Christmas in the Philippines is filled with unique, family oriented traditions. It is the most important holidays in the country even more important than one’s own birthday. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, with estimates 85 percent of the population belonging to this faith in the Philippines. Filipinos truly keep Christ in Christmas. The tradition evolves from an old customs called Simbang Gabi or Night Mass where people wake up as early as 3am to prepare to attend a mass which usually starts at 4am where the story of nativity is read from the bible for nine days until Christmas Eve. After the mass, families love to eat native delicacies such as bibingka (rice flour and egg based cake), salabat (hot ginger tea) and tsokolate (thick native cocoa). Vendors sell these just outside the church.

The parol or star lantern is what symbolizes Christmas in the Philippines. These lanterns display dazzling, colorful lights especially at night. You will find parols hanging on the street lamps, offices, and malls. It represents the guiding light, the star of Bethlehem. It represents hope…. Noche Buena a traditional Christmas Eve feast is a time of thanksgiving and is like an open house in every home. Family, friends and neighbors are welcome to eat and drop by to wish everyone a Maligayang Pasko or a Merry Christmas. Children must take their godparents and elderly relatives hand to their forehead as a sign of respect and ask for blessings it’s called “mano po”. Christmas in the Philippines is a time for families, friends and it’s absolutely unique over there. It’s been a long seventeen years since I have seen Christmas in my hometown of Cavite. Though the poverty is still there I am proud to say that nothing compares to the Christmas celebration in the Philippines. But as the saying goes the most important thing during the holidays is being with your love ones. I am so lucky that I have family and friends here to celebrate Christmas with. I hope you had a meaningful holidays. May you have a great year ahead!

From my family to yours Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon. Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

This holiday season, as we’re dashing across town buying presents celebrating with friends and family, let’s remember to take some time out of our hectic schedules to make the season a little brighter for those who are in need. Wondering where our next meal is coming from is something most of us never have to worry about. However for many children in the Philippines it a constant concern. Thanks to everyone who has supported this cause, this past Sunday, December 20, 2009 hot meals we’re given to over 250 hungry children at Tabing Dagat, an impoverished area of Cavite. By providing warm meals during this holiday season we are bring hope to those who are struggling to survive. The activity was conducted by the Baranggay Captain Evez Delacruz along with volunteers who unselfishly shared their time and effort in the preparation and distribution of the meals.

Thank you to all who made it possible for these kids to enjoy a much needed meal. I would also like to thank the people of Bacoor who volunteered their time to help facilitate everything. Please check out the pictures so you can see the children that you’re helping.

Having grown up in the Philippines, I have experienced living in poverty, but what I encountered when I went to visit the Tabing Dagat of Bacoor Cavite this past November was truly heartbreaking. The little girl photographed above is covered with open sores and she’s very sick. She lives in a house which has no doors, windows, furniture, plumbing or running water. A makeshift shanty. It serves as their home which they share with multiple other family members. There’s no bathroom, they do their necessities wherever they can. Unfortunately, this house is not the exception there. The reality is many children just like Gemma are sick and dying everyday. Impoverished Filipino families cannot afford healthcare or basic hygiene and sanitation facilities, and according to the barangay Captain (similar to a Mayor), four out of five children get sick without being able to see the doctor at all. The sheer force of of poverty I saw there is overwhelming and it will take me a few months to digest. You see I was lucky. After spending days of ducking in and out of shafts, walking muddy roads, surrounded by the smell of open sewers while visiting the impoverished area, I got to leave. They don’t. Those children will still be there waiting for a ray of hope. Individuals like you can help begin a chain reaction of hope and caring, with more and more people joining in and making a difference. More people need to be compassionate and understanding. It’s a very tough world out there or these children and life is the most precious gift. We need to save and protect these children.

Children’s Hope Fund, Inc. is our official name. Although we are incorporated we still have not finalized our 501(c)(3) status. Getting qualified as a non-profit organization is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult, but luckily we found a wonderful lawyer who is helping us through the application process pro-bono. There remain a few details to iron out, but we’re making good progress.

We’ve accomplished many of our goals. The next big one is getting our 501(c)(3) status, and we’re working diligently on making that happen. Thank you to all who have supported us in this endeavor. We are extremely grateful for those of you who helped us out monetarily, as well as with your time, so far and we hope that you will continue to do so in the future.

Thanksgiving is traditionally known for spending time with family and friends, gathering to give thanks and share a really good meal. This Thanksgiving take time to reflect and appreciate your many blessings. All too often we forget about the little things that we have been blessed with and forget to count these as blessings. Are you alive? Can you read? Do you own shoes, do you have clothes? Do you go to sleep in a bed with a roof over your head and a full stomach? We always wish we had this or we had that, but at times we seem to overlook of all the blessings that have been bestowed upon us already.

My thought for this holiday is focused on being happy and at peace with everything. There are so many people suffering all over this country and the world. They don’t have enough to eat, they don’t have a roof over their head and they don’t have a permanent place to live. There is so much poverty in so much of the world and many will go to sleep hungry. Count your blessings each and every day, not just on Thanksgiving and try not to take things for granted. It doesn’t matter if you live in a mansion, an apartment or a room in a downstairs basement. The fact is if you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, then you are better off than most of the world. Try to help those who are less fortunate and you will find that if you do well to others, it comes back to you tenfold. Though money can buy you lots of things it can never buy you happiness.

Every day, millions of children struggle to survive in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances. You can’t help them all, but you can give the gift of a brighter future to one child in need.

Impoverished children of Bacoor are in desperate need of help. Right now, none of them are being reached. They’re barely surviving. For these children it means struggling with poverty in the immediate present, and the loss of prospects for the future: children are dropping out of school. They are begging at a very young age. They don’t have the opportunity to fully develop themselves. They are exposed to risks which are larger than the risks of children who might be in school, who might have a more normal life. There’s a whole generation of children whose basic needs are not being met, but also who cannot be as functional in society as one might desire. But there is hope, you can join me in reaching a goal of making the world a better place by helping these children grow into responsible, healthy, educated and self-reliant adults. Please help me raise funds for school supplies, used books, used clothing, shoes, toys, and medicine to send to these children.

Over 500 students greeted us at Bacoor Elementary School when we hosted a meal program on Wednesday, November 11, some went to school hungry and dirty without shoes or adequate clothing, however, the children were very optimistic. In this trip I met hundreds of children and dozens of families. While my heart aches, I am encouraged that despite the extreme poverty they live in, the children still have hopes and dreams. The school is filled with laughter and kids running around. When I asked the children what they want to be when they grow up? The answers are lawyer, teacher, doctor, nurse, policeman, fireman, president. Their potential is being lost under the weight of the extreme poverty they deal with every day.

Even though education is the right of every child, not all children get to go to school. Education is essential to every child that I met. It’s the most reliable way of working towards breaking the cycle of extreme poverty. Every child has a right to it. As the world becomes a smaller place with technology advances, we become more aware of of the well being of children around the world. It is up to us to decide whether we choose to try to help save the lives of these children. The weakest and the most helpless in our world can only depend on the goodwill of those who have the means to help. Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. What we accomplished on this trip made a huge impact on the lives of so many children. You are a hero for over 900 children we that we visited on this trip. You made an immediate difference in their lives.

Happiness, freedom, love and peace of mind are always attained by giving it to someone else.

As we passed out the backpacks at Bacoor Elementary School the children’s faces lit up with excitement. They said it was the first time that they had ever received any help like this. Some teachers cried, saying that this gave them hope for the children’s future and theirs. The children were very eager to see us. They’re very excited about the backpacks they all received. Each one had 5 notebooks, 2 pencils, 2 erasers, notepads, crayons in them, and the teachers received a huge box of chalk enough to last the rest of the school year. All of these items had been requested by the faculty and staff for their students.

Looking around the classroom I noticed a few kids looked quite mature for the 1st grade. After speaking with the teacher I was informed that these children cannot afford school supplies to attend school one kid is 12 years old he wanted to attend school so bad so he sells goods in the morning so he can afford school supplies before attending first grade.

My vision is to help create schools where a poor family doesn’t have to provide their own educational materials (their earnings are barely enough to buy food), and over the next fifteen years alter the culture so that education and a better life is a certainty for those who are willing to work for it. Give these children a future, a sense of pride and dignity. So they don’t have it so hard.

I am very grateful for everyone who supported this project, your help made a huge impact in the lives of these children. I was able to provide meals, school supplies, candy treats, medicine, rice and canned goods to those who needed it the most. Without your help, none of it would have been possible. Thank you.

Over 300 kids greeted us this past Saturday when we hosted a meal for the children. Malnutrition rates are so high in the poorest area of Bacoor, Tabing Dagat, which makes meals for these children absolutely critical. These kids are all roughly 7 years of age. They were quite small for their age. Despite their cheery faces, they were incredibly thin.

By the time the project is finished here and it’s my time to return to Colorado, we will have fed over 900 kids (1 day that they don’t have to worry if they’re going to eat or not). I am hoping that I can continue a meals program for these kids even just once a month.

Thank you to all who made it possible for this kids to enjoy a much needed meal. I would also like to thank the people of Bacoor who volunteered their time to help me facilitate everything. Please check out the pictures so you can see the children that you’re helping.

Went to the city to pick up 1,000 notebooks, erasers, pencils, chalk and notepads. I ordered over 200 backpacks, as well as crayons, candy treats for the kids and faculty members were purchased as well. This is great as I know we can really provide some serious help. There are over 1,000 kids who need help, but our goal is to help the neediest kids first, those who have no money to spend on school supplies. Some of the kids are orphans being raised by relatives. Some have parents that can’t find work.