ABOUT US
Who We Are
Quidan Kaisahan is a non-government, non-profit organization based in Negros Occidental, Philippines, dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights, wellbeing, and development of children. We envision a society where every child is safe, respected, and able to thrive in a nurturing and resilient environment. Our work focuses on advancing children's rights through programs and initiatives that strengthen child protection, support quality education, promote meaningful child participation, and enhance the capacities of families, communities, and institutions to create safe and supportive environments for children.
We believe that children are not only beneficiaries of development but also active participants in shaping their lives and communities. By creating opportunities for children to express their views, develop leadership skills, and engage in decision-making processes, we help empower them to become confident advocates for their rights and wellbeing.
Quidan Kaisahan works closely with families, community leaders, schools, local government units, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to address issues affecting children and to strengthen systems that promote their protection and development. Through collaboration, capacity building, advocacy, and community engagement, we strive to create sustainable and child-centered solutions that respond to the needs and realities of children and their communities.
Guided by the values of solidarity, participation, inclusivity, integrity, and accountability, we are committed to helping build communities where every child is protected, heard, valued, and given the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Our Story
Quidan Kaisahan was founded in November 1996 by a group of socially committed professionals who believed that lasting development is achieved when communities are empowered to shape their own future. In January 1997, the organization was officially registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, marking the beginning of its commitment to working alongside marginalized communities in Negros Occidental.
In its early years, Quidan Kaisahan focused on promoting good governance, community participation, and social development as pathways to address poverty and improve the quality of life of rural families. Through its engagement with agrarian reform communities and farming households, the organization developed a deeper appreciation of the strengths, knowledge, and resilience already present within communities. This reinforced Quidan's belief that sustainable solutions emerge when local people are recognized as active partners in development rather than passive recipients of assistance.
As a predominantly sugarcane producing province, Negros Occidental has long experienced cycles of poverty and economic vulnerability that affect children and families. Through listening to communities and learning from their lived experiences, Quidan Kaisahan observed that children were often among the most affected. Limited access to education, economic hardship, and increased vulnerability to exploitation placed many children at risk of being left behind.
Among the pressing concerns identified was child labor. Quidan Kaisahan recognized that child labor was not only a labor issue but also an education and child rights issue, as it often prevented children from fully participating in school and enjoying opportunities essential to their growth and development. By engaging families, schools, community leaders, local government units, and children themselves, the organization began implementing initiatives aimed at preventing child labor and supporting children's access to quality education.
Over time, Quidan Kaisahan's engagement with communities revealed that child labor was often connected to broader issues affecting children's wellbeing, including abuse, neglect, exploitation, violence, and limited opportunities for participation. In response, the organization expanded its work to advance children's rights, protection, participation, and wellbeing through community driven and child centered approaches.
Guided by the spirit of kaisahan, Quidan continues to uphold the belief that meaningful change is rooted in collective action and respect for local knowledge. This commitment remains at the heart of its efforts to promote children's rights, strengthen communities, and help create an environment where every child is protected, valued, heard, and given the opportunity to thrive.
Why the Name Quidan Kaisahan?
The name Quidan Kaisahan carries a story that has become part of the organization's identity.
When the organization was founded, the name originally chosen was Quidam Kaisahan.
The word quidam is a Latin term that refers to an unknown, anonymous, or nameless. Combined with kaisahan, which means solidarity, unity, and collective action, the name reflected the founders' desire to stand with ordinary people whose voices, struggles, and contributions are often overlooked. In essence, Quidam Kaisahan meant "Solidarity of the Nameless Ones."
However, during the organization's registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1997, Quidam was inadvertently recorded as Quidan and became the organization's official name.
Rather than changing it, the founders chose to embrace it. Over time, Quidan became more than a name on a registration document. It came to represent years of listening to communities, valuing local knowledge, and working alongside people striving to improve their lives and create better opportunities for their children.
The name remains a reminder that meaningful change begins by recognizing the dignity, potential, and voices of people who are too often overlooked. It reflects a commitment to solidarity, participation, and the belief that every person has a role in shaping a more just and inclusive society.
our approach
Quidan Kaisahan adopts a Twin Track Approach that works with both rights holders and duty bearers to create lasting and meaningful change for children.On one track, we work with children, families, and communities as rights holders. We support their participation, strengthen their capacities, and create spaces where children and communities can express their views, contribute to decision making, and take an active role in promoting and protecting their rights. We believe that sustainable solutions are built by recognizing and valuing the knowledge, experiences, and strengths that already exist within communities.
On the other track, we work with local government units, schools, service providers, community leaders, and other institutions as duty bearers. We support the development and strengthening of child centered policies, programs, systems, and services that respond to the needs and realities of children. We also work to enhance the capacity, accountability, and commitment of institutions to uphold, protect, and fulfill children's rights.By engaging both rights holders and duty bearers, Quidan Kaisahan helps bridge the gap between community realities and institutional action. This approach fosters shared responsibility, strengthens child protection and governance systems, and contributes to creating environments where every child is safe, respected, heard, and able to thrive.
QUIDAN ‘S MANDATE
Quidan will focus its energies and resources in achieving the results that we have set to see. Implementation of its child education and protection program will be redirected to build the capacity of the different duty bearers performing specific and unique roles but complementing and cooperating with one another in building a child-centered society.
VISION
“Every child is free from abuse, respected, and thriving in a nurturing and resilient environment”
MISSION
“To help build a child-centered society”
OUR GOALS
Goal 1: Protected Children
Goal 2: Resilient families nurturing and protecting children and fulfilling their needs and rights.
Goal 3: Whole communities promoting and protecting children and fulfilling their needs and rights.
Goal 4: Local governance leadership, bureaucracy and participatory structures that listen to children, respect their rights, and secure their access to resources and services.
Goal 5: Empowered children positively nevegating the challenges of daily living, with a significant number able to initiate, lead, own, and manage innovations, projects and organizations for their own development and protection.
Goal 6: More invigorated pursuit of Mission by Quidan
EXPLORE OUR CORE VALUES
We believe every community holds the key to its own success. They should be given the opportunities for voice and choice.
We believe in supporting the talents, abilities and ideas of the people who live in the communities we work with. We believe they are the ones best placed to find solutions to their problems and pursue their own development.
We believe that inclusive decision-making generates better ideas, better energy and more effective efforts.
We believe that we are just the stewards of the resources we have and it is our social responsibility to manage them efficiently.
We believe and uphold each individual's right to their own development. We uphold the rights of women and children.
We value quality and effectiveness of service.
We value efficiency and optimum utilization of resources towards the achieve of our goals.
We value honest, integrity and accountability in everything we do.
We value open, direct communication and careful listening.
We value responsiveness and creativity.
We value diversity and treating each other with respect and trust.