Sunset Resort on Oriental Mindoro island is what you would expect of a luxury beach side resort with a price tag to match. While there I had met a few people who told me about a charity across the road called Stairway Foundation which works with street children from Manila. The staff of the hotel and the staff at the dive centre spoke very highly of the work done by the foundation and there was even a guest at the hotel who had come from Canada to the centre. 
They all said that I should walk across the road and have a look. Overcoming my nature resistance to just turning up somewhere with no prior warning. However, having worked with young people in various capacities all my life I was curious enough to walk through the gates. I was indeed welcomed and shown around the by the founders, Lars from Denmark and American Monica. There were a handful of smiley Philippino children resident at the centre and a similar number of Danish high school students who had raised money and had then come to help out.
Art therapy, drama, woodwork, formal lessons and other help is on the menu for all the children who are at the centre for around a year. 
It’s a pity there is only room for 12-16 boys because there are so many street children in Manila but after 25 years, Lars and Monica have built the foundation into an important part of solution to the problem. What must it be like to stay for a year on a beautiful island, a world away from a desperate life on the streets of Manila.
Training is a large part of what the foundation does and they are planning to move their face-to-face programme into a series of online courses available to anyone across the world. Unfortunately the staff do not have the technical know-how to do this but fortunately I do, and after delaying my moving on, by staying a night at the centre, I left with a voluntary job! Who wold have thought that not even a week into my journey I had already committed, with the help of another volunteer, Magnus from Sweden, to putting their courses online. 
At least it will give me an excuse to return to the Philippines again.
Stairway Foundation is a great organisation and deserve help and funding.