Dear Friends,

This is to share with you some news and two photos of my visit to Tulay Ng Kabataan last month. My sister and a friend joined me at the main Center which houses about 30 male street children. We had a good meeting with Fr. Matthieu, Executive Director and Tiphaine, one of the French volunteers. Fr. Matthieu commented that as a result of the pandemic and the very strict and lengthy lockdown restrictions, the increase in poverty was remarkable. TNK now has 28 Centers with 400+ street children in residences/centers and 2,000 in day care centers. The increase from 21 centers to 28 centers in just a few years attests to the growing number of street children in Metro Manila. TNK’s programs consist of 1) Street children program, 2) Street children with special needs, 3) Children in slums, 4) Scavenger children, and 5) Elderly abandoned in the streets.

TNK has just renewed its accreditation by the Philippine Government Department of Social Welfare and Development for 3 years. It is also a tax-exempt organization. The photos below show me visiting with Fr. Matthieu and other staff and the children at lunch time ready to eat a scoop of rice and two dried fish.

Maricel Bretault
SCBPMM Board Member
July 2023