Since the start of 2010 to the present, Jun and I are the Ancop Coordinators for our cluster. Ancop is the acronym for ANSwering the Cry Of the Poor and is founded by Couples for Christ to consolidate its local and global efforts in building the Church of the Poor to achieve total Christian liberation. Sounds so high falluting. In simple terms, it means helping to improve the lot of the less fortunate and the marginalized.
Ancop has been around for more than ten years already, it predates Gawad Kalinga, but it was relaunched on December 8, 2010. It has five programs, namely; Education, Livelihood, Community Development, Health and Shelter. For our sector, West C, we have a sixth program, Ancop Learning Center (a pre-school).
What I like about Ancop is its thrust on education. The Child Sponsorship Program (under the Education program) is a child/youth sponsorship by a donor partner. With the CSP, as it is commonly called, a child can realize his dream of a college education and hopefully a better life. To become a donor, he doesn't have to fork out a big chunk of his savings. For a minimum of P11,000/year or P30/day, he makes a lasting imprint on the life of the child.
I believe that the best help one can give to the poor is through education. Knowledge from continued education is something that a child can bring and use as an armor to life's many battles. When a child has a college diploma tucked under his belt, he has better chances of landing a regular job thus breaking the notorious practice of hiring for contractual employment in the country. Can you imagine the kind of future he will have when he has to find another job every five months? Because he is always new in his job, he is perpetually a minimum wage earner living on a hand to mouth existence.
It is my fervent wish that this article will be able to touch your hearts, my dear readers. If I will be able to convince one reader to become a donor, I say that all is not lost on mankind. There is still hope for the poor.
