In Conversation: Fr. Shay Cullen on half a century of mission in the Philippines
Columban Fr. Shay Cullen is the founder of the People’s Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance (PREDA) Foundation in the Philippines. He celebrates 50 years of mission this year.
Shay’s mission for justice and peace is ecumenical in reach. It is based on taking a stand for human rights and protecting the dignity of every person, particularly exploited women, children, and young people. He has worked to protect vulnerable people from sex slavery and has promoted human rights, peace, and non-violence in the Philippines since his arrival in the country in 1969.
For 50 years, the Preda Foundation has been a leading child rights organisation with a long successful history of rescuing, protecting, healing and empowering abused and trafficked girls, saving innocent boys from unjust incarceration in jails, and giving a new life of freedom through residential care services with therapy and education.
The Preda Foundation operates four residential therapeutic homes in the Philippines: two for girls and two for boys. At these residential young people can access therapeutic recovery programmes with emotional expression therapy and family therapy counselling. Through these programmes, we aim to build the child’s self-esteem, confidence and personal dignity. We strive to empower them to stand for their rights and seek justice. There is also formal and non-formal education provided and we run human rights training all based on affirmation and mutual respect.
Writing about the anniversary, Columban missionary Fr. Shay Cullen said: “It is 50 years since I started the Preda Foundation as part of my mission assignment to Olongapo City in September 1969. Preda is still going strong and healing and finding justice for more than 200 children every year. We proud to assist these young people in court cases against their abusers and we are winning 18 to 20 convictions every year.”
The Foundation is involved in educating teachers and duty bearers on childrens’ rights. There are 53 professional staff on the Preda team and 120 children in care.
The Preda Foundation has also been instrumental in lobbying for new child protection laws since the passing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. Today, the Foundation has an extensive community and social media-based advocacy programme on preventive education.
Responding to the news of the 50th anniversary celebration, Columban JPIC Co-ordiantor, Amy Echeverria said, “Please join me in congratulating Fr. Shay and PREDA on all the lives that have been touched for immense work of healing, justice, and hope.”
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FR SHAY CULLEN IN CONVERSATION …
What is your biggest achievement of the last 50 years?
I think the Preda campaign to close and convert the US Subic Bay military base is the highlight of my 50 years of mission. The US Navy occupied the huge Subic Bay naval base and Olongapo City Olongapo was the town right outside the base, a place where women and child sexual exploitation was rampant. In 1983 I found and exposed the abuse of 12 children in Olongapo City, the youngest was only 9 years old was abused by US Sailors. The city authorities tried to have me deported but this only encouraged me to continue fighting for the lives of these abused people. News of my research became international and Preda began campaigning for the US naval base at Subic Bay to close, which it did in 1991. The sex bars and brothels closed in Olongapo City and we were able to free hundreds of women and children from debt bondage in the sex industry.
What have been your biggest challenges to date?
At the Preda home for abused and trafficked children we help to heal victims from their past trauma and empower them to fight for justice in the courts. The justice system in the Philippines is in need of reform as it can takes up to a year before a child can testify against an abuser and it is difficult to get them convicted and jailed. We want this long wait to change and for a new child court to be established for which we lobby senators.
What has been your motivation over the years?
My motivation over the years has been the belief that the power of goodness and justice will one day overcome evil and bring an end to child abuse, human trafficking and sex slavery. With the help of Preda, young victims are winning convictions more and more and it is this that keeps me going. It is the desire to save and help to heal more victims of trafficking and abuse that is my biggest motivation.
What is your favourite memory of the last five decades?
My favourite memory of the last five decades of mission has to be hearing the Philippine Senate vote to reject a new treaty with the United States for continuation of the military base! Our 10 years of a campaigning was a success and it brought about an end to the sex industry in Olongapo City.
What is the best part of your missionary work in the Philippines?
The best part of my mission in the Philippines has to be witnessing the 120 children in our therapeutic homes thriving! They are protected from abusers, undergoing therapy to help them heal from their horrendous ordeals, many of them linked to sex trafficking and abuse.
What’s next for Preda?
Preda is hoping for financial support to establish a new children’s therapeutic healing centre in Cebu, in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. There is no such home locally that uses Emotional Release Therapy to help victims of abuse to recover and we believe building one here would be of benefit to the local community.
We already have a home for boys who have been rescued from sub-human conditions in prison all over Central Luzon and Metro Manila. Preda supports these young boys by providing legal assistance and helping to get them removed. They start a new life with therapeutic activities, art trainings, non-formal education, skills training, organic farming, counselling and values formation. The therapy that these children can access in these homes is instrumental in their recovery and we feel it is important to give young girls the same opportunities for rehabilitation and recovery.
Preda hopes too, to expand its community child abuse preventive education programmes on human rights.
The Preda Foundation has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize over the years and it has won several international human rights awards. It coordinates with many national and international partners including several United Nations’ agencies.
