We took one last visit to Raymond’s home before we left the Philippines. Our goal was to make sure the family has enough food to feed the children. The supplies we left should be enough for a few months. They should also have enough clothes for a while, but I am very concerned that they might get wet the next time it rains. As you can see, the house doesn’t give much protection.
Raymond’s school will do their best to help him succeed and to keep us informed of his progress. I hoping that the extra attention to Raymond and his family will make a difference. There is much work to be done.
We delivered the clothes to Raymond’s family before we left the Philippines. His mother was very happy for receiving the food and clothes. I took this picture of the house they live in to give you a sense of what their daily life is like. This small house is where all the family sleeps. It does not provide adequate protection from the rain and wind. I spoke to Raymond and he said he would study very hard so he can try to move ahead in school. He is still in 1st grade, but he has a lot of potential. I taught a science a science lesson at his school and he said he enjoyed doing his first experiment. I hope our efforts make a difference in this family’s life.
The two balikbayan boxes of cloths have arrived from Pennsylvania. The large Five Star box truck arrived around 7 am. We sent the two boxes on May 28 th and they arrived August 8th, here in Mindanao. The two balikbayan boxes were in perfect order considering they have traveled half way around the world.
After the men brought the boxes in the house, we started to unpack and sort the cloths according to age range. We will distribute them shortly to as many children as possible while we are here.
We have had very heavy rain here the last few nights. This concerns me because Raymond’s family might not have adequate protection from these heavy storms. I will visit his family today to see how they are doing. Tomorrow I will teach a science lesson at Raymond’s school. I will adapt the lesson from middle school content to an elementary lesson. After, I will have a chance to talk more with Raymond’s teacher and plan a course of action for him to receive extra help so he can possibly move ahead a class. I think it is better for him to be in a grade closer to his peers.
The SPCS donated one large sack of rice, some fish and some bread to Raymond’s family. Pictured here is Raymond, his mom and dad and younger brother and sister. His other brother and sisters were not at home yet. We spoke with Raymond’s parents and they agreed to help make sure that Raymond and the other children give their best effort in school. We agreed that it is not easy, but they must try and help the kids with school and we will do our best to help. I have seen for myself the dire situation they are in and it is a very difficult situation.
They live in a very small wood shingle home and cook outside on charcoal. This is also why some of them go to their grandmother’s house to sleep, even though her house is also very small. I am lining up a tutor to help Raymond and his siblings during the school year. We are also in the process of having a table built for them to complete their homework. Before we leave for home we will go again and make a list of some things they need to better care for the children.
We have donated a portable light to Romnick’s family as they have no electricity. We are also building them a table so the children have a place to complete their homework. Also, Romnick’s grandmother came to us and said we should concentrate helping her other grandson. His name is Raymond and he is also in the first grade and is eight years old. She said Romnick may be going to live with another aunt out of town so we will not be able to monitor him in school, if he stays in school. We are trying to sort all this out as information is sometime not accurate.
I will be going to Raymond’s school to teach a science lesson this week and I will get more information about Raymond. Raymond’s grandmother said that he is a bright boy and wants to do well in school. That’s all I have about him now. I’ll report more after my school visit.
We have come across a young boy that lives nearby and needs much help. His name is Romnick and he lives in Digos, Mindanao with nine other family members. We will make him the focus of our nonprofit as we attempt to help him overcome crushing poverty.
Romnick is 14 years old and is the oldest in his family, yet is still in the first grade due to poor attendance. Romnick many times needs to skip school to help work in the small family garden so they have food. He is also expected to help with the other choirs so the family can survive. The family does not have enough money for a school uniform that is required of all students. While one can attend school without a uniform, not having one draws attention from the other students.
Romnick has one sister, but also lives with four other first cousins. The four cousins’ parents have abandoned them. In total there are four adults and six children living in a small one room house called a kubo. A kubo is a small house built with coconut tree bark and leaves. This small house is where ten people live.
His dad works odd jobs at very low pay, usually about one dollar a day, which is not enough to feed and care for the family. His mother helps the grandmother with the younger children and the grandfather also does odd jobs around town for very low pay. This is his grandmother’s house that they are living in, and he has been living there all his life.
Romnick and the other children have never been to a doctor or dentist. They have also never had their eyes checked for vision. They do not have the basic necessities of life. If we can help Romnick and get him up to speed on his education and to graduate from high school, he will be able to move out of poverty and better able to help his family. So by helping Romnick, we will help the entire family.
We are heading back to the Philippines to visit the family. While there, I hope to look for a small place to rent so that we have a home for the Shelter. We’ll be there for two months. School is just completed and with some time off, I hope to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are going. I’m looking forward to some slow days to sit back and think and have a cup of coffee with a juicy ripe mango. I haven’t had any days like that lately. After I get the internet connection working, I’ll be posting here and over at siyensya.
Last week something good happened. I filed our federal IRS form 990-N, an electronic e-Postcard, and it was accepted. This is good news as we are in compliance with all the IRS rules. It wasn’t too hard to do, but I was very busy with school at the time.
While in the Philippines, I hope to outline a plan of action for more fundraising.
Possibilities include:
More days giftwrapping at Borders in November and December
Implement a car donation program
Sending fundraising letters to individuals (I’m reading the book How To Write Successful Fundraising Letters, by Mal Warwick)
Having a walkathon or 5k race
Pennies donation
I’m also taking the book Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits, by Llona Bray. I hope to get some other good ideas that will help us. Take care. Till next time..
Our friend, Tom, who works for Five Star Shipping came over last night and took the two boxes. Each weighs about 100 pounds and they are both filled to the top with good quality children’s clothing and child shoes and sneakers. He said they will be brought to the shipping facility in New York and will be loaded next week. This type of box is called a Balikbayan box. They should arrive in Digos, Mindanao the end of July or beginning of August, approximately 60 days. The cloths will be distributed as soon as they arrive.
We are still collecting clothes for the clothing drive. We now have taken in enough to fill one balikbayan box and we will start packing another. Balikbayan is Filipino for “back to the Philippines” We can pack the boxes with as much as we can stuff in as the weight doesn’t matter. We hope to ship the two boxes at the end of May so they arrive sometime in July. Till next time…
My duties as a MathCounts and Science Olympiad coach at school are completed. Both of these had competition in March. The MathCounts team did very well and placed in the top half of the competition at the state level. I’ll now have a little more time to work on some other projects here at the SPCS.
We are now collecting clothes and shoes to send at the end of May. With the price of rice increasing, many are left no money to buy clothing. We will try to gather enough to fill two balikbayan boxes. We have taken in some clothes so far but we are looking for more.
The food drive is not going so well. We have had a few donations but we are not near our goal. Last week I did finish the Google application for their nonprofit ad program. We should hear for them within three to six months. Till next time…
