help one future

Port Barton Distribution

2009-03-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Port Barton is located on the island of Palawan, on the western border of the Philippines. Palawan is very close to Malaysian Borneo and is known for its wildlife, beautiful natural features and UNESCO world heritage site. The population of the entire island (280 miles long) is about 900,000 people. Port Barton, on the other hand, has just a few thousand people, and nearly 500 children from the town and surrounding areas attending schools. School supplies generally make their way from Manila to Puerto Princessa, the largest city on the island and the location of the airport. Most people make their living from the sea.

Help One Future brought two large boxes of children's books donated by Discovery College, a semi-private elementary school in Hong Kong. In Puerto Princessa we purchased notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, water paints, chalkboards, rulers, clay, and other school supplies for distribution. All of these items had been highlighted by the principal of the school as supplies that were in very short supply in Port Barton. Once these supplies were obtained, we had to transport them over the central mountain range in a four-wheel drive van that could navigate the local roads for the three hour trip.

We would like to thank all of generous donors who made it possible for the kids in Port Barton to enjoy much-needed school supplies that will allow them to maximize their educational experiences at school. We would also like to thank our volunteer families who spent a lot of their own money and time to facilitate everything. Below are some selected photographs of the students and their new supplies.

Book donations

2008-12-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

We are grateful for everyone who has continued to donate their gently used children's books. Beau, Amy, Jorie and Bentz recently picked up some donated books from a library in Hong Kong for the distribution in Port Barton.

Sharing the events here is a great way to show your kids how even their small donations can have a great impact on kids their age across the world.

January 2009 Distribution

2008-12-19T12:45:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays! It's near the end of 2008 and we have fond memories of our time spent 12 months ago in Guiuan in the Philippines. Thanks to your many donations, we were able to provide many children with much needed school supplies to help them take advantage of educational opportunities.

This year, Help One Future is planning a distribution on the island of Palawan in the western Philippines. In particular, we are focusing on a small town called Port Barton on the northern coast of Palawan.

View Larger Map

There is one elementary school and one high school in Port Barton. It is located about a three hour drive away from Puerto Princessa, the main city of Palawan. We have spoken with the principal of the elementary school in Port Barton about how best to aid the approximately 400 students and other children in the area. The younger children are particularly lacking in supplies. The town also has no library, and only a few donated books stored in the principals office.

We are collecting used children's books once again in Hong Kong to send over. We are also actively seeking your donations to assist in obtaining school supplies for the children of Port Barton. Bear in mind that any donation is helpful. Even a few dollars can purchase pencils, crayons, and paper that students would otherwise not have for their use. In these economic times, many people around the world are tightening their belts and cutting back on expenditures. Unfortunately there are many for whom cutting back means going without school for a year. The Philippines and other third world countries will be particularly hit hard as their economies and currencies remain volatile, remittances from family members overseas fall, and supporting industries like call centers cut back on staffing.

As usual, we will be documenting the distribution with video and photos, as well as stories about the experiences. This year we would like to thank our friends Beau and Amy and their three kids for bringing their experience from last year's trip to Port Barton. They will be joined by one of our directors, Kacey, and her family. Please use the box on the right to donate via credit card, or contact us with any questions you may have.

Pics for Pesos 2008

2008-06-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

Can you remember the first digital camera you saw? The magic of seeing the picture you took seconds before appearing on the screen right before your eyes? Often as we have traveled to schools for distributions we have been able to capture the students with our point-and-shoot or digital SLR cameras - and then instantly create entertainment for the students by replaying the shots for them. For many of the children, this is the first opportunity they have had to be close to a camera.

These experiences spawned the idea for our next fundraiser, Pics for Pesos 2008. We are looking for your donations of used, but functional, digital cameras (our goal is 50!). Volunteer photographers will spend several hours teaching children the basics of photography, after which the children will be free to set their creativity free and capture images of themselves and their surroundings. A selection of their photos will then be printed and auctioned off to raise funding that will support the goals of Help One Future - to provide necessary school supplies to these and other needy children that will allow them to take full advantage of their academic experience.

Details are still in the works, but in the meantime please spread the word. Dig out your dusty 3 and 4 megapixel beasts (or better) and get ready to drop them in the mail. Drop boxes will be hosted in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, Hong Kong, and Manila. Also, if you don't have an old camera, but would still like to help specifically with Pics for Pesos 2008, you can specify that your donation should be directed towards the Pics for Pesos 2008 project when you donate. Please send us an email with any questions.

rizal

2008-06-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

we are going down to the philippines in july to explore further opportunities to assist with the new school year just outside the metro manila area. in the wake of the recent typhoon, we hope to be able to find opportunities to help kids who would otherwise be sitting this year out. thank you for your continued donations and support.

Manicani life

2008-01-17T18:31:00.001-08:00

The people in Manicani live in very humble circumstances. Many own boats and fish for a living, but when weather is bad, the money runs out because they cannot catch anything. Despite these hardships, the people there are very optimistic and cheerful. They are very loving; helping each other survive.

Manicani

2008-01-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

Manicani island was perhaps the most memorable aspect of our visit this year. Due to bad weather, the seas were a bit rough, but we managed to get there in one piece (although soaking wet and with a broken boat). Many excited kids greeted us at the dock, and accompanied us to the center of town. Because the waters were rough, most of the teachers were not able to come out that day to teach classes. The parents and community pulled together to help us gather the children, organize them by grades, and record the children's names.

As we passed out the supplies in the first Barangay, children's faces lit up with excitement. They said it was the first time they had ever received any help like this. Some teachers cried, saying that this gave them hope for the children's future and their's.

Sulangan school

2008-01-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

Many of the kids here were eager to see us as word had already spread that we were coming. They were very excited to get school supplies, and eager to learn more about us. The Lefler kids were a hit: they showed the kids how to do hand tricks and other games you can play without toys.

Sulangan

2008-01-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

This is one of the Barangay's we went to for school supplies distribution. Most of the people here fish for a living.

Eastern Samar

2008-01-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

We are back from our trip now, and have a lot to share. Many of the schools were lacking basics for the students such as pencils and pens. We will be posting some pictures of the trip, and some videos as well. Thank you so much for all your support - it has made a big impact on many needy children.

a gift

2007-10-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

recently i spent a couple of my lunches outside of the office, sitting in the sunshine and losing myself in the streets of india. not literally, of course - the skyscraper canyons of hong kong islands business district is a far cry from the dusty streets and masses of people of mumbai. but for those short hours the book i am reading carried me away from the frenzy of the trading floor to a different time and a different life - a place i have never been, being experienced by a person i have never met.

such is the magic of reading, a pastime i have enjoyed since it was instilled in me as child by my parents. through books i learned to expand my imagination, search for education on my own terms, and experience the private joy of escape into the world contained within the pages i read.

i remember once teaching a deaf man in the philippines. we communicated largely through pictures i poorly drew to illustrate principles and ideas. he could not read and therefore depended on these pictures to illustrate the ideas i was trying to get across. i struggled in frustration and effort to try to distill ideas that could have been communicated in a few words into a drawing. i think it was only then that i imagined what it would be like not to be able to read. now i think about what it would be like to be able to read, but not have anything with which to satisfy that desire.

our little family is joining with the lefler family this christmas to journey down to a small island in the central philippines. it is not much of a tourist destination, but a rural town in samar. as part of the christmas season, we thought carefully about the kinds of gifts we might bring to celebrate this special time. we have decided to round up as many books as we can to donate to local schools severely lacking such reading material.

together we have enlisted the support of dymock's, a large chain in australia and hong kong, to house a donation receptacle for us. we will collect as many books as we can until the beginning of december, and will then ship the books down to our destination in the philippines. in the meantime, we will use our previous help one future model of working with local government officials and school administration to pass out the books where they are needed most.

we welcome all donations - in hong kong, please let us know if you have books to donate. outside of hong kong, it may be difficult (and costly) to get the books to us. if you wish to donate financially to help one future, your donations are tax deductible as we are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. please direct any questions to helponefuture@gmail.com.

and keep on reading!

objective

2005-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our purpose is to provide underprivileged Filipino children with assistance so that they can build the foundation of an elementary education. We believe that education plays a key role in teaching self sufficiency and responsibility, helping people to escape from the clutches of the poverty cycle and in turn help their communities to do the same. Many children await only the means to pursue their goals and dreams, and, if provided with the means, will increase their sense of self-worth and their desires to reach ever higher. We request only that recipients of aid from Help One Future, upon achieving success in their life, consequently reach out a hand to help others in similar situations in order to perpetuate a cycle of helping each other.

goals

2005-04-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Our goal for this year is to set up independently functioning education programs in regions I and VI (Ilocos and Visayas) without frequent travel from the United States. We will make annual trips to the Philippines to re-evaluate and organize other parts of each program, as well as set up new programs in neighboring cities.

We have established a relationship with the National Bookstore of the Philippines and its store chains, which provides the school supplies to Help One Future at a discount. Our Philippines Coordinator purchases the supplies.

During the months we are not in the Philippines, we will be fundraising for tuition and supplies money here in the United States.

tax exempt charity status

2005-04-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

after much work, 501(c)(3) exempted charity status from the IRS has offically been granted!!

harsh circumstances

2004-07-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

After an hour’s drive out from the town square, we arrived in a small village center where the school was located. It was monsoon season, meaning hot mornings and wet afternoons on good days and typhoons and days of downpours on bad days. Naturally, the slick and muddy dirt road made the trek hazardous, and one of the vans had to stay behind. Finally, we got through the mud and found the school. Children’s eyes gazed out between the paint chipped shutters from the classroom. I saw glimpses of smiles and jet black hair radiating as the midday sun scorched the tin roof. I could see little mud stained feet shuffling around through a large hole on the side of the building. It was difficult to tell which group was more excited to meet the other.

We stepped into the classroom and immediately felt the humid air hit the backs of our necks. What a sauna! I wondered how it was possible to focus in such suffocating heat without even an electric fan to ease the humidity.

The mayor’s official introduced Rick and I as we walked to the front of the room. Just as Rick began his message in Tagalog, a few rain drops fell. I noticed a large hole in the middle of the ceiling and suddenly realized there were no lights. Many children weren’t even wearing shoes. As Rick continued talking to the children, suddenly, he was interrupted by an enormous downpour of rain. The rain fell so heavy that the shouting of his voice eventually became muffled, blending in with the sound of raindrops falling. It grew dark, and I could barely make out the children’s faces. A puddle grew in the middle of the room, just in front of the first row. The teacher yelled that class was temporarily stopped until the teacher’s voice could be heard again. Some children studied their workbooks. Many waited patiently for several minutes just to borrow their neighbor’s pencil or pen. Looking around the classroom, I noticed a few kids looked quite mature for that grade level. After speaking with a teacher I was informed that they could not afford to attend school every year and had to work every other year or two before returning for the following school year. One sixth grader was eighteen years old.

manila squatter village and ilocos classrooms

2004-06-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

we are official

2004-06-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

we have officially become established as a non-profit in the US. hooray! our 501(c)(3) application with the IRS is still in progress...

Pilar

2004-04-07T01:47:00.000-07:00

We are here in a tiny coastal town called Pilar, in Capiz province, Panay Island. It’s about an hour flight south of Manila. Most people here make a living from fishing or farming, and it’s not much of a living. There’s just enough for day to day expenses, and as any of you fishermen or gardners know, sometimes you have good luck and sometimes you don’t. Today we visited a school in one of the poorest parts of town – a little place called Dayhagan (die-HAH-gun). We went with the mayor’s invitation and the superintendent of schools. We met with teachers and students to assess the need. Some parts were better than expected, and some worse. All of the students at least had sandals. But many came with no lunch, or had secondhand clothes full of holes. When asked by the teacher who had the required supplies, only one or two in each class were able to raise their hands. The classes range in size from 30-50, with more girls than boys. Some of the kids are absent in order to help fish or work in the fields – the only way they can raise enough to buy a $0.25 notebook and $0.20 pen. Because of a shortage of teachers, only this year was the school able to provide grades 5 and 6. As such, there are two volunteer teachers with no pay, and one of them teaches both grades 1 and 2. Also, the fifth graders use an old storage room as their classroom, with homemade bamboo desks and a sheet of plywood for a chalkboard. While the Philippine government will eventually provide some books and classroom supplies, the waiting list is long and in the meantime the kids suffer. Our assessment was that the needy kids should be helped first – meaning those with no money to spend on supplies. Some of the kids are orphans being raised by extended family members. Some have a parent who makes $1 a day when they can find work. When the kids work, they make $0.75 a day. Our original plan was to provide funds for potential students to be able to go to school. But we found that the ones currently in school are in danger of dropping out – many of them are allowed to study even though they don’t have enough for the $0.80 enrollment fee. After the needy kids come the scholars – honor students who work hard and show potential except for their lack of funds. After them comes everyone else in terms of priority for help.

So far I think we can really provide some serious help to the entire school – grades 1 through 6, with a little over $100. This will not go as far as helping to buy uniforms, etc. We figure that they can learn without a uniform, but it’s a little harder without pens and paper. With this money, we can provide about 40 packs of crayons, 20 packs of watercolor, 120 notebooks and pads of paper, 40 pens and 40 pencils. When I can I will send pictures. There are hundreds of these schools scattered throughout the Philippines. Many are in remote places such as this one, where there are no phones, cement roads, or running water, and even to get to the middle of this small town takes 30 minutes on a motorcycle for $0.50.

a bamboo homemade desk:

the plywood chalkboard described:

the school bell (an old metal scrap):

The parents try to support their kids where they can. They often donate $0.02 cents per student for electricity each month, and all of the homemade desks are products of the parents. The kids who have the necessities share with the ones who don’t. Sometimes the teachers will give some of their $30 per month salary to help cover the holes. It’s amazing to see the hope in the faces of the kids and the teachers when we promise to try to get them a few pens and cheap pads of paper. We originally planned on starting with 10 kids for this pilot project. After considering how much we can help, I think many students will be benefited by this first pilot project. Over the next couple weeks we will visit more schools in other areas. Help One Future is working closely with civic leaders and other aid organizations to direct help where it is needed most. We are also implementing protocols that will allow for simple administration and scalability for future projects in other needy areas, without the necessity of personal administration. My friend Andrew Baltazar has graciously volunteered his own time, effort and donations to help the program succeed, and has committed to watching over it from Manila.

By donating supplies, we can protect donations from graft and corruption and get it directly into the hands of those who need it. Also, by involving teachers, civic leaders, and locals we increase the number of stewards over these donations, increasing the likelihood of successful distribution. This is a great opportunity to help those who really need it. I know there are other ways and other needs, but it takes a starting point, and this looks to be a good one.

Thank you everyone for your moral support. To give someone hope, to show them that someone somewhere cares enough about them to help them in time of need – this is something that these children will not forget. In fact, before giving them the supplies, the only thing we ask in return is that someday when they are able, they will help others in need as they have been helped now.