From Stop Abuse Mom to Shaker And Mover
Merci Melchor is the visionary who laid the foundation for the I AM S.A.M. Foundation. Her journey began as early as 2004 when she single-handedly and creatively launched the “Merci Melchor Brochures for Battered Women” (MMBBW). Her groundbreaking work gained recognition from the Bantay Bata Foundation and the ABS-CBN News Channel and has been utilized by various organizations, including Zonta Clubs, the Sulu Provincial Women’s Council, and national and international organizations.
Merci was inspired to take action by then U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his “double dividend”, encouraging her daughter, Rayla Allertsen, to do the same. So, it was September 2010, the I AM S.A.M. Foundation was co-founded. In November 2011, having adopted the Rights of the Child as its advocacy, McKinley Hill International School and Leadership Academy for Children, a school Rayla founded, was recognized as the only UNICEF UK Rights Respecting School outside the UK in November 2011 during the UNICEF UK Conference on Rights Respecting Schools where Rayla was invited to speak. The IAMSAM Protocol was influenced much by the UNICEF UK Standards for Rights Respecting Schools.
Originally, the acronym S.A.M. stood for “Stop Abuse Mom,” a testament to Merci’s initial focus on combating abuse against women. However, as the foundation evolved, so did its mission. S.A.M. now stands for “Shaker And Mover,”. A mover and shaker is defined as a person who makes things happen (thesaurus.com), encapsulating the foundation’s broader goal to empower not just women but also children, persons to be proactive agents of change.
A Legacy Immortalized
Fondly known as “Momcie,” Merci Melchor is credited for providing the books and materials that served as the conceptual framework for the foundation’s flagship program, the IamSAM Prevent-to-Empower Protocol (PEP), now known simply as The I AM SAM Protocol. Her philosophy is immortalized in a Museo Pambata book, “Letters from Lolo and Lola,” where she wrote a heartfelt letter to her youngest grandchild, Buffy. In it, she expressed the core belief that every individual is “Special, Unique, and Precious”—a mantra that has become the tagline and mission of the I Am S.A.M. Foundation.
