St. Hannibal Empowerment Centre

St. Hannibal Empowerment Center (SHEC) is a religious organization of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus. It is a community of Spirit-led persons which aims to follow Jesus Christ in his union with his Father and in his proclamation of the kingdom of God. It is an inserted community among the squatters. The goal of SHEC is to empower the poor people of Metro Manila, Philippines, through housing, livelihood, education, health, waste management, youth and values formation.

Name:
Location: Pasay City, Metro Manila

Mission: Its mission is to empower the poorest of the poor and catalyze an integral Christian transformation of urban poor communities in collaboration with the local Church by a holistic process that addresses concerns on housing, livelihood, education, health, environment and sanitation, justice and peace, youth formation and values formation. The goals of SHEC consist of assisting in alleviating poverty among urban poor communities in Pasay and other cities in Metro Manila; and building the foundation of community transformation through intensive values formation. Its objectives are, specifically, to facilitate the organization and formation of people’s organization that are self-sufficient and empowered, facilitate the values and spiritual formation and capability building of urban poor leaders, to assist the urban poor / informal settlers of Pasay and other cities in Metro Manila in realizing their dreams of achieving security of tenure through in-city relocation, to facilitate the implementation of economic programs and basic social services in urban poor communities, and to facilitate access to formal education in favor of the poor and deserving students.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Education

In order to help the people to become well-informed and prepared to take what lies ahead in the future, the educational program of St. Hannibal Empowerment Center has made a difference. At this point in time, the poor who have not finished their elementary and high school education are now given the chance to finish them. The project is called Home Study Program. The students study in their own homes. They are just given modules to follow. After some period of time, they are given exams just to see how far they have been. There are a group of volunteers who are assisting them. This program is under the guidance of Angelicum College of the Dominicans. For those who want to take up technical course, they are given the opportunity to enroll. This is also with the help of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Philippines.

Jobs

One of the important elements of empowerment is self-sufficiency. Helping people to find jobs is noteworthy. This facilitates them in their search for a better life that is out of their own sweat. Last November 19, 2005, a job fair was held. This was participated by a group of companies which are willing to help especially the poor. A good number of the applicants was accepted. This event was successful because of the assistance of Caritas Manila, Philippines.