This is Mary Joy, who is from Tabaco, Philippines. She'll be 13 years old next month and is not in school at this time. I sent an inquiry to CI asking what I could do to help get Mary Joy back in school. I received a lengthy reply.
Basically, Mary Joy is not in school at this time because her parents cannot afford to send her and all her siblings to school at the same time. Her older brother Ryan is a first year college student, and her parents are concentrating on his studies so he may finish college and then help his younger siblings and the rest of his family.
The family's only income comes from Mary Joy's father, who is a cock cord maker. Okay, STOP. Let me explain. Cockfighting is legal in the Philippines. A cock cord is a cord or string that is used to hold or restrain or guide the roosters. At the present time Mary Joy helps her father make these cords, and she helps him sell them at the cockfights.
According to Mary Joy, if possible, she will continue her studies next school year (June 2011-March 2012). She will be in first year of high school. However, this will only be possible if the family's economic status improves OR if I make a Special Needs Gift. CI breaks down the costs for me:
Transportation allowance: $10/month for 10 months: $100.00
Food allowance: $18.40/month for 10 months: $184.00
School uniform: $35.00
School fees: $50.00
Contingency fee (10%): $36.90
TOTAL: $405.90
If I can do this, and I'm pretty sure that I can, I will be overjoyed. Education is my priority when it comes to my sponsored children. If they're not able to attend school when I first start sponsoring them, it's my goal to make it possible for each and every one of them to begin or return to school.
I'll also be extremely happy to get Mary Joy into high school and away from the cockfights. Now, being from the US, I've never seen a cockfight, I've never been to a cockfight, I don't know much about cockfights outside of what I've read about in books and online. But I sure know that I don't like cockfighting. I think it's cruel and wrong and that it shouldn't be done, and I am less than thrilled that Mary Joy is spending time in that kind of setting.
BUT I also know that it's really easy for me to sit here, all American and middle class and comfortable, and condemn something that provides a livelihood for Mary Joy's family. Do I wish the family made their living in a different way? Definitely. Would I prefer Mary Joy stay away from the cockfights in general, since I doubt it's a great environment for a 12-year-old? Hell yes. Is it my place to make a big deal out of any of this? Hardly. But of course I will be much, much happier when Mary Joy is back in school as opposed to at the cockfights.
I had a similar situation for one of my children in Tabaco. The older brother sells the cock cords at the fights and I think my child often tagged along. I ended up funding an IGP for a business for the mother. It helps my child stay in school and hopefully away from the potentially unsafe environment of the cockfights. That said I totally agree with you that it isn't up to us to decide what is right for their culture. All we can do is offer other opportunities - especially education which helps the child make their own choices.
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