Their homes were made of pieces of scraps. They do farming and planting pineapples around the area as their livelihood. The children were happy to receive chocolate bars, biscuits and drinks during the event.

Gina of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) in Alfonso, Cavite who accompanied Past President Raymund of RIMM said the youngest daughter of Loribel was raped by her father who is now in prison.

Loribel works as a part-time house helper in Luksuhin Ilaya and was thankful to RIMM for the food assistance.

On February 13, 2023 Past President Raymund of Rotary International Multinational Manila (RIMM) along with Gina of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) in Alfonso, Cavite gave 10 kilos of rice and assorted canned goods assistance to Sheila who was a former Day Care teacher at Luksuhin Ilaya who is suffering from cancer.

Sheila was grateful to RIMM for the assistance.

The rice was distributed among the 16 families in the camp and the remaining two bags were to be distributed to another indigent families in other area of Alfosno, Cavite.

The children also enjoyed snack bread handed by the Japanese guests.

There was a man with enlarged testicles who had a hard time walking due to its enormous size. He explained that he had pain occasionally and showed us laboratory test results. Doctor Iwai who has a license in Japan briefly diagnosed it as a benign tumor and suggested an operation to incise and get the fluid out.
PP Raymund will coordinate with the municipal health department.

The family was selected for our support by DSWD (Department of Social Welfare Development) and LCPC (Local Council for Protection of Children) Alfonso, Cavite.

She is a single mother of 5 children who are attending high school and elementary school. Her 5th child is barely a year old.

She is a manicurist, wherein she put up a shaded spot near her rented home for her customers.

Updates on August 20, 2022

RIMM assisted Merly Montealto from Barangay Marahan1, Alfonso, Cavite on the school supplies of her 4 children attending high school and elementary school.

The school supplies consisted of backpack bags, assorted notebooks, brown envelopes, art papers, sketch pads, pencils, pens, umbrellas, socks, water tumblers, rulers, coloring pens, box of face mask, toothbrush, water color, tape, scissors, highlighter pens, rubber erasers, glue, plastic envelopes and many more were provided.

Merly and her eldest son who assisted his mother to purchase the school supplies thanked RIMM for the support.

Merly said she had no means at all to buy the school supplies as a manicurist and a single mother.

DSWD and our club have been associated for education of family planning as the Philippines is known for population explosion or baby factory, which has accelerated poverty entailing people to spend more money for nursing their children.

After being educated and assisted, Merly is willing to undergo ligation, one of the most popular contraceptive methods in the country, next month.

Updates on December 10, 2022

Rotarian Casey and Raymund, together with DSWD Alfonso Gina and former councilor Carol visited the family again.

After having 6 children from different fathers, Merly has decided to undergo ligation surgery and will take a week off from her business as a manicurist.

Our Club pledged to provide a financial assistance for her transportation to the ligation facility and food for the whole family during her off-the-work period.

Learning her eldest son has been making knitted items such as shoulder bags and sweaters, the fund assistance will cover the cost of yarns for him to further pursue knitting and potential sales of the products.

Updates on January 9, 2023

Gina of DSWD accompanied Past Presidents Casey and Raymund of Rotary International Multinational Manila (RIMM) to the rented home of Merly Montealto in Barangay Marahan 1, Alfonso to give 10 kilos of rice on January 9, 2023.

Her eldest son does crochet, and some of his completed items were displayed. He is selling them for his own school needs.

Merly was ligated in December 2022 and financial assistance to survive during her resting that also included the transportation cost for her ligation and yarn materials for her son was given by our club. She has 6 children and a single mother working as a manicurist.

With this educational support program, total of 265 Aeta Students were benefited.

The following is the list of donated items:

1. School stationery materials for printing.
2. Feeding for malnourished (under weight 65kg) students.  Distributed dry foods each bag with vegetables and fruits.
3. Rice donation for School faculty.
4. Donated 7 boxes of thermal gun scanner for fever and ample supply of antibacterial soup for hand washing.
5. Distribution of school materials for 265 students at Christmas Gift Giving for Day Care Center, providing toys, assorted cookies and chocolate. Additional snack for 60 students and parents.
6. Snack distribution at elementary school faculty year end party.
7. Sponsored lunch for the school visitors who held the program for face to face classes grade 1 to 3
8. Sponsored medals for graduation and for the recognition day

The following volunteers joined the event:

• Army Reserve Command 402nd Team
• Alfonso Municipal Mayor Randy Salamt (RS) group
• Members of the Alfonso police who donated school supplie
• CDC Charlie of Anti-Crime Alfonso
• Gina of Department of Social Welfare Development Alfonso
• Barangay Captain Cynthia of Luksuhin Ibaba
• Barangay Captain Berio Perea of Manggas Uno who donated children’s clothing and slippers
• Guardians Central Federation International
• Guardians youth

About 70 indigent children attended the event.

Our club provided the following to the children:

• slippers
• clothing
• toys
• reading books
• school supplies ie. crayons, pencils
• packed biscuits and drinks

A Philippine non-profit organization Academy of World Healing Foundation (AWH) which provides the HQ facility to our club at no cost provided the following items that were donated by its guests from Japan:

• schools supplies
• adult clothing
• travel size hygiene items (shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap)
• bags
• men’s shoe

Children’s faces were lit up each time an item was individually handed to them. They also received P20 coins each. While the event was on-going the children opened their packed biscuits and drinks immediately.

The leader of Camp Hope was very grateful for extending the spirit of Christmas to their children. He even mentioned that it was only our club who helped them with weekly food supply during the Enhanced Community Quarantine period when they were not able to go out to sell taho (tofu), their vending staple. In a joyous voice all of the children said, “Maraming salamat po” (translation: “Thank you”) at the end of the event.

Incidentally, Brigada Eskwela or the National Schools Maintenance Week is a nationwide initiative by the Department of Education (DepEd) that mobilizes thousands of parents, alumni, civic groups, local businesses, non-government organizations, teachers, students, and individuals who volunteer their time and skills to do repairs  

May 20-30, 2019, our Rotarian Imelda supported Aeta Village Elementary School for repainting tables, installing bamboo fences, planting various plants and cleaning rooms under OBE and Brigada Eskwela.

Our club and club Rotarian Imelda Donated painting and cleaning materials and school bags and supplies to grade 4 Aeta students.

The school teachers and approx. 260 students are benefited and appreciated our support.

RIMM has further adopted a squatter camp site consisting of 14 families and 75 people, calling it Camp Hope. As part of the government’s family planning efforts women are obliged to visit the local barangay health center once a month for family planning education and desired assistance. Two of the partnered women had been ligated years ago, one lady is pregnant with her second child and the rest of the women practice family planning.

These families largely came from Mapanas, Northern Samar to Cavite with most never having had the opportunity to attend school. Their primary income is from making tofu which requires that they buy the beans for the women to prepare with the men collecting largely a dwindling supply of dead firewood carried often on their backs from wooded areas as far as 1-2 hour walking distance. Their process of making tofu consists of grinding the soybeans with water, boiling the grounded paste-like soybeans using firewood, and then adding “calcium” which will solidify the paste. Tofu is then sold along streets, in markets and along highways. During the rainy season it is difficult to collect firewood and sell tofu along roadsides, so everyone goes hungry.

In conjunction with the barangay (local village) volunteer health worker, family needs were evaluated along with their request for assistance. 35 persons (13 female ages 6 to 35; 22 male ages 3 to 48) did not have the legally required birth certificates and therefore no true legal standing in the community. Four of the 35, all men 27, 36, 40, 47 years old, are illiterate (cannot read or write) as they did not/could not attend school in Samar. However, they are supporting their families. In close cooperation with the City of Alfonso and local pastors, an attempt is made to obtain birth certificates for everyone with RIMM strongly supporting the project and providing the necessary funding. However, after three months of spearheading this part of the project, only six birth certificates have been issued to date (as of April, 2019) by the authorities. This mirrors the hopelessness indigents often feel in their attempts to better their lives as it would be almost impossible to get “after the fact” birth certificates without the long-term financial support of committed sponsors. Further assistance is being provided for the four illiterate persons to attend special training while also working to support their families.

As pointed out by Camp Hope residents and the volunteer barangay health worker, basic needs further included better sanitation, firewood, rice, staple foods and clothing.

RIMM therefore immediately provided 2 toilet bowls, firewood as well as clothing and slippers for 20 children as some of them walked around nude or semi-nude nude and most did not even have slippers. To assure continued education for the young, eager minds to give them a chance in life, RIMM is also providing for the new school year starting June 2019 the required uniforms and shoes for all of Camp Hope’s day care (5M, 1F), kindergarten (2M, IF), elementary school (5M, 10F) and high school children/students (10M, 10F) along with necessary school supplies.

Occasional additional support missions to Camp Hope and other such camps is also carried out in conjunction with overseas visitors to RIMM and its H.Q. where lodging is available for them. For example on March 9, twelve Japanese, US RIMM and Filipino members and guests visited “Camp Hope”, initially providing an additional 15 kg of rice to each family along with goodies for the children as well as six sacks of firewood and 3 sacks of brown coconuts donated to RIMM from
AWH (Academy of World Healing) for such support and dental hygiene kits donated by assisting Rotary clubs. They also bought and enjoyed the taste of the freshly made tofu. Firewood and coconuts are also provided on a continuing as available and needed basis to this and other groups.

Indigent women and their children were pleased to receive the hygiene products.

In the meantime, Since family planning is the flagship program of RIMM we reminded the women and young teenage mothers in Usting to voluntarily undergo free subcutaneous implant on April 11, 2018 to be conducted by RIMM, Friendly Care and Dr. Manzo (Municipal Health Officer of Alfonso). RIMM has offered cash incentive to Usting resident Roselyn who underwent tubal ligation to invite more women in her community for subcutaneous implant on April 11, 2018.

Humanitarian Mission to the Poorest of the Poor

An all-day humanitarian mission was conducted by four RIMM Rotarians with a van overloaded with rice (250kg rice in 5kg bags), baked goods, bought school supplies, misc. school supplies and clothing donated by Japanese Club Rotarians and over P10,000 in P20 currencies for distribution to the children.

Tondo (formerly known for Smokey Mountain) Dump Site, Metro Manila

This site is huge, old garbage mountain where the poorest of the poor are struggling to survive by going through garbage, looking for recyclable items which can be cashed in at junk shops. A nearby active garbage dump site provides further opportunities for recycling and survival with garbage delivered to the street recyclers by middlemen.

Our club members were shocked to see hundreds of children emerged to grab P20 bills (watch video). In poverty there is no proper education thus family planning is neglected. What kind of future can these children expect? After this visit, our club decided to provide financial or food assistance only to whom undergo contraceptive measures such as BTL (Bilateral Tubal Ligation), subcutaneous implant, etc.

Pasay Cemetary

People live in and around the cemetery with no source of income except for garbage recycling and begging.