My Child Charities
Sponsor Report 2006

Dear Friends and Sponsors,

2006 was a good, but at times frustrating year, for my sponsorship of child charities projects in the Philippines, namely – SOS Children’s Village, Iloilo and Feed a Child.

My frustration was in not being able to do more and my disappointment in so few donations to support the Feeding a Child Project.

Last May 2006 I was able to visit the SOS Children’s Village in Zarraga, Iloilo. My younger sister (Noemi Grace) and our family friend, Monsignor Meliton Oso, accompanied me.

Monsignor Meliton is a very popular person in the Village that once we got out of the vehicle we were met by two enthusiastic young boys.

They hugged Monsignor Meliton, as well as my sister whom they know well too and fondly call Tita. Tita is equivalent to Auntie but it is very common among young Filipinos to address elder women in this manner to show their respect.

I was very touched by the cheery sunny disposition of these two orphans. When they knew that I was the sister of  their Tita Noemi, they honoured me by calling me Tita too.
I felt great !

The Director of the SOS Children’s Village Iloilo,
Mr. Renie Masongsong, gave us a warm welcome and we were ushered to his office. I told him of the purpose of my visit and set about "interviewing" him.

My questions were focused mainly on the children’s needs. Renie mentioned that they spent a lot of their funds for medical care as most of the children when they first came to SOS Village were malnourished and were/still suffering from tuberculosis.

He further added that he and the "mothers" are busy with fundraising projects to help augment the budget they receive from SOS Head Office.

He was also happy to know that many local Ilonggos (residents of Iloilo), as well as balikbayans ( Filipinos who live/work abroad and come back to their homeland), give their financial support to SOS Iloilo.

He was amazed by the strong popularity of SOS Iloilo among Ilonggos, despite its young years. As you may have read, SOS Iloilo was officially opened in 2003.

I gave Renie my humble cash donation of PHP 12,000.00, ($240 USD) proceeds from the sale of my two paintings, see the Receipt on my SOS Childrens Village page.

Then, I asked his permission to get some photos of the children who happened to be outside watching the DVD movie of "The Pirates of the Caribbean."

When some younger children saw their “Papa” (the name they fondly call Renie) and us, they rushed to him. They all wanted his attention and he patiently gave each one a pat on the head. I could feel the love in the air!

Renie gave me and my companions a tour of the Village and we went to one of these houses where a "mother" and her "children" live. The house is very neat.

During the inauguration of the SOS Village in May 2003, I had the opportunity to view one of the houses.

Each house has a name of a patron saint. It has a porch, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen with a fridge, a bedroom with double-decker beds, shower cubicles and toilets. 

I was so impressed with the infrastructure of the houses and the whole village itself.

According to the information I received, this SOS Iloilo is mainly sponsored by the Swiss. Hence, it was constructed with European standards. That is, even their electric wires are buried underground … no signs of a typical Philippine electric post overloaded with dangling wires.

After this trip to the SOS Village, we drove to JASAC’s office in Jaro, Iloilo City. JASAC stands for Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center which is spearheaded by Monsignor Meliton Oso.

The JASAC’s Project that I am also supporting is called Feeding a Child.

On the day of my visit, unfortunately, it was not a "feeding day" hence, I was not able to see how many children came to the Feeding Center.

I gave my humble donation PHP 5,000.00 ($100 USD) to one of the staff and given the receipt posted on my website.

During the last quarters of 2006 I was able to collect some clothes, more soft toys and cash donations from my Swiss colleagues and from Mr. Andy Theekson’s clients.

Andy is a website consultant who through appeals on his website the search engine optimizer has pledged some of his client's fees to my projects in the Philippines.

These cash donations, clothes and soft toys were sent to Iloilo City through Noemi Grace V. Palmares, my sister, who endorsed them to Renie.

Ms. Connie Lanes, the Sponsorship Secretary, has sent me the receipt together with an activity summary, which forms part of my SOS Children's Village 2006 Report.

The total raised through donations was $676 USD.
It may not seem like much but I could proudly say that it was a grace-filled year for my projects. I was blessed with people who believe in my noble cause.

My only disappointment was to the poor response I received to my initiative to add an electronic cards section to the site.

For just $2.95 per month people could sponsor a child and become a member of eCards to send special greeting cards to friends and family. Well, maybe it will do better in 2007.

My dear friends and sponsors, FOR YOUR …. continued support that came in many forms … and for the concern and care to help the needy children in my native land, the Philippines.

My most profound THANK YOU, or Madamo guid nga Salamat (in Ilonggo, Iloilo’s dialect) !!!