“We work through a network of volunteers in the UK and the Philippines to keep our administration costs down to an absolute minimum. Balay does not employ any paid staff.”
About Us
BALAY is a charity run solely by volunteers for the benefit of children in the Philippines.
The charity operates with almost zero administration of management costs, as all trustees, and volunteers give their time and personal expenses free of charge. This means that every donation made, no matter how small, really does make a difference to children’s lives as each donation goes directly into child support programs.
After initially operating as a foundation established in the Philippines, BALAY is now registered in the UK as a grant-making charity raising funds worldwide to support programs delivered by non-profit organisations based in the Philippines.
Our History
In 1993, in Bacolod City, Philippines, one of our Filipino founding members held a hastily arranged afternoon party to celebrate Christmas with around 20 street children for whom Christmas, as most of us know it, did not exist. That simple act of handing out food and playing a few games brought smiles and happiness to those young faces. Since that first year, an ever-growing band of volunteers and donors has held a Christmas event for disadvantaged children each year. From this small humble beginning an informal group grew and widened their support to poor communities and people through a number of programs, including funding children’s education, supporting parents, financing a daycare centre and providing learning resources. , . :
Our first ever Christmas for street children in 1993 started an annual tradition in Bacolod City which continues to this day
Our Guiding Principle
Our guiding principle has always been to help those individuals and communities who really wanted to help themselves, but who did not have the means to achieve this. There are many people in the Philippines who just need a helping hand to improve their lives and break out of the endless poverty cycle. Therefore, our focus has always been on providing families or individuals with the right tools and understanding to care of themselves, rather than just providing hand-outs. A key focus for us is providing full-time education for children so they may find meaningful work and independence in adulthood.
Our Evolution
Based on the success of the foundation established in the Philippines and our growing network of international supporters, we recently switched to a registered charity in the UK instead of through the Balay Dalangpan sg Kabataan Foundation in the Philippines. Nothing much has changed – we are still supporting disadvantaged children in the Philippines, but rather than operate programs ourselves we’ve found that we can have more impact if we focus on raising funds globally. We can then make grants to charities and NGOs on the ground who are working to support disadvantaged Filipino children. It was agreed to establish a parallel entity outside the Philippines to expand our reach and strengthen our relationship with our many international donors. Hence the new charity name BALAY, and the logo change.
With our experience in the Philippines, BALAY knows the child support sector in and around Bacolod very well. We have been members of the regional social development NGO network, ABSNET, and have attended various local conferences such as those organised by the ‘Break the Silence Network’ managed by the Stairway Foundation. We have also worked in partnership with local NGOs to deliver our educational support program, and we have an existing network of local supporters and volunteers.
BALAY, which is a separate entity and is not linked to Balay Dalangpan sg Kabataan in the Philippines, will not provide any services directly in the Philippines. All services will be provided by other NGOs based in the Philippines which we will support through grants.
Balay will enter into formal Grant Agreements with all beneficiary organisations. See Grant Making Policy.