Take a child and you will see a carefree spirit, always smiling and laughing, not a trouble in the world. Kids are naturally cheerful and happy, the image of pure innocence. But the other side of the story is a dark world. Despite what the common notion says that kids do not have problems, they do. And when a child is deeply troubled, he or she has no idea where to turn to. Especially if their troubles are caused by adults.

Since its establishment in 1991, the Open Heart Foundation has been giving priority to children and the youth to make the world a better place for them. The Bi ñan division of the foundation has shaped Laguna to give a listening ear to the kids, not limiting to providing their basic needs but also to listen to what they have to say and understand where they are coming from.

One of their programs is the Children Talk To Children campaign where youth volunteers talk to fellow children regarding issues that are too sensitive for these kids to open themselves up to adults. If you face a troubled child to an adult, there might be hindrances for the child to fully open up, especially when the issue is too sensitive.

“Mas nakakaalam ng kailangan ng bata ang kapwa bata”, (The ones who really know the needs of kids are kids as well) says Raymond Guralva, an incoming junior in college and one of the youth volunteers assigned in the said campaign.

The campaign started as a practical step for gathering data for a study on child abuse cases in the Philippines, which the Open Heart Foundation is conducting for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The foundation devised the campaign to gather data from what the affected children have to say firsthand.

The study covers cases of child labor, early pregnancies and corporal punishment, the most common cases of child abuse in Biñan. Imagine a little girl who was sexually abused by a male adult and having to narrate her story to the police, who are mostly males. That small child will surely be traumatized, making her silent to the queries of the police. Instead, the foundation provides a better alternative – for that little girl to talk to a young female as well. Besides getting the fully story from the child, without omitting anything, the child will also gain comfort and motherly tenderness from the interviewer, which is what the child needs the most.

Participants for the survey regarding child labor ranges from ten to seventeen years old while the participants for the survey for the other issues can be from any age group. The youth volunteers together with the staff of Open Heart Foundation have prepared survey questionnaires for the participants. They constructed these questionnaires as child-friendly as possible, avoiding ambiguous and complicated words, keeping questions simple and short, and eliminating any pressing questions.

Each youth volunteer interviews two survey participants for each case. The participant is not limited to answering the survey because the youth volunteer also acts as counselor, encouraging the participant to elaborate on his or her answers and to voice out their feelings and emotions.

Last May 19, 2014, the interviewers started with a pre-survey on child labor cases in the different barangays of Biñan. The pre-survey is important so that the volunteers can determine whether the questionnaire and manner of interviewing were effective and child-friendly enough for their actual participants.

The actual survey will take place once the questionnaires have been polished and the workshop for the interviews has been given to the youth volunteers.

From a practical method of gathering information from children, the campaign developed into an avenue of support for children under difficult circumstances. The method proves to be effective because these children are able to narrate their experiences freely, without feeling wary or guarded compared to when they talk to adults. The question of trust also comes in. Children trust other children easier than kids trusting adults, especially on sensitive issues. The campaign benefits both the organization, as they are able to pass an accurate report to the UNCRC, and the children confronting difficult issues, as they are able to freely open up their side of the story.

As the program develops and improves, the volunteers and the foundation have seen the more meaningful effects of it besides accomplishing the report for UNCRC. The Children Talk To Children campaign does not only achieve one objective. Rather, it provides a better ground for children to voice out their thoughts and sentiments to their fellow youth. And these youth will be sure to help them.

Jacqueline Arielle Ong graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños. She was one of CODE-NGO’s volunteer writers deployed in Summer of 2014.