IN 1986, the US-bred Maria Eugenia ?Geni? Lopez-Psinakis and her brothers got a culture shock when the clan returned to the Philippines after years of exile.

Accustomed to American prosperity, they were appalled by the Third World living standards.

Psinakis was alarmed when her mother exposed her children to the poverty in Tondo.

Maintaining the family tradition of charity work, her mother celebrated her birthdays hosting soup kitchens for the poor.

Psinakis followed her example by holding her birthday at the Virlanie home for street children.

In the past two decades, she studied and lived abroad, ran a Greek restaurant at the age of 25 and co-founded Zuzuni, a bed-and-breakfast place in Boracay.

Three years ago, Benjamin Compton, a guidance counselor at Brent School, brought Psinakis to Smokey Mountain in Tondo.

Moved by the depressing conditions in the garbage dumpsite, she spent eight hours in front of her computer, sending e-mails to friends asking for help. However, her visits became sporadic.

Thereafter, Psinakis spent several months in America, her comfort zone.

With a job offer at the family-owned ABS-CBN Global in the Bay Area, she was ready to leave the country for good, yet her instinct told her to remain in the country to serve.

Since May, the 34-year-old scion has been working at the We International Inc. Philippines (WEIP) as business development manager.

Barely a year in existence, this NGO aims to find solutions to fight poverty by collaborating with other organizations and helping the poor to free themselves from their burden through education.

Compton urged Abigail Althea Sy to help him establish an NGO that would initially do developmental work in Smokey Mountain.

The 23-year-old Sy had been doing volunteer social work since she was in high school.

In Vancouver, she worked in the youth-oriented, non-profit organization Global Agents for Change, which supports sustainable solutions to global poverty.

WEIP?s holistic approach includes livelihood projects, health care, micro-finance, education and programs to develop self-esteem.

WEIP?s role models are Manuel Manarang and his wife Victoria.

Kuya Manuel, as he is called, grew up as a scavenger in Smokey Mountain.

Thirteen years ago, a Dutch missionary told him that poverty was a choice.

Inspired, he started working for Christian NGOs, moved out of the dumpsite and successfully put his four children to school.

Ate Victoria runs a daycare center for indigent children.

Getting cooperation

WEIP?s major partner is Young Focus, an NGO which supports education and nutrition programs.

Of the 300 children in Smokey Mountain whose one-year scholarship is sponsored, 30 are WEIP beneficiaries.

It?s a first that a Philippine organization was able to raise funds solely from local benefactors in a short time.

Psinakis says that scholars sometimes reverted to scavenging for lack of employment.

WEIP was able to find jobs for two graduates with Young Focus grants that brought them away from the dumpsite.

Another partner, Outback restaurant chain, will provide on-the-job training to deserving individuals.

To give opportunities to mothers, WEIP tapped Rags2Riches, a social business venture that engages them in the production of fashionable and eco-friendly products. This enables them to earn while staying at home.

Their children can go to school with the Young Focus grants and so they do not have to revert to being scavengers.

Aside from providing feeding programs and exposing the underprivileged to culture, WEIP is working with Intercare Healthcare Systems.

Dr. Martin Camara, one of the founders, offered to open the Intercare clinics on Sunday afternoons and provide services at a 30 percent discount.

The doctors and staffers will work as volunteers, and all the proceeds will go to the Smokey Mountain program.

Camara recalls the horror when Psinakis escorted visitors to Smokey Mountain.

?I saw two babies, no more than 12 months old, left abandoned in a dirty shack with an empty bowl of rice on the corner. Their parents presumably were out, working on the dump," she said.

"People rushed towards garbage with total disregard for personal safety to get the first pick of the refuse. Cranes scooped and crashed down inches away from their bodies," she said.

"Children worked through thick smoke from burning wood to make charcoal for sale. Human beings should not be subjected to such adverse living conditions,? she said.

Plans are afoot to train individuals as massage therapists for future livelihood and medical missions.

Camara believes that where government has failed, NGOs and foundations can help improve the quality of people?s lives by transforming their destructive patterns into positive ones.

Sy hopes to dispel the notion that when organizations collaborate, they tend to lose sight of their vision due to ego.

Psinakis adds, ?More can be accomplished when we work with others and cooperate.?

WEIP and Intercare will host a fund-raising program, We Help, for Smokey Mountain projects.

It will start on August 23, from 1 to 5 p.m.

For details, contact Frank Auto of Intercare Makati at 63-922-8136997 or e-mail falxcerebellum@yahoo.com.

For more information on WEIP, visit www.weinternational.org.ph or write to P.O. Box 2216, Makati Central Post Office, Makati, Philippines.

For more information on Intercare and services, visit www.intercare-centers.com.