Philippines Orphan Education

This project aims to support 30 orphan children from three of the mountain villages in sending them to school. They will begin schooling at the age of 5 and finish at the age of 18. The children walk two miles to Junior school and seven miles to senior school!

The Philippines is in the Pacific Ring of Fire which means that these villages are in natural disaster-prone areas and experience earthquakes caused by volcanic activity, typhoons and flash floods, resulting in loss of lives, jobs, resources for food, housing, and sickness. The children we are supporting were orphaned because of their parents dying from drowning in the flood waters, through disease, or other reasons. Peace and order is also very fragile. There are ongoing wars in the mountains with the military fighting against terrorist activity.

The psychological and emotional hardship of losing parents is always difficult to deal with. The children who have lost parents through typhoons have been so traumatised that they can be seen climbing trees for safety when the first sign of heavy rain comes. These children have lived through unimaginable horrors and terrors.

Filipinos are family-oriented. This concept also extends to every Filipino’s aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, and even to their godparents and close family friends. It’s Filipino custom to take in your kin if their parents have passed away, despite whether you have a large family yourself to look after. Living with extended families brings a much-needed normality into the children’s lives that helps them recover from their loss, but it puts the financial burden on relatives.

There are five people working as a team for this new project; two project managers in the Philippines and three Pastors. Each village has its own Pastor who maintains regular follow-ups for each child and his/her family.

Your support of £5/month will be invested in helping these children complete their schooling using a wide range of tools to make it happen: providing school fees and school supplies. As a sponsor, you’ll be able to see the impact you are making first hand through letters and photos from your child.