and their families, it’s important for adults to encourage them.

“I’m a big advocate of creating memories and encouragement from the inside out. As kids, we depended on other people to motivate us, and if we didn’t see what that looked like, if we didn’t see how that happened, then we wouldn’t do that for ourselves as adults,” says Vina. “It’s important to show what motivation looks like so they would learn how to do it for themselves, and eventually for their kids, as well.”

Help bring the dreamers back
Bringing the dreamers back is the mission of My Dream in a Shoebox. It supports less-fortunate Filipino children so they could stay in school to continue to dream and reach for a brighter future. On its 11th year, MDIAS dares to dream bigger and aims to support 200 more scholars and give 75,000 more shoeboxes to kids nationwide. Each shoebox is not just a gift of school supplies, it is a tangible encouragement and assurance that somebody believes in them. A donation of ₱3,000 per child goes to providing for their uniform, school supplies, and allowance for a school year, and it’s also an investment in a life of promise and potential.

Like Vina from Third World Improv and Payatas Orione Foundation, Inc., more organizations have also joined in My Dream in a Shoebox’s mission. Yellow Boat of Hope, Loc & Stor, and National Book Store Foundation have partnered with MDIAS for its many initiatives. MDIAS is open to more individuals and corporate partners to join them in giving more underprivileged children the gift of dreaming and to help in making them come true.

Source: Manila Bulletin