Tag Archives: child

Shelley Callahan | April 16, 2023En Español

Three days after arriving in Manila, our volunteer coordinator at the Fortune’s Center, Joy, offered to drive me the hour and a half out of the city to Tagaytay, where our affiliated site, the Pinagpala Center, was located.

Nilo also works with parents who are struggling with drug addiction and helps them to rehabilitate by not only getting off drugs, but showing their friends, family and peers that they care about getting better and changing their lives.

I was able to hear about the center a little more the previous day when Joy, our former sponsored child Genesis, and I had lunch with our former coordinator at the Fortune Center, Polly Jonson, and her friend Poying.

Both now in their 80s, both Polly and Poying joked and laughed with us during our meal, as vibrant as most half their ages. Poying mentioned that she started the Pinagpala Center many years ago, in 2007, after seeing the success Polly was having helping children in her community at the Fortune Center. I loved both their energy, and they talked enthusiastically about our current volunteer coordinator at the Pinagpala Center, Nilo, who I would meet the following day.

Tagaytay is located south of metro Manila, and is a busy tourist area for Filipinos escaping the hustle of the city in exchange for a small mountain town. Tagaytay overlooks Taal Lake and the Taal Volcano Island, and visitors and residents alike find the cool temperature and incredible scenery to be idyllic.

getting to know nilo

After Joy dropped me off at my hotel, I made a plan for Nilo to come by so we could meet in the lobby and discuss the next few days that I would have in Tagaytay to meet with him, our sponsored children and their parents, and get a chance to visit the Pinagpala Center. As we sat at a small, round table surrounded by hotel guests enjoying afternoon tea or coffee, we chatted about the Children Incorporated program and Nilo’s work within the community.

Nilo works with children, adults and entire families to help improve their lives and the community at whole in Tagaytay.

In addition to helping children through sponsorship support at the Pinagpala Center, Nilo also worked with the local police on what he described as “morality training,” in which he conducted lectures on how to incorporate ethical decision making into everyday police work. Nilo also works with parents who are struggling with drug addiction and helps them to rehabilitate by not only getting off drugs, but showing their friends, family and peers that they care about getting better and changing their lives.

I found all of what Nilo was saying very fascinating — especially in regard to his work with drug users. In a country where the former president, Rodrigo Duterte, regularly made global headlines due to his strictly enforced drug policies, which had led to an estimated 12,000 Filipino deaths from 2016 to 2022, it was interesting to hear about the issue from someone within the country, who was working day to day to help those suffering from substance abuse issues as opposed to criminalizing them. I could see how his work in drug rehabilitation, ethical police work, and child poverty all tied in together. Nilo’s efforts were all geared toward education, acceptance and understanding, and providing support to those in need.

Visiting the center

After nearly an hour, we made a plan to meet again outside the hotel early the next day. When Nilo picked me up the following morning, he first took me to visit the homes of some of our sponsored children before we would meet with them and their parents at the Pinagpala Center in the afternoon. The children all live in various parts of the same neighborhood, in walking distance from the center, which they visit a few times a week to receive food, hygiene items, and school supplies. Most of the homes were similar, with only three rooms — a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom — and very limited space.

I was all too happy to have a seat as well to watch and think about how grateful I was to meet Nilo and find out just how much he was doing to help the community at large.

Although modest, I was pleasantly surprised, that compared to so many of the other homes I had visited during my time with Children Incorporated, the houses were made of sturdy concrete and were connected by pavement walkways instead of dirt. Nilo was intrigued that I considered the homes so nice, as he was aware of how poor these families were, and how little money they lived off of.

We visited roughly ten or twelve homes before we got back in Nilo’s car to drive to the Pinagpala Center, where we would wait for the children to arrive. Nilo told me they wanted to thank me for visiting with a song and dance which they had been working on all week, choreographed by Nilo’s wife, a school teacher who helped Nilo at the center when she could. We made our way down a long driveway and stopped next to a two-story building which towered over the smaller houses that surrounded it. Once getting out of the car, I had to stand back to see the top of the center — the impressive building looked new and was obviously constructed very well.

Helping Expand Pinagpala

Thanks to our donors, we were able to support the expansion of the Pinagpala Center. The first of three floors is pictured, which serves as a gathering space for children and parents.

Nilo told me that many years ago, when Children Incorporated first became affiliated with the center, it was a one-story wooden building that was used as a church. The congregation agreed to let Piyog use it to start the sponsorship program, giving her a place to distribute basic needs items to children throughout the month.

The reason the building is so much bigger today, Nilo explained, is that our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, supported the efforts to expand the center, adding two more floors and converting the first floor from wood to concrete.

Once we stepped inside, I could see just how vital that support really was — the first floor was used as a gathering space with a kitchen and small stage. The second floor was used for storage of distribution supplies for our sponsored children. This beautiful center was now big enough and secure enough for Nilo to run our program, one that he was so obviously passionate about. Before I knew it, our quiet tour was interrupted by the excited chatter of small children as they rushed into the building and took their seats by the stage, eagerly awaiting their big performances. I was all too happy to have a seat as well to watch and think about how grateful I was to meet Nilo and find out just how much he was doing to help the community at large.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

You can sponsor a child in the Philippines in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in the Philippines that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | April 11, 2023En Español

Before I left the Children Incorporated office for the Philippines in mid-January, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, made sure to mention to me that I should visit the housing project in Marikina that was built thanks to Children Incorporated donors while I was in Manila.

I loved seeing all the individual touches that the families had added to their homes over the years — bright colored patterns on window curtains and tablecloths, and family photos hanging on the walls.

In 2009, when our former volunteer coordinator, Polly Joson, had yet to retire from her position running our affiliated site, the Fortune’s Children Center, she proposed to Luis the idea of constructing homes for families of our sponsored children in the area. Luis liked the idea, having himself seen the conditions that the families lived in — small shacks along hillsides with no running water or electricity was standard housing for those living in poverty in the Philippines, as in many places around the world.

Building Houses from Across the World

Although he knew it would be a difficult task to accomplish from the United States, Luis trusted Polly’s ability to secure the land and hire a team of builders who could see the project through to completion. The plan was to build three buildings – two identical buildings with 5 apartments each facing one another, and a third building with 3 apartments just behind those.

From start to finish, it took two years to complete the houses, and in 2011, thirteen families moved into their new homes, where they traded dirt floors and sheet metal roofs for solid concrete walls and ceilings that would protect them from harsh rains or dangerous storms. Luis himself had visited the apartments in both 2015 and 2018, and was excited for me to see them, knowing that the same families who originally moved into the homes still resided there, happy to have a permanent place to raise their children.

A mother and sponsored children stand in the doorway of their home in Mt. Goshen, built by Children Incorporated donor funds.

After meeting with our sponsored children and their parents at the Fortune’s Center, and getting to hear their stories of gratitude for their sponsors, we all enjoyed a traditional Filipino lunch at the center. Then it was time for our current volunteer coordinator, Joy, and former sponsored child, Genesis, along with some other volunteers from the center, to take me to see the community where the houses had been built.

We all packed into a cargo van, along with the children and families who lived in the apartments, who were happy to accept a ride up into the hills where the neighborhood is located.

The Mt. Goshen Neighborhood

We arrived less than 10 minutes later, the van pulling over to the side of a small road, after we had climbed steadily and slowly continuously since we had left the center. At first, it was hard to tell where the apartments were — I saw small houses and storefronts, but nothing that seemed to be newer construction. Before I even finished my thought, Joy pointed up a dirt path and let me know we would have to walk the rest of the way, as we had driven as close to the neighborhood as the road would take us.

The dirt and mud path careened further up, and the storefronts quickly disappeared behind us as our surroundings turned more jungle-like, with large plants and trees covering the mid-afternoon sky above us. The walk took no longer than a few minutes, but was on tough terrain, and I started to realize just how incredibly difficult it must have been to get material and equipment to the housing site during construction.

Our group stopped short of a small blue tent that read “Mt. Goshen Neighborhood Association.” To my left, a few local residents sat on benches, greeting us warmly, speaking in Tagalog to Joy and their neighbors who had been walking with us. To my right, a set of five or six stairs led down to a courtyard lined with trees and shrubs which served as the yard for the apartments. The children quickly ran to their apartments, opening the doors, as their mothers followed closely behind. Before I knew it, I was walking in and out of each one, seeing how they were similarly designed, but decorated differently based on the separate styles of each family.

With each doorway I stepped through, I could feel the sense of pride that these families had and how much they cherished being able to raise their families in such a wonderful and safe environment.

A personal touch to each home

All of the homes had a small kitchen, living area, and bedroom downstairs, with a steep staircase leading to a small second floor that was used either as a second bedroom or for storage. All the homes had a small backyard as well, where dogs or chickens were wandering around and laundry was hanging out to dry.

I loved seeing all the individual touches that the families had added to their homes over the years — bright colored patterns on window curtains and tablecloths, and family photos hanging on the walls. With each doorway I stepped through, I could feel the sense of pride that these families had and how much they cherished being able to raise their families in such a wonderful and safe environment.

After we finished visiting with each family, we said our goodbyes to the Mt. Goshen community, and as Joy and Genesis and I headed back down the mountain to return to the Fortune’s Center, I thought about how I couldn’t wait to call Luis to tell him how wonderful I found the the homes to be. I knew he would be thrilled to hear that just as he did, I now knew how life-changing this project had been for so many people.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | April 9, 2023En Español

We are happy to share with you our Spring 2023 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to you, our sponsors and donors, and your generosity and dedication to helping children in need. Enjoy!

Expanding Our Efforts in the Philippines

After many years, we are getting the chance to visit our affiliated sites around the world to meet with our volunteer coordinators and sponsored children again.

In early January, our Director of Development, Shelley Callahan, visited the Philippines, where she met with our volunteer coordinators, sponsored children, and their parents to find out more about how their lives are impacted by the support they receive from their sponsors. Her visit not only marked the first time that Children Incorporated was able to visit the Philippines since 2018, but it was also the first time that we were able to see our newly added affiliated sites in person!

“In 2022, we expanded our sponsorship program in the Philippines to include the Cangumbang Center and the Santo Nino Center, both located in Tacloban within driving distance of the Visayans Center at Bliss, which we have been affiliated with since 2005,” explained Callahan.

“It was so incredible to see the work that we have been able to do in the Philippines first-hand, especially in the specific areas where Typhoon Yolanda devastated the area in 2013.”

“Since then, with the help of Children Incorporated, residents of Tacloban have rebuilt and restructured their lives to be more prepared for natural disasters,” said Callahan. “The support from our sponsors and donors is so vital to the well-being of children here who sometimes can’t leave their homes due to flooding or extensive rainstorms. Our coordinators are on the ground making sure our sponsored children are being fed and have hygiene items and school supplies every month so they don’t have to worry about how and when they can get the resources they need.”

We are happy to share with you our Spring 2023 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to you, our sponsors and donors, and your generosity and dedication to helping children in need.

VISITING THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT SEAS

HELPING JORDAN ACHIEVE HIS DREAMS

Our Higher Education Fund supports our sponsored children who are interested in pursuing university or college degrees once they graduate from high school.

Recently, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, received an update about former sponsored student, Jordan, who has been receiving support from this special fund.

“Jordan was enrolled in our sponsorship program at Sparta Elementary School and then Alleghany High School in North Carolina. During his high school years, he took honors and dual-enrollment classes. Due to his academic achievement, our coordinator recommended him for our Higher Education Program,” said Renée.

Jordan was accepted, and he began his university studies at Western Carolina University in 2019. However, as a first-generation college student, Jordan found the transition to college challenging. The pandemic made things increasingly difficult for Jordan and his family. He decided to take a leave of absence in Spring 2022 in order to de-stress and to think about his options.”

“Jordan then chose to transfer to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He contacted me last September to let me know he had re-enrolled. He is now working on a bachelor’s degree in music, and he is in good academic standing. His major is in Instrumental Music Education, and he wants to be a music and band teacher.

Our President and CEO, Ron Carter, is celebrating 20 years with Children Incorporated in 2023. Read more about his time with our organization in the full newsletter!

When Jordan contacted me last fall, he told me, ‘Children Incorporated has done so much for me through the years. I’m so glad I was able to stay a part of it while in college. You all are absolutely wonderful. Thank you for letting me be a part of this, and for being the people you are.’”

We are so proud of you and your hard work, Jordan! If you would like to find out more about our Higher Education Fund or make a donation, please contact us today.

Making Christmas Special in New Mexico — and Around the World

Our sponsors make Christmas special for so many children around the world every year — and often times provide them with the only gifts that they receive.

Our volunteer coordinator, Cecelia, from the Tohaali Community School in New Mexico, wrote to us after the 2022 holiday season to express her gratitude:

“I want to thank all of the Children Incorporated sponsors for all their support. I purchased items for the students at our school in the sponsorship program before the winter break, and my shopping trip included not only basic items, but Christmas presents, too. I wish the Children Incorporated staff and sponsors could have seen the faces of these children when they received the gift bags — it was priceless. Some of them were completely speechless and in awe. You are truly making a huge difference in their lives.”

Every holiday season, our sponsors and donors make the holidays special for children in our program. From India to El Salvador to Arizona, your donations bring cheer and joy to so many families who otherwise might not have the means to celebrate.

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER

Shelley Callahan | April 2, 2023En Español

My flight to Manila from Washington, D.C. arrived in the late evening, so I didn’t have a chance to see much of the city before our volunteer coordinator from the Fortune’s Children Center (or Fortune Center), Joy, picked me up the following morning.

It was a beautiful day in mid-January in the Philippines, and as Joy and I made the 45-minute journey from the Makati district to the Marikina neighborhood of Metro Manila, we excitedly talked about how it was my first time in the country and how I was looking forward to learning more about Children Incorporated’s decades of work with the Fortune Center.

Joy has been our volunteer coordinator for nearly 10 years since our former and long-term volunteer coordinator, Polly, had retired. Polly started the Fortune Center many years ago, and worked tirelessly within the community of Fortune, which she named the center after, to help children and their families living in poverty — much in part thanks to the support the center received from our sponsors and donors.

The Fortune Center supports local families and their children in the Marikina area of Metro Manila.

When we arrived at the Fortune Center, a crowd of children and parents was already there, anticipating our arrival. It was a Saturday – a day in which the children usually wouldn’t be at the center, but essentially a perfect day for my visit since the kids were out of school for the weekend and at least one parent was not working that day so they could also come to the center to meet me.

Nearly all of the 40 children enrolled in our program were in attendance, ranging from 1^st grade all the way to high school — and to my surprise, even some graduates from our program had been invited and were there as well! One of the graduates was a young man named Genesis, who was acting as host for the day, standing behind a podium with a microphone on a stage in the main room of the center.

Joy had arranged for some of the children to perform songs and dances in celebration of my arrival — it had been almost five years since a representative of Children Incorporated had been to the Philippines, so there was much reason to celebrate a guest. The Philippines had some of the stricter regulations on travel and tourism during the pandemic, but now the country had opened up, and Filipinos were excited to see visitors again. Genesis introduced the groups of performers one by one, and as they took the stage, I could tell they were all very proud to be able to show their talents to not only me, but to their parents as well.

After the performances, Genesis introduced a few of the mothers, who were given a chance to read thank you letters to their children’s sponsors, expressing their gratitude for the support they receive. Through their letters, I learned that in this area of Marikina, like in other low or middle-income neighborhoods in Manila, families lived very modestly, surviving on low-wages working in construction jobs, service jobs, or factory jobs, often finding making ends meet difficult. The mothers were so appreciative of the opportunity to send their children to the Fortune Center to receive meals before and after school, and to get tutoring support — all in addition to the monthly subsidies of school supplies, clothes and hygiene items our sponsors provide.

Having a chance to travel so far from home to hear Genesis’s story, as well as those of the mothers of children in our program, really was a reason to celebrate.

Next, Genesis, who had been a sponsorship recipient himself since 4^th grade, talked about his experience growing up with a sponsor. As a young man, his father was incarcerated, and his mother struggled to raise him and his siblings as a single parent. Thanks to his sponsor, he was able to stay in school and get an education, and the Fortune Center offered him a place to concentrate on his studies. Once he graduated from high school, Genesis pursued a degree in education at a local university and wanted to give back to his community by helping other young children realize their potential.

As he spoke passionately about the importance of educating youth, he made sure to emphasize that he attributed his success in life to having a sponsor who made him believe in himself and provide him the help he desperately needed. Now, Genesis not only works as a teacher, but tutors other students at the Fortune Center, as well as his nieces and nephews — all of which keeps him very busy!

I was so touched by Genesis’s speech. He is a truly inspirational person, and a wonderful representation of the power of sponsorship and what one individual can do to help another to drastically change the course of their lives. Having the chance to travel so far from home to hear Genesis’s story, as well as those of the mothers of children in our program, really felt like a reason to celebrate.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | March 28, 2023

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our March 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 WORLD

Just in this past month, our donors have:

– Provided funds to build a protective fence around the Lourdes School in Bolivia after it was damaged by a fire

– Provided funds to purchase menstrual hygiene items for 25 girls at the Juan Apostol School in Guatemala

Along with so much more, your donations this month have allowed us to purchase water filters for the Santo Nino Center in the Philippines.

– Provided funds to purchase water filters for the Santo Nino Center in the Philippines

– Provided funds to purchase warm clothing for children at Mullins Elementary School in Kentucky

– Provide funds to purchase a month’s supply of food for 25 children at the Dandora Center in Kenya

– Provided emergency funds to purchase clothes and supplies for a child at Tuba City Boarding School in Arizona who was placed in a foster care home

– Provided funds to purchase water filters for families at the Pingapala Center in the Philippines

– Provided daily meals for 25 children at the Fortune Center in the Philippines

– Provided funds to purchase meals for 200 children living in poverty who attend the St. John’s Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds for basic needs for children living in an economic crisis who attend the Armenian Evangelical Secondary School – Anjar in Lebanon

… all in addition to the support you already provide through sponsorship to children in our program. Thank you for everything you do for children in need!

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HOW do I MAKE A DONATION TO CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can donate to Children Incorporated in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at hello@children-inc.org and a staff member can assist you with making a donation; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and choose a particular fund in which to make a donation.

DONATE

Shelley Callahan | March 21, 2023

For many years, I have looked forward to the time when I would be able to visit our affiliated sites in the Philippines.

Over the next weeks, I will continue to share more stories about each of our affiliated sites in the Philippines.

My knowledge of the country has been limited to what I would hear on global new stations relating to politics or natural disasters, and without ever having visited, I knew little else about this nation consisting of over 7,000 islands. But as with all the other countries I have had the privilege of traveling to with Children Incorporated, I knew that as soon as I met with our volunteer coordinators in the Philippines, my perspective of the country would change instantly and drastically.

A Trip across the globe

In mid-January, I first flew from the United States to the capital of Manila to meet with Joy and Angel, who operate the Fortune’s Children Center in the Fortune barangay — one of sixteen barangays (equivalent to a neighborhood or suburb in the U.S.) in the district of Marikina in Metro Manila. While there, I also had the chance to meet our former long-time coordinator, and the founder of the center, Polly Johnson.

Three days later, Joy drove me to Tagaytay, two hours south of Manila, where I met with our volunteer coordinator, Nilo, who runs the Pingapala Children’s Center. I was also introduced to Poying, who started the center after seeing the success and impact of the Fortune Center run by her close friend, Polly.

The second week of my journey took me on a short flight from Manila to Tacloban, in the Eastern Visayans region of the Philippines. Just in the last few years, we expanded our sponsorship program from one affiliated site in the region to three, all operated by Volunteers for the Visayans (VFV), a non-governmental organization that supports underprivileged communities in the area. My visit would mark the first time Children Incorporated was seeing the two new sites in person since their establishment as our partners during the pandemic.

A full schedule of visits

The main site of the five run by the VFV is the Visayans Center at Bliss, which is located in the heart of Tacloban in the Bliss neighborhood, tucked away among small alleyways surrounded by low-income housing. The Cancumbang and Santo Nino Centers are in more remote areas of the city, about 45 minutes away by car, where those families living in more rural settings face different types of struggles living in poverty from those in the city.

As always, thank you for your continued support of children in our program in the Philippines and around the world.

Our volunteer coordinators, Wimwim and Ester, who both work full-time for VFV, not only showed me all of the centers but scheduled their monthly supply distributions during my time with them so I met all our sponsored children and their parents while also seeing our work supporting these families in action.

Over the next weeks, I will continue to share more stories about each of our affiliated sites in the Philippines to highlight what our sponsors and donors have done for so many people in this vibrant, peaceful and beautiful country known as the Pearl of the Orient Seas. As always, thank you for your continued support of children in our program in the Philippines and around the world.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD