PREDA Foundation

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The People's Recovery Empowerment Development Assistance Foundation, commonly referred to as the PREDA Foundation or PREDA, is a charitable organization that was founded in Olongapo City, Philippines in 1974. Its purposes include the promotion and protection of the dignity and the Human Rights of the Filipino people, especially of women and children. [1] [2] The main focus is to assist the sexually-exploited and abused children. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

History

Father Shay Cullen is a Catholic missionary priest from Dublin, Ireland, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. He helped found the charity in 1974 along with Alex Corpus Hermoso and Merly Ramirez. Since then, Fr. Shay Cullen has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice. [6]

Preda Foundation and Fr. Shay Cullen were awarded the prestigious Human Rights Award from the City of Weimar, in Germany.

In 2012, the PREDA Foundation spoke out about the case of the 52,000 Amerasians in the Philippines, the children from soldiers of the US Army settlements in the country who did not get legal recognition of their origins from their own government. [7]

Description

The Preda Foundation is licensed and accredited by the Philippine government. [8] The Preda Foundation is dedicated to the protection of children and working for social transformation and a just and corrupt free society. It has worked to prevent children being locked in small, cramped jails without basic rights. [9] Preda has been actively involved in helping victims of the human trafficking and sex slave trade in the Angeles City. [10] [11] Preda has been involved in promoting and defending the Rights of Children and their Defenders. [12] Preda cooperates closely with international legal tribunals Interpol and the UN Commission on Human Rights. [13]

The PREDA Foundation provides rescue, treatment and recovery for sexually and physically abused children. It investigates and prosecutes abusers, to prevent and protect children and youth against child abuse, substance abuse and AIDS. The foundation helps families in being self-reliant, promotes livelihood training and employment with just wages by providing capital, interest free loans, technical assistance to producers and markets through the Fair Trade Movement and the commercial market. The foundation also works with media to develop public awareness and protect children.

Preda projects

Fil-American children

Preda has been highly active in the cause of helping Fil-American Children. Preda Social workers organized the association of 720 mother of Fil-American children, provided family research assistance and helping to pursue a class action suit in the US court of complaints in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the children in 1993. Preda visited and lobbied the US congress and State Department and succeeded in advancing a US congressional resolution assigning $650,000 for the FilAm children through US AID and other agencies. [8] [17]

Campaign against pedophiles and human trafficking

Preda has been highly active in the Philippines in a campaign against pedophiles and human trafficking. [18] The Preda Human Rights team lobbied successfully for the passing of the Olongapo City Anti-Prostitution Ordinance No. 51. In March, 2008, Preda organized a march from the Olongapo City hall with banners and placards to the gate of the former United States Military base and held a rally calling for the implementation of the law and for the city government to cancel permits given to sex bars and clubs. This was a historic first. Never was there such a public protest allowed on the streets before. [19] Preda have been actively involved in the fight against the child sex slavery trade in the notorious pedophile haunt [20] of Angeles. Working undercover with law enforcement agencies and volunteers, with the help of hidden cameras, they have uncovered bars trafficking children for prostitution in Angeles. [21] [22]

Threats and harassment against PREDA staff

PREDA staffers receive threats from pedophiles and their sympathizers in the sex tourist industry. The staff are continually harassed with false charges and smear campaigns to prevent them pursuing justice for victims of sexual abuse. As a result, PREDA works for the implementation of the UN Declaration of 1998 protecting the defenders of human rights against such abuse. [23] [24] [25] When Father Shay Cullen exposed a child prostitution ring in Subic Bay he was threatened with deportation. [26]

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shay Cullen</span>

Shay Cullen, SSCME is an Irish Catholic missionary priest and the founder of the PREDA Foundation. He is a member of the Columbans, an Irish order founded in honour of and named after St. Columba.

Survival sex is a form of prostitution engaged in by people because of their extreme need. It describes the practice of people who are homeless or otherwise disadvantaged in society, trading sex for food, a place to sleep, or other basic needs, or for drugs. The term is used by sex trade, poverty researchers, and aid workers.

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References

  1. ↑ Terry Thomas (2005), Sex Crime: Sex Offending and Society, Willan Publishing, ISBN   978-1-84392-105-9
  2. ↑ Hazel Thompson (July 2006), Kids Behind Bars, Digital Journalist
  3. ↑ Protecting children in the Philippines, Irish Aid, archived from the original on 2007-09-11
  4. ↑ Fr Shay Cullen & the PREDA Foundation (PDF), Jubilee Action, archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-02-12
  5. ↑ Carlos A. Arnaldo (2001), Child Abuse on the Internet: Breaking the Silence , Berghahn Books, ISBN   1571812458
  6. ↑ Nobel Prize Nominee from Philippines Keynote Speaker at Edmonton Conference Archived 2007-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Sunshine Lichauco de Leon (4 March 2012). "'Amerasians' in the Philippines fight for recognition". Cnn.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 CRIN – Child Rights Information Network – Organisations – Preda Foundation
  9. ↑ Kids Behind Bars by Hazel Thompson- The Digital Journalist
  10. ↑ 09threportinquiryintoprostitutionfinalreportpt1_39 Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ url = "PHILIPPINES-CHILDREN: Scourge of Child Prostitution". Archived from the original on 2003-05-04. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  12. ↑ Irish Aid - Our Work - Human Rights & Democracy
  13. ↑ Prestigious German Human Rights Award for Preda Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. NEWS/ARTICLES: "Paper to Child Labor Coalition, Washington" Archived 2007-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ CRIN – Child Rights Information Network – Resources
  16. ↑ Throwaway Drink Pouches Turn to Gold Archived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ America's dirty secret haunts Subic Bay Archived 2007-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. - Campaign Against Human Rights Abuses Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. Newsletters: Preda Newsletter March 2008 Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ Sun.Star Pampanga - 36 street kids rounded up Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. Philippine News Digest 52 Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. NEWS/ARTICLES: "Developments on the case of foreigners charged for employing minors in Angeles City" Archived 2008-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ↑ http://www.idealistoncampus.org/if/languages/en/av/Org/5405-90%5B%5D
  24. ↑ "Preda Foundation, Inc. Newsletters: PREDA NEWSLETTER April - June 2001". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  25. ↑ "Preda Foundation, Inc. Newsletters: PREDA CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER December 2000". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  26. ↑ "Feminism and Women's Studies: Prostitution". Archived from the original on 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  27. ↑ Independent Catholic News Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. PREDA AWARDS: "PRIX CARITAS AWARD" Archived 2007-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ↑ Preda Foundation, Inc. - AWARDS TO PREDA, FR. SHAY Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
  30. 1 2 3 "Preda Foundation, Inc. - AWARDS TO PREDA, FR. SHAY". Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
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