Happy Independence Day!
Our Future is as Bright as our Faith

Dear Sponsors,

The month of June has passed by so quickly. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. This month has been so full of exciting activities for the children! Though we have been hit by several typhoons, we are so grateful that your sponsored children and their families are all doing ok.

Most of the areas were left flooded by the typhoon, so the Education Department had to cancel the classes several times this month to secure the children’s safety. A lot of the schools have been turned into evacuation centers for the families whose homes have been destroyed by the typhoon and for those others whose homes have been covered with the waters. They stayed there for a couple of days, if not more than a week, until they could safely go back to their homes.

This is the usual scenario in the Philippines during the rainy season. This is why most of us are preparing during the summer days. This situation is very heartbreaking… especially when you see children and babies sleeping in the cold and their bodies wet. A lot of families gather together and stay in a small classroom which is not really very healthy. The local government gives them relief goods but that doesn’t last long. They need food, water, clothing and medicine but only a few of those things can be provided, so one has to sacrifice for the benefit of the other who is more in need. We are glad though that we have never been a victim of such an undesirable situation.

The Meals at School Programs of Give Children Hope, which you sponsor, are doing well despite these calamities. The number of children in the schools have increased. For many of these children it is the only meal they receive during the day.

We know for a fact that the children were very motivated to attend school and the Meals at School Program has been a very effective invitation to those first-timers in school. They don’t have to worry about going to school and having nothing in their stomachs. What they know is that they are excited to be in school and there are people who will help them so they will not go hungry during their tutorage.

Without anything to motivate them, it would be somewhat harder for these children to choose between going to school and being hungry, or going to work so they could have something to eat. The students at the Dugcal and Maravilla Elementary Schools are so blessed to be the recipients of this wonderful program. We may not know exactly what change it does to their lives, but we are sure that we are giving these children even a small piece of hope and happiness that they can be a better person despite their poor situation.

You have more than 600 children who are benefiting from this program on a daily basis and you just don’t know how happy they are to have these wonderful blessings!

We know that you are celebrating your Independence Day on the 4th of this month. We want to wish you a Happy Independence Day! We had our Independence Day last June 12 and we also celebrated the 150th birth of our National Hero.

We want to thank you for all that you do for these children. May we remember that as we celebrate our independence, we are giving hope to hundreds of children. We hope soon, that they will be free from the bondage of poverty as they continue to do good in school and appreciate all the help that they are receiving from the wonderful people like you.
With our love to all of you and your family… Happy Independence Day!

For the Sponsored Children,
Kristina Sunico