Category: Asia

Community, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Nov 25 2016

Making Christmas merry in the Philippines

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Parents of children sponsored in the Philippines turn tree branches into a crepe paper Christmas tree.

Parents of children sponsored in the Philippines turn tree branches into a crepe paper Christmas tree.

Close your eyes and picture a Christmas tree. If you’re from the United States, there’s a good chance you pictured some type of fir tree covered in baubles and topped with a star. And while there are plenty of firs in North America, they’re scarce in places like the Philippines, especially when looking for ones with the iconic conical shape.

But families of sponsored friends in the Philippines don’t let that scarcity stop their holiday cheer. Using recyclable materials, several families created their own Christmas trees and decorations.

See the photos!

Wilber, 12, a sponsored child in Guatemala who hopes to be an architect or engineer someday, partly because "Wilber the architect sounds nice!"
Community, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Nov 21 2016

35 snapshots of Unbound: 29-35

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One of the ways we’ve been celebrating our 35th anniversary is by hearing from sponsored friends and staff around the world. We asked them how Unbound has changed them, what their favorite thing about being sponsored is or what greeting they have for us at this milestone. We’ve featured 35 snapshots of our global community over the past several weeks right here on the blog. Check out the final set of snapshots in the series below, and check out previous posts in the series here!
Yovana, a social worker for Unbound in Guatemala, who deeply appreciates how members of the Unbound community share similar values, regardless of their backgrounds.
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Lyka, 11, is a sponsored child from the Philippines who dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up so she can help children like her learn to speak English.
Community, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Nov 14 2016

35 snapshots of Unbound: 22-28

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One of the ways we are celebrating our 35th anniversary coming up on Nov. 20 is by hearing from sponsored friends and staff around the world. We asked them how Unbound has changed them, what their favorite thing is about being sponsored or what greeting they have for us at this milestone. We’re featuring 35 snapshots of our global community as we lead up to Nov. 20, right here on the blog. Check out the next set of snapshots in the series and stay tuned for more!
Lourdu, 76, is a sponsored elder in India who used to play the church organ and piano during Mass and enjoys singing and dancing with his fellow sponsored elders at Unbound events.
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Maria, 92, is a sponsored elder in El Salvador who enjoys performing folkloric dance for sponsors who visit on awareness trips.
Community, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Nov 7 2016

35 snapshots of Unbound: 15-21

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One of the ways we are celebrating our 35th anniversary coming up on Nov. 20 is by hearing from sponsored friends and staff around the world. We asked them how Unbound has changed them, what their favorite thing is about being sponsored or what greeting they have for us at this milestone. We’re featuring 35 snapshots of our global community over the next several weeks leading up to Nov. 20, right here on the blog. Check out the next set of snapshots in the series, and stay tuned!
Maria, 92, is a sponsored elder in El Salvador who enjoys performing folkloric dance for sponsors who visit on awareness trips.
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Maria, 14, is a sponsored youth in Guatemala who wants to be a doctor when she grows up.
Community, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Oct 31 2016

35 snapshots of Unbound: 8-14

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One of the ways we are celebrating our 35th anniversary coming up on Nov. 20 is by hearing from sponsored friends and staff around the world. We asked how Unbound has changed them, what their favorite thing about being sponsored is or what greeting they have for us at this milestone. We’re featuring 35 snapshots of our global community over the next several weeks leading up to Nov. 20, right here on the blog. Check out the second set of seven snapshots in the series, and stay tuned!
Jackeline, 14, is a sponsored youth from Guatemala who enjoys science and dreams of becoming a chef because she loves food.
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Leonila (left), 67, a sponsored elder in Philippines who has six children and used to be a massage therapist, and Esperanza (right), 85, a sponsored elder in Philippines who is thankful for her co-sponsored elders because one of them loaned her a dress for this photo shoot.
Community, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Oct 24 2016

35 snapshots of Unbound: 1-7

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One of the ways we are celebrating our 35th anniversary coming up on Nov. 20 is by hearing from sponsored friends and staff around the world. We asked them how Unbound has changed them, what their favorite thing about being sponsored is or what greeting they have for us at this milestone. We’re featuring 35 snapshots of our global community over the next several weeks leading up to Nov. 20, right here on the blog. Check out the first seven snapshots in the series, and stay tuned!

Sava, 22, a sponsored youth in Kenya who is studying cosmetology
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Biko is a sweet Filipino dish made using glutinous, or sticky, rice.
Community, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Oct 14 2016

A feast for the taste buds and spirit

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Biko is a sweet Filipino dish made using glutinous, or sticky, rice.

Biko is a sweet Filipino dish made using glutinous, or sticky, rice.

Agriculture, especially rice, is the main source of income for many residents of the San Mateo, Rizal, area in the Philippines. And they don’t just harvest the rice — they also have many creative, and tasty, ways to serve it up.

TThe residents of San Mateo even have a celebration dedicated to rice and the many dishes made from it. The Kakanin Festival of San Mateo is on Sept. 9 each year, and coincides with the feast day of San Mateo’s patroness, Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu.

There are more than 1,000 children, youth and elders sponsored through Unbound in the San Mateo area, and each year many participate in the Kakanin Festival parade along with their families and Unbound staff members. After winning the title of Miss Barangay this year, sponsored youth Xena Mae rode in a float as one of the contestants to go on to the Miss San Mateo pageant. Though she wasn’t crowned Miss San Mateo, she was awarded for being the most eloquent of the contestants.

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Unbound's office building in Antipolo, Philippines.
Community, Philippines
Sep 30 2016

Community blessings for Unbound’s Antipolo office

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Unbound’s office building in Antipolo, Philippines.
A cake designed to look like the Unbound Antipolo office building.

As we reported in 2015, our program in Antipolo, Philippines, built a new office space and community center. The building project was a community effort, with fathers of sponsored children employed as construction workers, along with others from the local community, and several Antipolo alumni lent their expertise to the project.

The Unbound community in Antipolo recently held a celebration to bless the new building. Father Richard Magararu officiated the blessing, and several members from the community also offered their own prayers in Tagalog, the language spoken by many Filipinos.

Here are their prayers, along with an English translation.

Read the prayers

Ramil goes out each day with other fishermen to support his family.
Economic Self-Sufficiency, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Sep 26 2016

‘I will do everything to be a good father’

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Ramil, Domnick and Anita in front of their home in the Philippines.

Ramil, Domnick and Anita in front of their home in the Philippines.


Ramil wakes up at 4:30 every morning and ventures out on the sea to catch fish. Twice a day he heads out on the waters surrounding the Philippines for one reason: to support his family.

The father of seven children, including 10-year-old Romnick who is sponsored through Unbound, Ramil sees his job as a fisherman as the best way to provide for his family. After his first round of fishing for the day, his wife, Anita, sells the fish in the market while Ramil goes back out to bring in another catch.

Ramil has been doing this for 20 years.

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Jeba Mathi loves her job as a social worker for Unbound in Trichy, India, where she was raised by her grandmother and was a sponsored child herself.
Economic Self-Sufficiency, Education, India, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Sep 9 2016

A grandmother’s wisdom and a sponsor’s love

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Jeba Mathi loves her job as a social worker for Unbound in Trichy, India, where she was raised by her grandmother and was a sponsored child herself.

Jeba Mathi loves her job as a social worker for Unbound in Trichy, India, where she was raised by her grandmother and was a sponsored child herself.

Jeba Mathi is a social worker for Unbound in Trichy, India, and a former Unbound sponsored child. Jeba was raised in India by her grandmother, and had a special connection with her sponsor who was raised by her grandmother, too.

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