Pangarap Foundation, Inc.

In 1989, a group of Pasay City housewives with the Ina Anak, Inc., The Ladies of Charity of Pasay, and The Brothers of the Sons of Mary, Health of the Sick started a Drop-In Shelter for street children near Cartimar in Pasay City. Their beneficiaries were the street children around the city and those coming from the reclamation area where The Mall of Asia and other establishments are now. They provided a place for them to have dinner, take a bath, watch TV, sleep, and have breakfast after which they went back outside. They had a housefather and mother to look after them and later a tutor to give them a class before going out. Eventually, they said that they would like to leave the street and be able to go to school. Fortunately, a big ancestral house along Taft Avenue was offered and they called the project Pangarap (Dream). We were elated because if these children can still dream they are alive and with hope. So Pangarap Shelter for street children was born with a Drop-In Shelter and a Residential Shelter which are staffed by Social Workers, House Parents, Teacher, part-time Psychologist and a Consultant Child Psychiatrist with The Brothers. In 1993, the 3 founding groups decided to incorporate Pangarap Foundation, now working with street children, out-of-school youths, their families, and communities. The foundation is registered, licensed, accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Security Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Philippine Council for Non-Government Organizations (PCNC). It is also a center for the training of Social Workers, Psychologists, and for research. Its work has been documented and published here and abroad and recognized with awards.