THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT: A BEACON OF HOPE FOR VICTIMS OF CHILD EXPLOITATION

On the 3rd of March 2023, POWER AdDU kickstarted the essence of International Women's Month with its first-ever faceto-face community engagement among women, entitled The Lighthouse Project at Doña Vicenta Village, Davao City Through its long-term advocacy against child exploitation, it has come together with Talikala, a non-profit organization for social development, to equip and provide young exploited women with sufficient knowledge of their human rights and services. The beneficiaries are from the community of Leon Garcia in Davao City where there is a visible presence of individuals engaged in prostitution of which 20 percent of 6,000 girls are under 18 years old in Davao City

Despite the alarming number of women and girls involved, the awareness and help that is given to them are limited With this, POWER AdDU has come together with volunteers and partnerships for the event to proceed. These partnerships include the Computer Studies Student Executive Council (CSSEC), Social Sciences Student Executive Council (SSEC), and a few socio-civic organizations from AdDU, Bahaghari and Piglas With the leadership of POWER, a symposium was initiated that encouraged a few of the young girls from the community to share their stories and obtain necessary resources, such as knowledge and services, in a safe and empowered environment

Upon the arrival at the venue, preparations were speedily done by the volunteers, which involved the arrangement of the place, donations, prizes for the game, and breakfast for participants and volunteers. Thereafter, the event was officially started by Ms Carina Sajonia, the Program Coordinator of Talikala, through her opening remarks in which she stressed the importance of this event for women's empowerment, and it serves as both an acknowledgment and action towards women who are being exploited She expressed that helping and being a voice for exploited women has been their organization's core purpose and thanked POWER for successfully organizing the event despite the problems encountered

Afterward, Ms. Jeanette Laurel-Ampog, the Executive Director of Talikala and the event's main speaker, talked about adolescent reproductive health, teenage pregnancy prevention, and the services that should be provided to adolescents In the context of human rights for adolescent reproductive health, adolescents have the right to non-discrimination and the right to education and information These rights provide adolescents equal access to adequate health care and services and information about health and family planning where adolescents can decide freely yet responsibly Moreover, she discusses a visual presentation of the female and male reproductive system and the menstruation of the female reproductive tract

“Kailangan naa tay saktong impormasyon aron naay saktong desisyon,” Ms Laurel-Ampog asserted the importance of being knowledgeable in sex education to avoid the consequences of teenage pregnancy F inally, Ms Laurel-Ampog explains the services that should be provided to adolescents, such as information & counseling on adolescent reproductive health, promotion of healthy sexual behaviors, family planning & fertility, provision of contraceptives, testing & counseling for pregnancy and STIs

After the discussion, a few participants shared what they had discovered and their key takeaways The members also organized games and prizes to keep the participants interested and celebrated the birthday of the son of one of the beneficiaries Before the event concluded, the volunteers distributed the donations that were gathered for the participants, including food, hygiene products, and other necessities

Ultimately, Ms Jhoanna Cayanan, President of POWER AdDU, concludes the project with words of appreciation and gratitude towards Talikala, POWER AdDU officers and volunteers, partnerships, and the participants who attended After the event, Ms Rose Quimod, SINAG President and the youngest Talikala member, tackled the origin and objectives of Talikala to the members of POWER AdDU and left words of encouragement to help continue breaking the chains of exploited women Lastly, Talikala presented their documentary video, which focused on the accounts, experiences, and brutal truths of prostitution victims that are needed to be heard, seen, and addressed