By Diwa Gacosta, World Vision Philippines

The streets of Kamagayan in Cebu City are never dark even in the deepest of nights. The shadows cast by the flickering lights cradle the dark secrets of Kamagayan, a village known to be the oldest red light district in the Philippines.

Prostitution in Kamagayan has been rooted deep with time. Families survive through the selling of the flesh. Buyers come from everywhere, young and old.  Kamagayan has become one of Cebu City’s top tourist attractions, a marketplace for men seeking women for a night. 

The streets of Kamagayan are known to be unsafe for children.  Many children as young as 10 years old work as sex watchers, pimp assistants, and even sex workers themselves. Some are engaged in selling of illegal drugs, primarily because the law does not yet cover them.

Risa*, 17, used to work as a sex watcher or a lookout for possible customers. Her mother is a pimp while her grandmother runs a sex den.  As far as she can remember, prostitution has been their bread and butter. It has been their way of life, like most of the residents of Kamagayan.

“It really hurts when people say that there is no future for me, that I will be just among the many girls in our village that offers sex,” she says.

Risa is among the children assisted by the “Pag-aaral ng Bata para sa Kinabukasan” Initiative, a World Vision-led initiative that combats child labor through education. She considers herself lucky that she has managed not to succumbed to the main trade in the village… that she still has a strong will to say “no” to the sex trade. 

She is not alone. Increasingly, children in this vulnerable community are learning how to raise their voices against the discrimination, exploitation and rights violations they face.
 
In March 2007, children like Risa gathered together to discuss their concerns and take collective action towards their own protection. The gathering, dubbed the “Assembly of Communities,” concluded with an address to representatives from the government and agencies including World Vision.

Participants identified the threats that children face: child labor, drug addiction, street children, child soldiers, domestic abuse and violence, bullying, teenage pregnancies, child combatants and limited educational opportunities.

The children also discussed wider issues in the society that also greatly affect them. Issues ranging from poor public governance and delivery of public services to unemployment, children of overseas contract workers, insurgencies, disaster preparedness, and housing problems.
 
Gender inequality was felt at all ages, with both girls and women often made to feel stupid or powerless.

“Each one of us has a voice that needs to be heard. Young as we are, we cannot stay silent on issues affecting us,” said child leader and World Vision sponsored child, Kim Sonny Mendoza, 15. Her friend Rima, also a sponsored child, added her firm belief that society has a responsibility to care for children.

Participants drafted a statement that underlines the key issues of their respective sectors. The statement will be presented to the Philippine Development Forum (PDF), the primary mechanism of the government for facilitating substantive policy dialogue among stakeholders on the country’s development agenda composed of World Bank and various government agencies. All of them plead for protection, employment and equality.

“There is too much discrimination and there is so little hope in our village because there are not better opportunities. But I will prove them wrong. I will graduate. I want to become a computer engineer,” says Risa.

* name changed 

One of World Vision Philippines' priorities, especially in poor urban communities, is to encourage children to take a role in their own development through rights awareness and participation in decision-making. Through initiatives like child parliaments, Children's Clubs and local government participation, the children are making their voices heard.

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