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Stories written by Shelley Callahan

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Bringing Clean Water to the Philippines

Our partner, Wine to Water, has a long history in the Philippines

In 2017, I brought water filters with me to visit our affiliated sites in India and Sri Lanka, thanks to our partnership with the nonprofit organization, Wine to Water. Wine to Water is based out of Boone, North Carolina, and works to provide clean water solutions to some of the more than 2 billion people globally who lack access to a safe water drinking source. The water filters, which I distributed to our volunteer coordinators […]

Our Impact Report: May 2023

Thanks to you, we have provided children and families around the world with support

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our May 2023 Impact Report as a way to say “thank you” to all our supporters who make our work possible. Beyond what you already provide to children through our sponsorship program, your donations to our Special Funds and Special Projects allow us to help families and communities as well, often in times of crisis. YOUR IMPACT AROUND THE […]

A Center with a Dual Purpose

The Santo Nino Center in the Philippines serves children in many different ways

Since I had arrived in Tacloban to visit our affiliated sites in early January, I had heard so much from our volunteer coordinator, WimWim, about Typhoon Yolanda and how it had devastated the city ten years earlier. WimWim explained that although very tragic, the entire community and the government of Tacloban learned a valuable lesson in the aftermath about emergency preparedness and the importance of having a plan in place in case a storm of […]

Finding Bliss in Tacloban

The Visayans Center supports urban families living in poverty

After spending the morning with Ester and WimWim, our volunteer coordinators at the Volunteer for the Visayans, it was time to get ready for the monthly distribution of supplies to the children in our program at the first of three affiliated sites in the Philippines I would be visiting during my time in Tacloban. We didn’t spend long traveling to the first site — in fact, all we had to do is walk downstairs from […]

Volunteer for the Visayans

We have worked with VFV in the Philippines since 2005

Our volunteer coordinator, WimWim, picked me up early the morning after I arrived in Tacloban to take me to the Volunteer for the Visayans main office, located a short distance from the downtown area in a neighborhood called Bliss. When we arrived, we parked along the cobblestone road, right next to a few small shops selling candy, snacks and household items. Across the street was a large entry way with Volunteer for the Visayans written […]

Hope After Yolanda

Ten years later, residents of Tacloban are still reminded of tragedy

When I first started at Children Incorporated in May of 2014, I remember hearing a lot about our relief efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, which had devastated areas of southeast Asia in November 2013. I recall clearly stories from our staff about the damage that had occurred in Tacloban, where our affiliated site, the Visayans Center (which is run by non-profit organization, Volunteer for the Visayans, or VFV) was located. After the storm […]