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Without food to nourish their bodies, shelters to keep them safe, and family members to teach them the right values, many Filipino street kids grow up to be problems of our society. At an early age, these kids, who are left to roam the dangerous streets of Manila, learn the brutal realities of life.
Sadly, only a few of them are given the opportunity to follow their dreams. In reality, most of these kids turn to drugs or crime as their way of surviving the harsh world.
This is why Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation, a charitable institution dedicated to poor children and abandoned orphans, provides more than the basic needs of the children.
“A human needs to play, to laugh … needs to go to a higher level of living. If we want to train these children completely, we should bring them to the arts,” said Father Rocky Evangelista, founder of the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation.
From the Streets to The Royal Ballet School in London
One of the foundation’s beneficiaries is Edmar Sumera. A former street kid, Edmar is one of the 200 kids given a better chance in life by the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation. Through a scholarship program offered by the foundation, Edmar was able to learn ballet.
He only began taking ballet classes last year at the Academy One Music and Dance Centre, but his hard work and dedication quickly paid off.
The kid, who once wandered in the city, is set to train in The Royal Ballet School in London in a month for a summer scholarship program.
In a report published by David Lozada on Rappler, the young ballet dancer revealed the lessons he learned from dancing.
“Mahirap siya lalo na sa una. Siyempre, marami silang pinapagawa na hindi mo kayang gawin. Siyempre sa ballet, hindi mo maiiwasan na magkamali. Kapag nagkamali ka siyempre mapapagalitan ka. Tsaka sa ballet magkakaroon ka ng discipline na kapag ginawa mo ito kailangan tapusin mo.”
(It’s hard, especially at the start. They ask you to do things you can’t do. In ballet, you can’t help but commit mistakes and you will be scolded if you do something wrong. Ballet instills the value of discipline- that you have to finish something you started. )
Watch Edmar Somero’s story below.
Giving Children A Promising Future
Aside from Edmar, several other youngsters under the foundation’s ballet scholarship program also earned scholarships from other ballet institutions in the Philippines and across the globe.
Academy One Music and Dance Centre owner Cherish Garcia told South China Morning Post:
“When you are a street child, there is only so much you can look for. Something like dance is an equal thing for everyone.”
Featured image credits to South China Morning Post.
