How to Fix a House with Candy

Rosa is a widow with 5 children who lives in the slums of Old Balara, just outside of Manila. She worked as a laundress and but just barely made enough to survive.  The corrugated metal roof of her house leaked when the monsoon rains came and she often missed work to care for her children who were constantly sick because of the house conditions.  Her toilet was almost unusable, the paint around her house was peeling, and she had no time or money to organize her household goods.  She was careful with the money she had and refused to go into debt, but there was just so little.

One day, there was a knock at her door.  She was surprised to see a group of 14 children, about 8 or 9 years old.  “Hello.  We are the 3rd grade class from OBSCC.  We want to help you!”  Rosa didn’t quite believe what she was hearing, or understand how 8-year-old children could help, but she smiled and listened.   The children explained that they had been learning about caring for widows and orphans.  When they asked their parents if they knew any widows, Rosa’s name came up as someone who always worked hard and did her best to care for her children.  The class decided they wanted to help her.  Rosa agreed, although a bit bemused by the whole situation.

That weekend, some of the student’s parents came over to survey what needed to be done.  The decided that a new metal roof, some paint, a few plastic shelves, and a new toilet would give Rosa’s home new life.  They went to the local hardware store to get prices for all the items needed.  The children’s eyes popped when they saw how much it would cost: $30.  It seemed like an enormous sum.

These children weren’t from a wealthy prep school doing a community service project.  They were also from the squatter community – Rosa’s neighbors.  They children attended OBSCC, a school started in their slum with an audacious goal: to help the children think differently.

And the children did!  They went home and emptied the coins in their piggy-banks.  They didn’t have much, not nearly enough.  But it was capital.  And they knew what to do with it.  They went out and purchased candy, trinkets, and food, marked up the prices, and sold them for a profit.  They still didn’t have enough, so they did it again until they had $30.

With the help of skilled parents and friends, the children worked to fix Rosa’s house.  They painted it a bright white and blue.  They replaced the roof with new metal that wouldn’t leak when the heavy rains came.  They installed a new toilet and cleaned the two rooms that where Rosa’s family of 6 lived.  The kids were proud of their work, both because they were helping their neighbor in need and because they had found a way to raise the money through successful business practices.

The problem solving and business skills are a core part of the curriculum at OBCCS.  The school was started in 1987 by Rene and Anji Resurrection, who lived in the city close by the slums.  They saw that education offered by the public schools just taught the children how to memorize.  It didn’t teach them how to think.  Poverty can seem like an overwhelming problem, one that governments, non-profit organizations, and social projects have failed to solve.  But if they could teach children how to think differently, they’ll find their own solutions.  They just needed the tools.

OBSCC has a long history of creating a new narrative for their children, by empowering them with business skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.  At every age, they teach business basics, like accounting, profit and loss, capital, investment, marketing, selling, and customer service.  They learn leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.  By the time they graduate, many of the students already have their own microbusinesses that can help support their future.

More importantly, they teach the kids that they can make a difference.  They learn to take what they have, assess what they need, and plan how to accomplish their goal.  They learn to collaborate with others, work with the community, and always act with honesty and integrity.

Every year, each class at OBSCC identifies a huge problem to solve.  One year, the students wanted a solution for the floods that come through their neighborhood every monsoon season.  They invited in engineers and designers to train the students how to design boats from reused materials available in the area.  Another year, they decided they didn’t like their houses very much, so the students designed their own model houses.  They brought in architects to talk about balance, structure, and elements of style.  They helped the students identify why their model stairways collapsed or when bearing walls weren’t positioned correctly.  Each big project teaches kids with problems that are relevant to their life, giving them the vocabulary, training, and integrated curriculum to learn while building their own solutions.

Every class talks about environmental stewardship.  Litter is a huge problem all over the country, and it’s especially noticeable in slum communities that are commonly built on old dump sites.  Many years ago, Anji went to Australia and while hiking, noticed there was no trash on the trail.  Hikers picked up after themselves. She immediately thought, “We need to teach this to our kids!”  The classes collect non-biodegradable trash in old pop bottles.  These can either be taken to recyclers, or be used as “Eco-Bricks” – the base for houses, chairs, or other projects that can reuse the sturdy bottles and keep the trash contained and out of the ocean.  When Anji talks to students years later, she says the one big change they notice from their time at OBSCC is that they can’t litter anymore – they always find a garbage can!

OBSCC is bringing hope by changing the story in these kids lives.  The school teaches that no problem is too big to solve.  With enough creativity, there’s always a way forward.

OBSCC is facing its own big problem right now.  The squatter slum they serve is being dispersed by a new highway that split the community.  Many families have moved as new commercial construction is beginning in the area.  Rents have skyrocketed, reflecting the increased values of a high-traffic location.  And the government is becoming much stricter on building codes for schools, even those serving the poorest communities, primarily supported through donations.

The school has purchased property about 30 minutes outside of town, in an area where many of their families have moved.  They have plans to build a K-12 school that can hold 400 students, with modern science equipment, libraries, computer labs, and bright, well-ventilated classrooms. They don’t have money for construction yet, and they are on a tight deadline to begin building so their kids won’t miss classes.

The property for the new school is on a hill, and the view from the top makes it seem like anything is possible.  And for these kids, it will be.

If you would like to donate to help OBCSS build a new school building for underprivileged kids, you can do so here.