"I've learned a sense of compassion and love towards others here. That's something I'll take back with me not only after ICARE, but forever! I feel I have gained so much."
Quote from a student from the International School after a week at Stairway.


The seeds of concern that we plant in the hearts and the minds of the youth constitute our hope for a more just world of tomorrow. Since the inception of Stairway's programs, the importance of bridging the worlds that lie between the children and youth from the streets of Manila and those far more privileged have been emphasized.

The organization’s programs with Rødkilde Amtsgymnasium in Denmark and that with the International School in Manila and the Cairo American College are of very different nature, but both sum up in an active concern for peers, who in so many respects are far less privileged.

Four programs are currently in place at Stairway to develop young people themselves to be advocates for change.

• TASK (Talented, Ambitious, Street Kids)
• Rødkilde Amtsgymnasium (Denmark)
• I CARE (International School Manila)
• Week Without Walls (Cairo American College)

TASK (Talented, Ambitious, Street Kids)

TASK uses the power of the theatre arts and street culture to reach out to thousands of children at risk. TASK members go directly to the streets, to child-care organizations and into jails to teach their peers about the dangers of substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and child sexual abuse.  They also empower them with knowledge about their rights.

The concept of TASK originated in 1999 with a group of seventeen (17) streetchildren who were a part of a unique  rehabilitation and recovery program that used musical theatre to help bring about changes in attitudes, behaviors, and outlook on life. With the support of professional artists and musicians, they brought their street experience to the international stage with an international tour that reached as far as the United Nations Palais in Geneva, Switzerland.

Members of TASK have also participated in the development of two award-winning animations: Daughter, A Story of Incest and A Good Boy, A Story of Pedophilia, both produced by Stairway. 

Presently, TASK, performs in Stairway’s theatre advocacy piece called Cracked Mirrors, Stories of Child Sexual Abuse.  It is a realistic portrayal of the deep pain and suffering that children endure as a result of sexual abuse.  Cracked Mirrors has played before numerous audiences including teachers, students, law enforcement agents, church groups, and the public in general.  After the performances, TASK engages the audience in a discussion about child sexual abuse.

Alongside working on creative projects under Stairway Foundation, members of TASK also participate in the daily running of the programs in Stairway and are deeply involved with our ongoing workshops about children's rights and child sexual abuse prevention.  Their personal stories help other victims of abuse to overcome their feelings of shame and guilt, which helps them to disclose their own abuses.


Rødkilde Amtsgymnasium (Denmark)

Our longest standing collaboration with any school is that with Rødkilde Amtsgymnasium in Denmark. Since 1994, Stairway has made an annual appearance at the school in the form of presentations/lectures for the whole school and/or addressing the issue of poverty, streetchildren and development in the classrooms. For the same number of years, the entire school population has backed up behind our programs with significant financial support.

On a volunteer basis, all students take out one day every year to do various jobs and services in the local community and the money they raise all go directly into Stairway's programs and activities.

What is remarkable about our collaboration with Rødkilde is not only the millions of pesos they have contributed over the years, but also the fact that there is such a massive support of the project amongst the students. In September 2002, about 98% of the students volunteered for the cause.

With their consistent support Rødkilde can take credit for financing most of the construction at Stairway and the local schools around have also benefited through improved sanitation and installation of electricity.


I CARE
International School in Manila (ISM)

The International School in Manila (ISM) introduced the ICARE week in 1998 in their school. ICARE stands for International Community Actively Responding to their Environment. The idea is to expose their students to the diverse communities and social realities of the Philippines. Over the years, hundreds of students have traveled as far north as Sagada to help preserve the thousand-year old rice terraces, and as far south as Negros Occidental to build day-care centers for children.

Stairway’s ICARE collaboration with ISM started with the presentation of Goldtooth, A Street Children's Musical in 1999. The following year, in 2000, Stairway hosted an ICARE event for the first time, bringing children from diverse backgrounds for a weeklong exposure and interaction. It was a social experiment and a great challenge in our search for new approaches of advocacy in promoting children's rights, and the main objective was to alter perspectives and stereotypes and develop sympathy, solidarity and friendships. It was such a success that it has become an annual even for both ISM and Stairway.


Week Without Walls: From Egypt to the Philippines
Cairo American College

In February 2005, a group of 20 high school students from the Middle East, Europe and America visited Stairway for a week as part of the Cairo American College’s Week Without Walls program. The purpose was to build bridges and create mutual understanding and respect between youth from very different social and cultural backgrounds.

When kids meet on common ground, the magic soon starts to work: The initial shyness and embarrassment fades away, and is replaced by joking, laughing, playing and even friendship. For the Stairway kids, meeting more privileged youth from other countries is an opportunity to learn other ways, share dreams and realize, that people are just people no matter their position in life.

For the Cairo kids, the view into a very different life is a forming experience that will promote better understanding and concern for the unprivileged street children both in the Philippines and in their own countries.

Both groups experienced that behind every face is a person with dreams and aspirations, and that an open mind and simple friendliness can build bridges over social, economic and cultural divides.

Due to the security concerns in the country, however, the Week Without Walls activity has not been held at Stairway since 2007.