Our work in the Philippines

Offering hope in the Philippine islands

The Philippines is home to CFCA's second largest outreach. CFCA's Hope for a Family sponsorship program serves more than 43,000 children, youth and aging members through five project locations: Antipolo, Legazpi, Manila, Quezon City and Zamboanga.

The families in the sponsorship program constantly face adversity from natural disasters.

The island nation is usually struck by five or six typhoons a year, which trigger devastating landslides and tsunamis. Earthquakes and active volcanoes also cause frequent damage.

The Hope for a Family sponsorship program is a source of stability in families' lives and provides a caring community with emergency assistance and relief services.

Through sponsorship, families receive nutrition assistance, access to education, dental and health care, and more.

Sponsorship enables children to attend school

Still, it is difficult for families living in poverty to send their children to school. Parents often cannot afford necessary supplies, or the children are needed at home to help the family earn a living.

The Hope for a Family sponsorship program lessens these pressures by paying for tuition and enrollment fees for sponsored children and providing required uniforms, shoes and school supplies.

Most sponsored children are enrolled in formal schools. Sometimes children learn through alternative education systems or literacy programs within communities.

Many sponsored friends go on to attend universities. Students work hard so they may someday obtain good jobs and help their families.

Read CFCA scholar Jayson's testimony.

Communities form support groups

One of the sponsorship program's goals is to form communities of compassion. Such communities thrive in the Philippines. They enhance the sponsorship experience for families and unite mothers and fathers in improving their lives.

These small groups of 10-15 neighboring families meet once a week. They are a source of camaraderie, support and activity planning. Members share with one another how things are going in their home life, study Scriptures and coordinate project activities.

Parents of CFCA sponsored children are cultivating organic
vegetable gardens in their neighborhoods. Read the blog post.

As they develop, these small parent groups invest in their future by saving and forming a pool of capital so individual members can borrow at low interest rates, which allows each to pursue his or her individual businesses in a productive way. The savings is matched by the project so that their pool of capital can grow.

Everyone has an interest in the success of each member, and the members, in essence, own the bank. This model enables the parents to begin or grow their businesses and build a path out of poverty.

For example, Jennifer is the mother of a sponsored child. With her husband, she owns a small bakery business. Previously when the family needed help with the business, its only option was to take high-interest loans.

As a member of a small parent group, Jennifer was able to take a low-interest loan to invest in the bakery, purchasing new supplies and items to sell. Her business has continued to grow, and she has been able to take additional loans and repay them quickly.

New bakery investments have enabled the family to more than triple their daily income. Jennifer contributes every month to the parent group savings and to her family's emergency fund. Their hard work, determination and participation in the parent group are giving hope to their family.