May 15, 2006 Volume 2 Issue 1

The H.E.L.P. Foundation Humanitarian Efforts to Lesson Poverty of Underprivileged Children in the Philippines

Update from the Founder

A National Heritage Foundation

E-mail: help2philippinechildren@yahoo.com

Website: www. thehelpfonndation.com

I just returned from four months in the Philippines and I am pleased to report that we are making significant progress in all planned pro­

jects. We have moved from the detailed planning phase to the opera­tional phase. I have been able to partner with many credible humani­tarian organizations in the Philippines to assist The H.E.L.P. Founda­tion in achieving its goals such as:

• The Medical Ambassadors of the Philippines (MAP), made up of doc­tors and nurses, are responsible for the Bukidnon and Caubian Is­land projects.

• The Lighthouse Center for Children implements the projects in the Payatas.

• A wonderful staff from the Bethany Christian Children's Home is operating the orphanage.

There are many unpaid volunteers in the Philippines who are helping because they care. Your generosity has made it possible for literally hundreds of children and their families to improve their lives. Last January, I was in the village of Kulaman and one of the ladies in the sewing group came up to me and gave me a great big hug. She told me that because of the foundation's livelihood program, this was the first time in her life that she had some money to buy Christmas gifts for her family! I got the hug, but you deserve the credit! In April of 2005, I had $300.00 in the foundation and lots of hope. Today, I have donors from 28 states and three foreign countries and my project budget for 2006 is $56,000.00! As of now, I am several thousand dollars short of that goal, but I still have lots of hope! Remember that this is a volun­teer effort, so all donations go directly to the project. You will see on the following pages how your contributions are being spent.

En route to Caubian

Keith Hooper, Fonnder

23031 60 Road

Lebanon, KS 66952

Inside this issue:

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- ---Child Sponsorship 2

r····-···· ...................... -·· · Swine Project 2

,.. --- --- --- -- -- -- --- -- --Pre-School Project 2

r ••••••••••••••••

Children's Nutrition Program

Kula man

~ - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - --Pomotolon & Purok Dos

Caubian Island

Bethany Christian Home

Final Notes

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Payatas-Child sponsorship

We now have 107 children who are attending school under the sponsorship program. I will probably limit the number of children to 125 because this is a very time consuming project. I think that it is important to know each child and their family and to build a bond with their sponsors through letters, gifts, etc... . I brought back one suitcase full of letters (which have to be translated and then sent to sponsors). My goal is to

Payatas-Swine Project

There are 20 families involved in the swine project and many are on the waiting list. Thanks to donations from several fanners in Smith County and the FF A chapter at the local high school, we were able to purchase 40 piglets (feeder pigs). The first families who received pigs in October 2005, marketed

get them to the sponsors by May 15. Next year we will change the pro­gram slightly. Instead of giving the money to the children's parents for the book rental, fees, uniforms, lunches, etc .. , we will give it directly ~D~:.:.L__.

to the school. Dominic sponsored by Chalise and Phil Minor of Oklahoma

City

them in late March 2006, and netted 1,900 pesos ($38) per pig. That is two month's wages! The pigs were fed dried organic garbage collected from the dumpsite. Our goal is to have 50 families with pigs by the end of 2006.

Ready for market

Payatas- Doug and Sharlene Gardner Pre-School

Although we have a sponsorship program for elemen­tary school children, there are many children, ages 4-6, who live and play in the filth and squalor of the dumpsite. The Gardner's donated the funds to con­struct a wonderful pre-school. There is a lot more work to be done, but we will start classes there for 50 chil­dren in mid-June 2006. I am hoping to receive a Rotary Matching Grant for the operation and maintenance of the pre-school for a three year period.

Payatas Children's Feeding Program

Children's Feeding Program -I am pleased to report that the plight of the children in the Payatas has made national news in the Philippines and many Filipino service organization and individual citizens have do­nated their time, food, and money to feed the malnour­ished children. The organization that I work with, Lighthouse Center for Children, feeds over 2,000 chil­dren daily and presently, all of the donated food comes

I Page 2

M.'Y sister Karol usinl[ her teachinl[ skills

from Filipinos.

Preparing and eating the nutritious meals

The H.E.L.P. Foundation

Bukidnon Projects

Kulaman This village will become the model for all future pro­

jects. It is a success story! We have 5 ongoing livelihood projects; broom making, mat

:w...,......-s weaving, purse & basket '-"""'- - weaving, sewing, and goats.

The foundation financed all the projects at a cost of $2,500.00. This includes buying sewing machines, ma­terial, goats, etc.. . Each livelihood group (10-15 per­sons) has its own organiza-tional structure and a por-

Native purses tion of the profits of each group goes toward the child feeding/program. The only

---------------------------

Pomotolon and Purok Dos Because of the high incidence of child malnutrition in these villages, we started the feeding program before training the mothers in livelihood projects. I purchased

10,000 children's vitamin __ _;;... ______ ...,..,.=---------. pills in the States and car-

___ __,

Before feedinR proRram

ried them to the Philip­pines. As a supplement, each child receives a chewable daily in addition to the nutritious meal. I also hand carried a mira­cle product called "Power Flour," which was donated by a Rotary Club in She­boygan, WI. A small amount of Power Flour (an enzyme which is a brewery byproduct) is add-ed to the rice porridge.

The enzyme breaks down complex carbohydrates so that they can be digested by children 9 months - 2 years old. Many young lives have been saved because

Volume 2 Issue 1

project that hasn't shown a profit is the goat project because none of the goats have been sold. The first generation offspring are given to another family to raise. We are using the "Heifer Interna­tional Model," which has proven to be very successful in many countries of the world. We are contin­

Goat project

uing with the feeding program for the malnourished children of the village, but in just four months the nu­tritional status of the children has improved signifi­cantly.

of Power Flour! The main livelihood project in these villages is sewing. The foundation purchased the sew­ing machines, cloth, and supplies and the local govern­ment provided the training. The ladies in these villages are now in the garment business! There was not an adequate facility in Purok Dos to conduct the livelihood projects and the feeding program so the Doug 4 112

Gardner family agreed to construct a building. It will be finished on June 1 and it is named the Sharlene Gardner Muslim Women's Devel­opment Center.

Results of feeding program and power flour

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Caubian Island

As I told you in my last newsletter, Caubian is a 6-acre island in the Bohol Sea and is occupied by 3,000 squatters. There is no electricity or fresh water and the inhabitants eek out a living by fishing. Living conditions are deplorable. Lloyd and Carol Brown have "adopted" Caubian and through the H.E.L.P. foundation,

=;~~~~~~they are doing marvelous work there.

Cauhian Island

The main project is the construction of the "Lloyd and Carol Brown Feeding/Education Center for Children". Construction is ongoing and should be completed by mid-June 2006. The building will also house a "mini-pharmacy," which will be operated by volunteer health workers. The pharmacy will stock over-the-counter medicines that are currently not available on the island. In fact, there are no medicines available on the island. The three biggest medical problems are diar­rhea, skin disease, and parasites. The medicine will not be free; the families will have to pay a small amount, which will assist in stock re­plenishment.

Child Feeding/Nutrition Program- We will start feeding 300 children in June 2006. There are a number of obstacles that we have to overcome in order for this to be successful and cost effective. All food products, except for seafood, have to be brought in from another island, which adds significantly to the cost. I have requested some supermarkets on the islands of Cebu and Mactan to donate fruits and vegetables that can no longer be sold in their stores. The Cebu Hilton Resort has also agreed to provide unserviceable linens etc ... that we can use in our sewing project.

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Seaweed project

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Aquaculture - Because of over fishing and illegal fishing practices (dynamite and poisons), the coral reef around Caubian Island has been se-verely damaged. Fishermen have to travel long distances with minimal success to catch fish. The foundation has initiated two major livelihood projects; seaweed farming and raising fish in confined areas (fish cages). This will be done in the immediate sea area surrounding Caubian. Just as in Kulaman, the villagers are divided into groups of 10-15 families. The foundation provides the initial capital outlay. Each group will be re­sponsible for growing, marketing, and guarding their project. These pro­jects have limitless potential.

The H.E.L.P. Foundation

Bethany Christian Home for Children

Ms. Lynip's Birthday

Bethany has been in exist­ence for over 50 years. Its formder, Louise Lynip, a Baptist missionary, who celebrated her 94th birthday in March, has ded­icated her life to

caring for neglected, abused, and rmwanted children. Over those 50+ years, literally hrm­dreds of her "children" have been adopted by families from many different cormtries. In 2005, the orphanage faced closure because of rising costs and decreasing contributions from overseas donors. Since Louise and I are both

New Projects

in the business of helping children, we formed a partnership. I will raise funds for Bethany and she will let me hold the precious children when I visit the orphanage! For those of you who have been faithful donors to the Bethany Chris­tian Home for Children m the past, please make your check out to the H.E.L.P. Form­dation and indi­cate that it is for Bethany in the lower left hand corner check.

of the Ms. Lynip fulfilling her end of bargain

The formdation has started a pilot project in Kanangaan, Bukidnon by sending two deserving high school graduates from the Umayamnon tribe to Bukidnon State College to become teachers. They have agreed that after graduation, they will return to their tribal area as teachers.

Evangeline Merlina

Final Thoughts

I have learned that running a formdation of this type is like being a conductor on a train going uphill. Many times at 2 a.m. while I am working on the computer, or when I am sleeping rmder the stars in a remote village, I am tempted to jump off. But then I think of the precious children and people like Louise Lynip who has dedicated her life to such a noble cause, and I try to think of ways to make the train rrm faster because there is so much yet to be done. I need each of you as passengers on this train. I thank you, the formdation thanks you, and most importantly, the children thank you for your continued support.

If you wish to make a donation, please make you check payable to the H.E.L.P. Foundation

Volume 2 Issue 1 Page 5

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Sisterly Love

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Sewing class graduation Bath Time