Category: Philippines

Peter in Kenya displays some of the benefits he chooses from his Unbound sponsorship, including rice and soap. He says that benefits like this give him peace of mind.
Community, Economic Self-Sufficiency, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Feb 3 2017

Loving the last chapters of life

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Peter in Kenya displays some of the benefits he chooses from his Unbound sponsorship, including rice and soap. He says that benefits like this give him peace of mind.

Peter in Kenya displays some of the benefits he chooses from his Unbound sponsorship, including rice and soap. He says that benefits like this give him peace of mind.

Peter is a 68-year-old man in Kenya who is one of 30,000 elders around the world sponsored through Unbound. Like Peter, these men and women are pursuing better health and nutrition, stabilizing their incomes and enjoying newfound community among their fellow sponsored elders. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing stories of these inspiring aging friends around the world.

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A young Filipino girl reads letters from her sponsors.
Get involved, Kenya, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend
Dec 28 2016

A powerful resolution for 2017

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A young Filipino girl reads letters from her sponsors.

Lennen, a 15-year-old girl in the Philippines, smiles as she reads through letters and cards from her sponsors, Melvin and Mary in Pennsylvania.


This month we’ve been exploring the value of letter writing here on the blog. The big question is, why write? And we’ve answered with a myriad of reasons that are less about paper and postage and all about human connections and encouragement.
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The finished product: this fertilizer is ready to bag and sell.
Economic Self-Sufficiency, Philippines, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Dec 16 2016

Fertilizer co-op provides opportunities for families

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Parents of sponsored children from the northern Isabela Province in the Philippines make fertilizer to sell to local farmers. These parents have joined together to create SANKAPACO Cooperative. SANKAPACO is a combination of three words: Sagana, which means rich, Kaagapay, which means standing for each other or helping hand and pag-unlad, which means progress.

Parents of sponsored children from the northern Isabela Province in the Philippines make fertilizer to sell to local farmers. These parents have joined together to create SANKAPACO Cooperative. SANKAPACO is a combination of three words: Sagana, which means rich, Kaagapay, which means standing for each other or helping hand and pag-unlad, which means progress.

The impact of sponsorship ripples beyond just a monthly monetary transaction from sponsors to sponsored friends.

A group of 36 sponsored families from Isabela, located in the northeastern-most part of the Philippines, has banded together to create a fertilizer cooperative. They sell the fertilizer to generate income as they challenge poverty daily.

They began the cooperative in August 2015 with less than $40 of capital. That was all they needed to start the process of mixing all the right materials to create an affordable fertilizer they could sell to the many farmers in their community.

The sponsored families decided to create a fertilizer cooperative because Isabela is one of the country’s major crop producing areas for foods like rice and corn.

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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.

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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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