Wednesday, April 21, 2010

scholarships


Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed to the Library! I was so proud to take the books that you sent. Great job on picking them out! The kids were excited. It was so fun to open an enormous suitcase full of books. Hands reached out to inspect them, and Jamailah started reading on the spot!

Now the students in the village have Webster’s English Dictionaries (a specific request) and a high quality Children’s Encyclopedia with a very impressive collection of sea creatures! These will definitely help kids with schoolwork. English is very important. Thanks to you, they also have picture books for the toddlers, every kind of children’s book you can imagine, and several classics. So tell your children thank you for parting with their books!

It was fun to take Mom to the village! In typical GK fashion, we were welcomed as family. They called us Momma Shannon and Momma Niki all day. Daddy Lucas (written on a sign for us) couldn’t make it. Jellyfish hives, we think. The kids were very disappointed. I got to meet the family who lives in a house that we helped paint. The mom fed me delicious fried bananas. Then we danced. That’s right. The kids sang the Gawad Kalinga song and did a routine to Nobody that would make the Wonder Girls proud. Next the ladies of the village pulled us (ok, mom jumped) onto the dance floor - the street between the homes.

I ate my first Star Apple while we got an update. Things are going well. The government has donated land for 200 homes. The mayor is very supportive of GK. Presently, there are around 40 houses built. Homes are awarded based on need to people who are homeless or landless. Beneficiaries have to help build the homes. There are around 3000 families in the area that qualify and are waiting for a home.

There are around 50 children in the village now, and all but a few are in school. My mom is working to find sponsors for 8 kids who want to go to high school but can’t afford it. Three young adults, Danilo, Melvin,and Jeramie, hope to start college in June. We started sponsoring Benjie and Delia last year, and they are doing very well. So Lucas and I have just created a scholarship program to get kids in college and help them succeed. If you want to sponsor a student with us, I'll tell you how it works. It's easy.

The village also needs a couple of laptops to share if you have one to donate. Education and computer skills will substantially help children in this village rise out of poverty. The college students will soon be able to support themselves and help their families if we can get them through school. I was given several scholarships and now I get to give a few. I'd love to do this with you. :)

Monday, February 1, 2010

Library Books


When I was a child, I had books. You probably did, too. I loved my big mother goose book of nursery rhymes and my Richard Scarry books with endless words and pictures on every page. I read the biography of Thomas Edison in 3rd grade and read the Little House on the Prairie series from the school library. Later on it was Trixie Belden mysteries and Judy Blume. In first grade, I wanted to be in the top reading group - they got to sit on the big tire and read more. And I loved it when Mrs. James read The Boxcar Children to us. I wonder if that is because my parents fostered a love for books and learning in me from day one. There are tons of statistics that correlate reading to your children with success. To read some facts, go here. I want to pay it forward. I want to get books in the hands of children who don't have any in the Philippines. From everything I've read and learned, education is key to eliminating poverty in the world. Reading is the first step. If you'd like to help, just let me know. I know about 50 kids that would appreciate it. Scroll down to see some of their faces.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Chance to Give Back

Lucas and I have recently gotten involved with Gawad Kalinga, an organization that helps the poorest of the poor. GK builds villages and communities. As we have visited sites and asked beneficiaries how we can help, education seems to be the most hopeful avenue and the highest priority. If this generation of children, living in the villages, can finish school and go to college, they will be able to lift themselves and other family members out of poverty. We want to invite you to help make that happen.

The most urgent need is sponsorship for college. The school year starts on June 8th. In the village, there are currently 3 students waiting for financial help to go to college. Delia, Joy, and Benjie. One has been waiting for 3 years. Along with friends and family, we would like to make that happen. It only costs $360 per student per year to complete a college degree in Computer Technology. That is $1080 per year for 3 students. The program is only 2 years long, so in 2 years they will each be able to work and help support their families.

You can read about each student below. If this resonates with you and you'd like to partner with us in sending them to college, please let me know. We would love to work together with you to help a few deserving young people and their families rise out of poverty.

If you would like to read about how we got involved, check out the previous posts and pictures.

Meet Delia



Delia is a sweet and beautiful 21 year old woman who lives with her family at the GK Bais City village. She currently volunteers her time to help out with the children's programs and would like to go to college. When asked why she wants to go to college, her reasons include getting a good job, helping her family out financially, and creating a better future which she will share with her family.

She writes. . .

First of all, I want to greet you - a very good day and the pink of health to you and your family. I am really, really happy to know that I have a sponsor for my studies. I am privileged and very thankful that there are kind-hearted people who are willing to give support to those who cannot afford to go to college because of financial difficulty. I believe that with your kindness as you assist me in my tuition fees, i could go to college. With your willingness to help me, I could surely continue and finish my studies.

I come from a poor family. My father is a tricycle driver and my mother is a plain housewife. Thus, I have been blessed to have you sponsoring my studies. I have high hopes that someday my dreams will come true.

Thank you so much! And may God bless you more!

Yours truly,

Delia P. Engreso

Meet Benjie




Benjie is 21 years old and thinking about the future. His dream is a better and financially secure future for him and his family. He hopes to complete college and find a good job. With the money he earns, he plans to help his parents, his 4 brothers and his sister with their needs.

Benjie's appeal to potential sponsors. . .

A pleasant day! may you and your family be in good health.

It is a fact that our family is financially hard-up. My parents get to work but only irregularly and on a short-term contractual basis. This is why their income is allotted only to the basic necessities of the family.

It is in this concern that I ask for your generosity to support me in my college education because my parents cannot meet the expense of it. If you grant my plea, I would do my best in my studies in return for your goodwill.

I'm so thankful for all the support you grant me. May you and your family be blessed with more graces in life!

Yours truly,

Benjie


Meet Maryjoy



Maryjoy (left) is a smart lovely 17 year old girl. She knows it is not easy to find a good job unless you finish college. Her dream is to study computer technology, get a good job, and help her family with their needs. She has 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

Maryjoy's words. . .

Good day! I pray that you are in good health upon reading my message.

I have to admit that my parents cannot afford to send me to college. They don't have enough resources --- since my parents have no permanent jobs. The family stretches the meager income to sustain the basic needs of the family. So, the idea of providing me with a tertiary education becomes a vague reality.

I wish you to know that I need your kindness so I can proceed to college. How I hope I could win your confidence in supporting my studies. I assure you that I will achieve my goals and be successful. At this very moment, I am very thankful for all the support you extend to me.

May God bless you and your family more!

Yours truly,

Maryjoy


Our Story with GK


Gawad Kalinga. It means to give care. And it is happening for the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. Last year, my sister-in-law mentioned GK to me when I told her we were planning to scuba dive in the Philippines. She was aware of GK's work and recommended I check into it. On the internet, I found an upcoming GK rally at the Filipino community center in Seattle. I was curious, so Lucas and I headed down to south Seattle not knowing what to expect.

As we walked in, we were greeted with typical Filipino hospitality by Tita Mayin. After singing the Filipino national anthem and a prayer, we heard a presentation that brought tears to my eyes. It was obvious that real change was taking place in the Philippines among the poor. People were being surrounded with holistic care and support, trained in sustainable livelihoods, and working together as communities to rise out of poverty. It was compelling and it was hopeful.



Next we met Tito Burt and found out that he and a group from Seattle just happened to be going on a "GK Build" in the Philippines soon. So we went home, talked about it, and signed up to join them. A few weeks later, we found ourselves being greeted by smiling children in the GK village of Libmanan. We toured the village, met beneficiaries, moved hollow blocks, played with children, helped dig a foundation, and ate loads of food. On our last night, we were ask to speak about our experience at a party. I cried as I spoke, because our time there had been so rich and I had felt so much love.
As we traveled around, we checked out a few other GK villages. We ended up volunteering at a small village in Bais City which is in the province of Negros, an island in the central Philippines. Again we didn't know exactly what to expect, or do, but we showed up and were warmly welcomed. We helped paint a house aquamarine and watermelon pink, Lucas played basketball and thumb wrestled with the kids, I taught them new games, we met families, we took pictures, we ate fish balls, we talked with the mayor who got the land donated and government workers who donated christmas bonus money for houses, we danced, and we were serenaded. We also met the caretaker team - a group of committed local people who work tirelessly to support the village with healthcare and feeding programs, education, values training, livelihood programs, youth activties including the arts, and property maintenance. As before, I left with a full heart, thankful to be embraced by people who are poor materially but who had offered me an incredibly rich experience in culture, kindness, generosity, and love.














Gawad Kalinga is inspiring and impressive. In many ways, I want to be part of a community like the ones I have seen in GK. In the village at Bais City, neighbors work together, welcome new arrivals, talk outside their homes as the sun goes down, children run around and play safely outside together, people share food, and dancing and singing are part of life. It is a peaceful place. It is a place I want to visit again and a community I want to support.

From everything I have seen, the GK model works and I want to be a part of what they are doing to help the poor. The major challenges in the village at Bais City are financial. Most of the village members formerly lived as squatters by the river in shacks. Most are not educated or literate. In order to live in a GK village, the beneficiaries have gone through a 12 week values training program and have done the manual labor to build their own homes. They have worked very hard building houses, planting gardens, landscaping their property, getting their children into school, and maintaining their community through a homeowners association. They are hard-working people, but it is very difficult to find jobs in the area. It is sugar cane country, so one of the only options is to work seasonally to harvest sugar cane which doesn't provide enough income for a full year. Others work as tricycle drivers for a few pesos every day. It is not unusual for a family to have 5 children, so there is not enough money to meet basic needs. New livelihood opportunities and education are the greatest needs of the community. When those needs are met, the beneficiaries will be well on their way to sustainability.

Read about GK @ www.gawadkalinga.com

Read about the GK village in Bais City @ www.geocities.com/pmgbais

To donate online through the U.S. partner organization, go to www.gk-usa.org

less for self, more for others, enough for all 
- motto of gawad kalinga