Tag Archives: children in need

Shelley Callahan | April 30, 2023En Español

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 passed, it would be recorded as the country’s worst-ever natural disaster.

I had a chance to hear first-hand about how Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, had affected every person in Tacloban.

Thankfully, in the aftermath, Children Incorporated was able to support families as as they rebuilt their homes, thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund, while still providing basic needs to children through our sponsorship program, which had become more important as the entire community of Tacloban worked to clean up, and for some, start all over again.

Since I was so new to the organization at the time, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the support we were able to offer, and it wouldn’t be until I visited Tacloban in early 2023 that I would come to find out just how detrimental the storm had been to thousands of people, forever changing the city and the way in which its residents lived.

I arrived in Tacloban after a short flight from Manila on a Thursday afternoon in January of this year, in anticipation of visiting three of our affiliated sites in the area over the course of the next four days. Our volunteer coordinators, WimWim and Ester, from VFV, were waiting for me outside of the airport with a small Children Incorporated sign with our logo and my name. After we got into the taxi, we drove through the small, coastal city towards the downtown area, and I had a chance to hear first-hand about how Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, had affected every person in Tacloban.

WimWim talked about how the storms were so common in the Philippines that no one took the evacuation notices too seriously, thinking that it would pass, and little damage would occur as had happened many times in the past. Her husband and two young sons, she explained, stayed home to wait the storm out, but as the winds gradually became stronger and stronger, reaching top speeds of 165 mph, she realized that this storm was much more powerful than others she and her family had endured.

And just like everyone that lived through Typhoon Yolanda who has not forgotten it and never will, ten years later, Children Incorporated has not forgotten the people of Tacloban either.

As she described the water rushing into her house, I got chills thinking about the panic she must have felt. She explained that the water came so fast, they had no chance to get out of the house, and they quickly found themselves floating towards the ceiling as their furniture and belongings swarmed around them.

WimWim recalled almost losing hope that they would survive, when she realized there was a window open on the second floor of their home, and her and her family were able to escape to the roof and wait for the water to recede. It all lasted less than 10 minutes, but I am sure felt like a lifetime to them.

The ship, Evan Jocelyn, was one of three ships that ran aground during Typhoon Yolanda. Today, it remains on land as a memorial to the devastation caused in Tacloban.

When the storm ended and the weather turned calm, the local government reported that 6,000 residents of Tacloban had lost their lives, largely due to the storm surge that also damaged or destroyed 90% of the structures in the city. As WimWim described it, her town was unrecognizable, covered in debris and fallen trees. Large container ships had run aground, and entire neighborhoods on the coastline had been swept away to sea. WimWim promised she would take me to see some of the many monuments that had been constructed over the years in remembrance of those that lost their lives, many of whom were buried with just a simple white cross and no other identifying gravestone.

Not long after Typhoon Yolanda, relief organizations started arriving in Tacloban to provide for the immediate needs of families — depending on their contracts, according to WimWim, some organizations stayed for a few weeks, and some stayed for a few years.

Although the help was needed, and appreciated, in many ways it didn’t offer the sustainable support that she felt was vital to those living in poverty in Tacloban. Often times, aid organizations didn’t consult with locals about how to offer help in the ways that it was needed most — instead, administrators would determine how they felt they should help, which sometimes wasn’t helpful at all. As WimWim described it, it was a “good bad problem to have” — the good being that the aid organizations arrived at all, and the bad being that they didn’t listen to the locals needs.

Children Incorporated, she said, has never been one of types of organizations. Having worked with VFV since 2005, and still expanding on the work we do together today, we have offered VFV consistent and continuous support through very hard times in the community. WimWim proudly spoke of the power of sponsorship, and how grateful she was for the flexibility of our program that allows her to decide exactly what children and their families need depending on the circumstances. And just like everyone that lived through Typhoon Yolanda who has not forgotten it and never will, ten years later, Children Incorporated has not forgotten the people of Tacloban either.

***

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 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.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

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.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

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.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

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.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Ron Carter | March 13, 2023

Dear Friends,

My nineteen-year-old daughter, a sophomore in college, moved into a shared apartment back in the fall. Deciding which of her belongings to bring from home was a challenge because of the limited space in her closet and dresser at the apartment.

New needs arise each day, and Children Incorporated is there to meet as many of those needs as possible, often through this special outreach effort – our Clothing and Shoes Fund.

My family is currently in the process of downsizing to a smaller house, so we wanted my daughter to take as many of her personal belongings with her as possible. She was actually forced to get rid of quite a few quality items as she moved into her new residence because there simply was no room for them.

You see, my daughter loves clothes and shoes, and she has a lot of them. She likes nothing better than to scour the racks at thrift, bargain, and vintage clothing stores in search of discounted name-brands and stylish jeans, tops, outerwear and sneakers. This problem – having too many clothes and shoes – is definitely not one that the children enrolled in Children Incorporated’s sponsorship program ever encounter. In fact, many of them face just the opposite issue. Over the years, we have heard numerous stories of children with only one outfit suitable to wear to school, or of children whose clothes are threadbare and ill-fitting. We have even witnessed siblings who shared one coat between them, forcing them to alternate the days they attended school during the heart of winter.

Our Clothing and Shoes Fund provides for children in the United States and across the world.

It is a common theme, even today, in many of our U.S. site locations for children to attend school during the coldest months of the year without socks, wearing flimsy footwear such as flip-flops, and without jackets, coats, gloves, or hats.

Our Clothing Fund is one of the most important resources we have for helping children to dress appropriately, neatly, and warmly. This fund has provided pants, shirts, shoes and socks to thousands upon thousands of children in need. It was one of the first special funds that we created back in the 1960s and was originally called simply our Warm Clothing Fund. Over the decades we, through the incredible and continuing generosity of our sponsors and donors, have supplied children with coats and jackets, hats and gloves, and in some situations, sandals, shorts and t-shirts, to equip them for the weather where they live.

We come to you again, asking for your support of our Clothing Fund. New needs arise each day, and Children Incorporated is there to meet as many of those needs as possible, often through this special outreach effort – our Clothing Fund.

Our organization has repeatedly been recognized as an exemplary nonprofit by the major charitable monitoring groups, such as Charity Navigator and Charity Watch, because we take helping children seriously. Our mission is and always has been to improve lives and to offer hope and opportunity. We can only do these things with your help.

From the heart,
Ron Carter, President and CEO
Children Incorporated

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