top of page
How and where did it all start?
Discover the journey of a young Filipina from the rural coastal areas of Southern Leyte
Maurice, 20, from Liloan, Southern Leyte
History as a Youth Advocate
Having worked and interacted closely with children and young people at an early age as a youth catechist and being a campus journalist for 6 years, Mau was endorsed by her school to be one of the core members of the 100 youth advocates trained by the Collaborative Action against Trafficking project which aims for children to be protected from all forms of abuse and violence through engaging them in their own protection and participation. The said training marked her first engagement with Plan International, and it served as a catalyst that ignited the fire of her burning passion and determined resolve to combat and raise awareness of child abuse and exploitation.
As a youth advocate, Mau and her peers have been conducting a series of peer-to-peer awareness-raising campaigns with children and young people in her school and community on child protection, specifically against child trafficking and commercial and online sexual exploitation of children. Working hand in hand with children as a youth peer educator, she has been giving sessions on children's rights, thus capacitating them to make sound choices concerning their own protection.
Aside from this, she was selected to participate in the first-ever Philippine Girls Summit in Metro Manila last October 2018, where she was part of launching the Girls Get Equal Campaign. Also, she has written a blog on different cyber tips to stay online, which was published on Plan International’s global website just in time for Internet Safety Day.
In April 2019, Mau participated in Engaging the Child-focused Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Voluntary National Review in Tacloban.
Moreover, she was tapped as a facilitator for a municipal-wide information campaign against human trafficking and OSEC in collaboration with the PNP/WCPD Officers. She discussed children's rights, their respective responsibilities, and the different child protection issues whilst urging the members of the Sangguniang Kabataan and Sangguniang Barangay Members of Liloan that empowering children through awareness of their rights could be a vital key to ending violence.
In the first week of May 2019, she also participated in the Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA) Youth Advocacy Campaign and Advocacy Planning held in Cebu City together with other youth advocates from different parts of the country. It created a platform for the youth to identify key priority issues to advocate on and lay out action plans themselves on how to address these issues, covering different forms of abuse and exploitation of children and young people.
In the following weeks, she was one of the leading girl advocates being gathered at Tanay, Rizal for a National Leadership Workshop, building on the success of launching the global youth-led and social change campaign dubbed the Girls Get Equal last October 2018. It catalyzed a space for the advocates to undergo capacity building, finalize the girls’ agenda, and develop strategic plans to operationalize the campaign in their respective communities.
Believing that the COVID-19 pandemic should not hinder young people’s participation in international processes, she recently participated in GAA’s feedback consultations with young people as part of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA)+25 review. Witnessing how the pandemic disproportionately affected the youth in her community, she continues to send out powerful messages of hope, courage, and positivity by writing about her experiences, serving as a voice for marginalized youth, and helping her fellow young people as a youth peer educator, in speaking out against cases of abuse and violence and accessing support from authorities. Inspiring, reassuring, and encouraging the youth, her pieces are being published on the organization’s website and other online platforms to reach audiences outside of her community. A natural-born writer and advocate, she pours her heart into words that inspire Filipino youth to stand in solidarity and take the lead in fighting the pandemic. Acknowledging the vital role of young people in shaping the future, she encourages young people to be brave as humanity grapples with the ‘new normal.’ Maurice also uses the power of storytelling to inform, educate, and help those who are in need.
bottom of page