I will only put information here that I know is true and Charity work that is undertaken within the Philippines. If you are involved in a Charity maybe you would like to write a piece to be added here. But all charity organisations here MUST be registered and proof of what your doing shown or looking at doing.
Things worth buying to give away.. you will no doubt come across street kids or poorer people around your neighbourhood. Besides such things as clothing. .Toothbrushes and toothpaste are other essential items that are out of the reach of many. I would always advise taking something that you can give away on your travels. You will come across street kids more regular than you would expect. Much better to give away a few cheap items than to give money. Which could go towards glue (for sniffing) or to help fund a relatives drug habit. There are too many people to help but doing a little bit here and there helps many.
SPACE IN YOUR LUGGAGE?
How many times have you travelled and realised half the stuff you brought with you wasnt needed? Maybe packing your luggage you have realised there isnt enough room for the stuff you bought on holiday to bring back and have to leave things behind??
Well an idea ive come up with is something that will help children in the Philippines aswell as get rid of your excess. Most people these days wonder where charity money goes and what is done with it.
So how can you make a difference without it costing you a penny? the answer kids stuff you will be surprised at how much stuff you have in your home or relatives which hasnt been used for years clothing kids have grown out of or some small toys. Everything is valuable to someone with nothing. So all im asking is if you have a bit of excess space in your luggage that you normally fill with clothes you never wear fill it with stuff kids can wear im going to sort a drop off point in Cebu for the items. But please at least think about this because you arent only helping children your clearing excess difference is you can see where the items are going and the smiles it will bring to kids faces. Even if you dont do this via us do it off your own bat and make a little difference to a big problem. You will make kids happy and also find that you have room in your luggage for loading up on route home.
A big thanks for at least thinking about this :) for more info please email me at matt_wilkie@hotmail.co.uk
It was a Thursday morning when we arranged to meet up with Emily who lives in Talisay she is the daughter of the founders of Mercy In Action and her husband Tim works as a Project Manager who will be overseeing the upcoming childrens home project.
We met at Gaisano Fiesta Mall in Tubanok and also another fellow brit Brendon was there also there for the same reason as myself and my wife April. Most charity projects ive come across personally seem to be a gravy train for people who thrive on free lunches and expenses with the charity hoping that theyre influence will bring in large sums of money. Which is mainly why I would never give money to something where I cant see where every penny goes. There has also been a lot of press lately to do with "make corruption history" rather than poverty because quite simply its the corruption that causes the problems in the first place. Getting back to the trip. We met up around 8.30am myself and April had breakfast at Chow king. After we all met and had a general chat (Chika Chika) we then waited for the official government L300 Pickup to come and collect us and on Philippine time was running late. We had arranged to travel by bike after Emilys car was stolen on the Sunday but due to my wife being heavily pregnant Emily pulled a few strings and managed to borrow the truck.
We all boarded and off we went after around 20minutes of heading into the mountains we came to a small clearing where we hopped out the back of the truck and went to view an area where a project was underway for re-foresting an area of land which had been damaged by trees being burned to make Charcoal for selling. The project involved 30 Children who themselves and their parents became responsible for 10 trees.
Each that would eventually bear fruit in the future iving food and some saleable goods for market. The people here seemed to be very proud of the project and worked very hard on it. As you can see from the photo the trees are still in theyre infant stage but things grow fast here they are within the wooden frames to help protect from goat attack. The young boy you can see is Kevin who currently has TB. A local doctor had prescribed 1 months medication but after Emily had arranged a visit by an Expat doctor found that the medication required is 12 months. Something most people dont realise is out in Countries such as the Philippines the medication we take for granted in the West isnt there unless money is and in many cases people quite simply die due to lack of medical resources which in many cases may cost so little.
After this visit we headed up to the childrens school which as you can see from the photo at the top of the Page is 320m away But what it doesnt meantion is its a hill!
After the long hike up the path we finally came to the gates of the school and were very suprised at the school we found within. Very well cared for and it makes you wonder how they got the materials up there in the first place. This where the problem is, the poorer kids have very little food and may live long distances away so after having morning lessons and heading home they dont return to school in the afternoon due to the distance or being too tired from a lack of a good diet. Many people in the Philippines struggle to eat each day and its an ongoing problem.
The school itself was basic but was beautiful in the way it was looked after. The teachers and children looked after it very well. The children welcomed us and we enjoyed coconut water and sticky rice with the principle before having a better look around. Mercy in action had managed to get the government to donate the land for the trees as part of this project and Mercy in Action also donated £6.00 per day towards food for around 40 children, each day a different parent would take it in turns to cook the meals at what is called a "dirty Kitchen" a photo of the one at the school is shown below its very basic but does the job. I believe its called a dirty kitchen due to being covered in smoke from the fire.
The food the children have each day has kept them in school each day and the trees will eventually bear fruit. But in return all the children and parents have agreed to the program and the children will keep good grades in return. Its suprising how £6.00 a day can change the lives of over 30 children for the better.
After the tour we headed to the stage and concrete yard area to give the children some clothes that had come with the consignment sent from the UK by people in Mercy In Actions annual container.
The biggest thing that I noticed is how much the children appreciated anything they got. Brandon is here giving out face flannels donated by British Airways, all the kids waited patiently for theyre gifts and I never seen a child that wasnt thankful for what they received.
I would like to thank Emily for taking me upto Tapul school and I look forward to helping in some way with the work that the charity does. One thing I would say to anyone reading this is if its something your interested in please do something about it. Copy and paste a photo just so that you dont forget people who really do need your help. Im not asking for anything personally I would just like to thank you for your time in reading this item in my blog and I wish you a good day.
2007 Christmas Party
One of the things that started this year on our first Christmas in the Philippines is a Christmas party my wife was very keen to have. In the Philippines its more to do with giving than receiving and being thankful for what you have. So this year was a new thing for us that involved having a childrens Christmas party.
We got a family friend to act as host who actually does it part time to help support his family. Due to being a full-time student. If your in Cebu and need a party host drop me an email! Originally the party was expecting around 40 children this eventually ended up around 50+ and the party games began.
We had prepared lots of Spaghetti and hotdogs a break for dinner began after some very competative games and everyone seemed to be having a great time. After dinner the games continued well into it getting dark.
The party was one of my fondest memories of being in Cebu and although i tried to sit in the background its very difficult to do so and after the children received their presents was surprised to hear thank you from kids. Something that i find in the UK these days needs to be prompted.
This is likely to now be an annual event and although many of the kids and family dont have the wealth that we do in the west creating a day that i can make a lot of kids smile and enjoy themselves at least lets kids be kids something that is very close to my heart.
