About > Presentation
Siargao Masaya —
PRESENTATION
Siargao Masaya is a Swiss charity set up in 2010 by Stéphanie Roth Gana. The association provides active, long-term support to the poorest families on Siargao, an island in the south-east of the Philippines in the province of Surigao del Norte, with the aim of providing local communities with access to education and healthcare.
Birth of Siargao Masaya
Back in 2005, while studying ethnology, Stéphanie Roth Gana discovered the Philippines on her first trip to South-East Asia. She immediately took a liking to the country due to its unique culture and the friendly local people, who live a simple existence and love to smile.
During this trip, she realised how lucky she was to have been born in Switzerland, a country where people can choose their own destiny. Her life took on a new humanitarian dimension, and she began to take on various exciting projects.
When she finished her studies, she decided to return to the Philippines, arriving almost by chance on the island of Siargao. She settled with a family and was immediately involved in community life, where she formed a strong bond. After learning the local language, Surigaonun (a dialect of Visaya), she worked with the locals to identify the major problems facing Siargao families. These exchanges gave Stéphanie the direction she needed to form this association. Siargao Masaya was born from this collaboration with her host family the rest of the island's inhabitants. It is officially based in Fribourg, Switzerland, and its programmes are supported by the municipality and mayor of General Luna (the village in Siargao where the association is located).
The Local Context
Most families on the remote island of Siargao have between 5 and 7 children. The common local work generates very low incomes. With barely enough to feed their families, some parents do not have the financial means to put their children through school.
On average, a household has an income of CHF 160 per month (PHP 10,000), or around CHF 5 per day (PHP 320). Every day, half of this amount is spent on rice, the main food consumed by the locals. The rest goes towards other food such as fish and vegetables, sanitary products, various household bills and then hopefully the children's school fees.
Tourism is also growing on the island. The majority of businesses are now owned by foreigners or mixed couples, driving up land values. Many families, out of necessity, decide to sell their land, thus losing the opportunity to generate additional income.
To help support the household, children often find themselves having to work at a very young age and/or look after their brothers and sisters instead of going to school.
Siargao Masaya's mission
Our projects aim to combat the lack of schooling, child labour, poor access to healthcare and the consequences of poverty in general.
Our activities focus on two main objectives: access to education through a sponsorship programme, and the possibility of receiving emergency funds in the event of medical costs that are too much for families to afford.
Masaya : a name, a symbol
Masaya means "happy" in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. The aim of the association is to offer hope to those who are deprived of access to education and basic healthcare.
The symbol of the Siargao Masaya association: the spiral of Shiva's eye evokes the beginning of a new cycle thanks to collaboration between different cultures. This shell also represents luck, a chance to give the communities of Siargao a choice for the future and to envisage a new beginning.