Uplift Education in the Philippines

Dear Supporters,

From October to December 2025, Uplift Education in the Philippines continued to strengthen safe, inclusive spaces where children and youth could learn, play, and lead. These final months of the year also set a strong foundation for a purposeful start to 2026, with focused efforts on digital safety, child protection, and community collaboration—key pillars of our education recovery approach.

Despite ongoing social and developmental challenges affecting many families and communities, our mentors, partners, and young leaders remained deeply committed to ensuring that children not only stayed engaged in learning, but also grew as informed, confident, and active participants in their schools and communities.

Through your continued support, FundLife reached 3,933 children and youth aged 9–17, including 1,926 girls, 1,969 boys, and 38 non-binary youth, through integrated education, sport-for-development, mentorship, and advocacy initiatives designed to uplift learning, safety, and opportunity.

Key Highlights from October 2025 – January 2026

• Delivered 56 football-for-development sessions, integrating life skills, teamwork, and rights-based learning to support holistic child development
• Facilitated 6 mentorship sessions, strengthening youth leadership, personal safety, and confidence
• Organized 2 inclusive tournaments, engaging communities through sport as a platform for positive participation and belonging
• Conducted 3 capacity-building activities for children, youth leaders, and stakeholders to strengthen local capacity and shared responsibility
• Delivered a focused digital safety workshop for 20 youth and mentors, strengthening awareness on online risks and misinformation while introducing practical tools such as red-flag identification, fact-checking techniques, and FundLife’s framework to promote responsible and safer online engagement
• Engaged 121 child leaders through play-based capacity-building on children’s rights and responsibilities, supported youth-led follow-through across 44 barangays reaching 1,420 children on the four pillars of child rights—Survival, Protection, Development, and Participation—and facilitated an advanced learning session for 84 child leaders on the role of AI and digital tools in preventing Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) - Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAEM), strengthening awareness on technology-enabled child protection
• Formalized a partnership with Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) and Mentors Without Borders for the Tech2Thrive Digital Mentorship Project, expanding structured digital mentorship pathways, and convened 33 local partners through FundLife’s annual Kamustahan to strengthen coordination and collaboration across education, protection, and youth development

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2026, FundLife remains committed to expanding safe learning environments, deepening digital inclusion and child protection efforts, and strengthening youth leadership pathways rooted in play, participation, and partnership.

Thank you for standing with us and with the thousands of children and young people whose confidence, safety, and opportunities continue to grow through your support. Together, we are building communities where children can learn safely, lead with purpose, and thrive.

With gratitude,
The FundLife Team

Links:

• Think Before You Click: Building a Responsible Digital You
• Dulag Child Leaders Master Rights through Futsal-Based Play

Dear Supporters,

From June to September 2025, the Uplift Education in the Philippines continued to bring children and youth together in safe, inclusive learning spaces where they could learn, play, and grow. Across classrooms, community centers, and football fields, every session became an opportunity to strengthen learning recovery, rebuild confidence, and nurture hope.

Although we faced many challenges during these months,  from typhoons to earthquakes that disrupted routines and affected families, our commitment never wavered. With the support of mentors, teachers, and community partners, we continued to create spaces for education and play, providing children with a sense of normalcy, purpose, and belonging, even in uncertain times.

Each learning and play session became a small act of resilience, a reminder that even after the strongest storms, there’s always room for joy, courage, and new beginnings.

Here are some of the milestones from June to September:

• Supported the 2025–2026 Brigada Eskwela Kick-off at Villa Sofia Elementary School, helping prepare classrooms and learning spaces so that 200+ children could start the school year safe and ready to learn.
• Welcomed more than 160 students back through the KickStart Cup: Back-to-School Tournament, fostering confidence, teamwork, and renewed motivation as learners transitioned into a new academic year.
• Delivered 78 play-based learning sessions focused on Essential Life Skills and Reproductive Health, strengthening children’s knowledge, decision-making, and resilience both in school and at home.
• Facilitated 20 mentorships on recognizing and reporting different forms of abuse, empowering children with the awareness and courage to protect themselves and seek help when needed.
• Organized a capacity-building workshop on social enterprise and sports for development, enhancing teachers’ and youth leaders’ ability to use play as a tool to engage learners and promote entrepreneurial mindsets.
• Engaged 70+ children and youth during the Linggo ng Kabataan celebration, where literacy, environmental action, and games inspired participants to take leadership roles and champion positive change in their schools and communities.

As we close this quarter, we carry with us the lessons, and resilience that have defined these months. Each mentorship and game has shown that education can thrive even in adversity when rooted in compassion and strengthened by community.

To our mentors, teachers, partners, and supporters, thank you for standing with us. Your belief in the power of education and play fuels every child’s journey toward confidence, opportunity, and hope. Together, we’re building a future where every child can learn, lead, and dream beyond limits.

With heartfelt gratitude,
FundLife Team

Links:

• Empowering Changemakers through Digital Tools: FundLife and EVSU
• 27 Teachers, Mentors and Student Leaders Complete Basic FIFA Fut
• FundLife Proposes Community Sports Leagues