2018 is flashing by with more and more people getting behind Fairplay. We are happy now to show our video showing where your support has helped to contribute to, with the ongoing projects in our community here in Payatas.

Our growing team is gradually making more and more progress, as we continue to work towards improving Fairplay and the support we can offer. As we bade goodbye to long-time staff members May (HeadTeacher) and Cris (Project Manager), we welcome Melissa (Cafe Manager) and Mheryl (Admin Assistant). A reshuffle internally means that we our capacity continues to grow as a team.

The Fairplay Academy also posted some good results in terms of the academic growth of the students. The older students particularly improved upon their scores in the Functional Literacy Tests, which they will formally take once the Department of Education sets the schedule. This is the exam our students will pass to gain a High School Diploma.

The Generation Amazing Project continued as the support through StreetFootballWorld continues to help us improve the facilities at the Payatas Sports Center. The drainage is now constructed so that even during the rainy season the court will no longer flood. The shoe bank allows the players to get a pair of futsal shoes and swap them for a larger pair when they grow too big for them. We will soon be ordering Payatas FC t-shirts for trainings and game-days to help with that. Next up, we will be swapping out the netting around the Sports Center with steel matting so it is more durable and longer lasting, and providing a division between the two courts so balls don’t fly between them.

This is timely as Season 3 of the Metro Manila Futsal League is almost complete. There are virtually no youth leagues in the Philippines, and so creating our own, with Dream Big Pilipinas and Gawad Kalinga, has been a great way for the kids to be part of regular competition and see their improvement week after week. You can see more about the futsal league here: https://mmflph.wordpress.com/mmfl-2018/

The Youth Group continues to offer a social space for the kids. With no other activities in the community it is easy to be swept up in the gangs and the vices that happen as there is often literally nothing else to do. With constructive and fun activities, there is a safe space to learn and grow.

And in the Education Sponsorship Program, our first students are now enrolled in University! Six years ago we began sponsoring students, and now (given the delay of two years due to the introduction of Senior High School nationally) these students are beginning to reach University level. Ronalyn, who many of you will remember as one of the Youth Coaches at Payatas Football Club and the subject of a Faces of Payatas feature here, is now our first player to be part of the Varsity Team at University as she enrolls in the University of Santo Tomas. This means her tuition fees are waived and she stays in a team dormitory  so doesn’t have to pay accommodation costs. The other costs of her University course, as with our other students, are shouldered by scholarships and student loans with Fairplay, so that she and our other graduating can be assured that they have the support they need to continue in their courses.

The Fairplay Cafe is also coming up with more and more recipes even as they continue to break the sales record within the Payatas community each month. Six local mothers are employed through this, some of whom used to scavenge through trash in the community before, and so with a higher income through this work it is a win-win all round.

The Cafe will be hosting its first open buffet this August 22 also. At P150 (two pounds, fifty pence), it’s a very reasonable price for some delicious dishes. We also purchased an air fryer and are very much looking forward to trying that out so that even our fried dishes can be much healthier, as it will use 90% less oil (meaning we can use higher quality oil and much less of it). Another win-win!

So as Fairplay continues to learn, improve, and care about our community, you can Contact Us for more information and click here to become a regular donor and be part of leveling the playing field!