Dear Give Children Hope,

Last Saturday, June 5th, 2010, we gave the first monthly support of $25 which is equivalent at present to 1,140.35 Filipino pesos. I was with Paula and my husband Mario, for he drove us with his motorcycle to the house of the Buena family.

The family was so happy. We have explained to them clearly why they have this blessing and for what purpose it is and what they should be doing every month as soon as they receive the support. Sister Buena was so emotional. She told me it was an immediate answer to her prayer. She was worrying about what,how, and where she will go in order for them to have something for dinner.

Family Background:

The father is working as a carpenter on a daily basis, earning a minimum wage of 220 Filipino pesos per day. It is a contractual basis, so when the construction is done, he has no earning for the day for his family. He also sometimes constructs pump wells and by this, earns up to 800 pesos. This work usually takes him 4-5 hours to finish (much better earning than being a carpenter, but it happens very seldom).

The mother can’t work right now because she is still recovering from her illness. They have 5 children: 4 boys and a girl. The 4 boys are all living with them, but the girl who is now 20 years old was given to the father’s cousin when she was very little. They gave her away because Sister Buena was very ill then, and she could not take care of the baby. They had no choice or the baby would die. She said the last time she saw her, was when she was 1 year old.

They live in a Nipa house without flooring… just part of it is covered by a plastic mat.

Thank you so much for making us a part of this charitable project. Mario and I with Paula are happy doing this for you and for the Foundation.

Please tell us what else we need to do and what we need to add for the family background information. We would appreciate it so much and would be happy to do it.

-Helen