Kids Camp 2012
“I traveled from an earthquake affected area in Ayungon,” said Christy. “It took 4 hours to arrive here.” Christy was one of 134 kids who attended Kids Camp 2012 which was offered to kids from the communities that were severely affected by the two major natural disasters that hit Dumaguete this year. A few children traveled as far as 60 miles to get there!
The kids were divided into “families” led by parents from HK, Australia and the UK, who gave up their holidays to participate. For four action packed days the teams enjoyed sports, games, crafts and Bible lessons while competing for first place by singing their team chants. Christy was on the Purple Pandas Team and told us, “My favorite thing to do at camp was sports games!” It was a fun filled week for all!
Please enjoy our Kids Camp Recap Video below!
Medical Outreach in Devastated Areas
ICM staff in Dumaguete, led by Area Head Pastor Sam Templado, joined local doctors, dentists, pastors, and even the Filipino military to provide medical aid, dispense medicine, offer counseling and even provide free haircuts! to thousands of those traumatized by devastation of Tropical Storm Washi and the earthquake following quickly on its heels one month later. Thank you to the World Relief Committee of Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Texas and the many others whose donations made this possible.
Update: Life After Storm Washi
In the three months since Tropical Storm Washi hit the Philippines, ICM has been touched by your outpouring of gifts, donations and prayers for those affected. Because the poor are always the most vulnerable during disasters, ICM had to respond quickly to the needs of Washi’s victims. Due to your generosity, within a week ICM was able to mobilize people and resources to provide life-saving packages of rice, canned food, bottled water and other necessities. Thank you for making this possible.
ICM’s Communications Officer in Dumaguete, Gerard Adiong, turned in the following account of one of the families hardest hit by the storm:
Tropical Storm Washi (or Sendong, as it is know locally) was the world’s deadliest storm in 2011. The typhoon and the resulting flash floods killed over a thousand people, destroyed countless homes and left survivors in desperate need. ICM recipients Joseph and Virna Cadalin and their six kids lived in one of the disaster areas. Their seven-year old son and six-year old daughter are ICM Elementary Scholars.
Typhoon Sendong hit the province at dawn and the household of Joseph and Virna Cadalin was caught unaware. Joseph was changing the baby’s diaper when the creek near their house suddenly rose. Joseph and Virna each grabbed two of the younger children and quickly sought shelter on higher ground, yelling for their two older children to follow. Thirteen year-old Evangeline ran to the pig pen and twelve-year old Ray ran back inside the house. As Joseph and Virna and the four children they carried reached safety, they looked back and could only helplessly watch as the floodwaters rose, sweeping away the house and their other two children.
Upon hearing of the Cadalin family’s loss, Pastors Noli Gallego and Samuel Templado, ICM Dumaguete’s Area Head, went to visit the grieving family. ICM Dumaguete came alongside the family to provide emotional and spiritual support, as well as financial assistance for the burial of Ray and Evangeline and for building materials for a new home. Joseph used the assistance to build a small cottage several meters from where their house once stood. The Cadalin Family expressed their deep thanks to ICM staff for help and support in their time of greatest need.
Lilian Bardinas, ICM’s Strategic Department Head in Dumaguete, was one of those who was also deeply affected by the storm. Back in January, we shared Lilian’s story about her wedding day, which proceeded in spite of the storm washing away her home. Instead of a honeymoon, she spend the days after her wedding digging out what belongings she could find. Lilian and Eduardo’s story was covered internationally by CNN. (CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO SPOTLIGHT)
Here’s an update from Lilian:
“Many people ask me, ‘Why did you continue with the wedding?’ I tell them, ‘There’s no reason not to continue the wedding because God preserved the two of us even though the strong typhoon washed away all our earthly possessions and our house. The loss of all our material things will never be the reason to stop life. We have each other to share and to love. There is still hope, there is a reason to celebrate, there are still many good things that are yet to come…”
Not long after the storm, Lillian was interviewed on a local television show. During the interview Lilian and Eduardo explained that it is not only material things that count in life but really that what matters most is our relationship with God. At the end of the interview, Lilian and Eduardo were surprised with a 4-day honeymoon vacation in Boracay, a highly popular vacation spot in the Philippines!
We thank the Cadalin Family and Lilian & Eduardo for sharing their stories with us. They represent two out of thousands of families affected by the storm.
Earthquake rocks Central Visayas
Dear ICM Friends,
Sorry to say that another natural disaster has struck the Philippines and this one also hit ICM’s target provinces. You may have heard in the news that a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook the central island provinces of the Philippines yesterday morning, triggering landslides. There have been hundreds of aftershocks. At least 43 bodies have already been recovered.
The earthquake was felt throughout many of the ICM target areas, including the areas around Bacolod, Dumaguete and Bohol and many of you have asked about the safety of our staff and programs. The experience was stressful for millions of people on these islands. People evacuated after tsunami warnings were issued. The aftershocks continued for more than a day, and people worried that buildings could collapse at any minute. But we are pleased to tell you that ICM’s staff, project partners and community recipients are safe. It appears that the most serious damage was confined to a few mountain towns. ICM works in thousands of communities, so we are still gathering responses from our communities. So far we have confirmed that church buildings in four of our partner communities were destroyed. And we will be working to help these communities. We feel grateful that most of our communities avoided the most serious damage in this round.
Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers for the poor in our areas. They are grateful for you too.
Dave Sutherland, ICM Chairman
ICM AREA HIT BY TROPICAL STORM WASHI
Eyewitness; Words and Photos by ICM COO, Helen Turner
Tropical Storm Washi has left a devastating mark on the Northern part of Mindanao, Philippines. The effected areas reached farther north to the city of Dumaguete on the Island of Negros, where one of our bases is located. ICM COO, Helen Turner, was in Dumaguete attending the wedding of an ICM staff member, Lilian, during the Tropical Storm. Helen soon learned of the countless number of ICM staff members who had been affected by the barrage of Typhoon floodwater. “I heard that Lilian’s own home had washed away in the torrential rain. As we drove [to her wedding ceremony] the evidence of what had happened was clear. Mud was everywhere; debris and fallen trees were all over the place…The wedding went on without any issues and I drove back to my hotel that night still not really understanding.”
Lilian's Wedding
The next day, Helen went to see Lilian’s home, “a true scene of total devastation.” It was extremely likely that if Lilian had been in her house instead of at her wedding, she and her younger brother would have been swept away by the rising waters.
The River by Lilian's House
“Their home is unrecognizable, now partially buried by dirt from the river. But Lilian, smiling and bright on the day after her wedding says to me, “don’t worry, it’s just things.’”
The Remains of Lilian's House
The Place Where Her Neighbor's House Used To Be
Helen was accompanied by Pastor Sam Templado, the local Area Head of the ICM Dumaguete Base, who had been receiving phone calls all morning from people asking for help. “Pastor Sam and his family had been cleaning their house since yesterday when the flood waters rose quickly and filled their home knee deep with sludge. They have done an amazing job but…there is a long way to go before it is done.”
Tropical Storm Washi has affected thousands people in Dumaguete and Northern Mindanao and the worst is not over. In poverty stricken areas where food and water are already scarce, natural disasters like this have an even graver effect on the poor. Families, who have lost what little they had previously owned, are now homeless and desperate for aid. Some are still searching for missing family members and friends, while the chaos around them is now their reality.
ICM’s programs help the poorest of the poor who, especially in these times of natural disaster, need long term support. Please consider supporting ICM with a donation today:
DONATE NOW
To donate, please contact us and we will get straight back to you!
ICM is a registered charity in Hong Kong, the United Sates and the UK. Audited financial statements and certificates of tax exemption are available upon request.
KIVU Diary: My Trip to the Philippines
Diary Entry by Rebecka Kaltenbach, KIVU Gap Year Participant
Camp KIVU is a Christian adventure camp in Colorado, USA where teenagers go to experience the great outdoors. One of their programs, called KIVU Gap Year, reaches out to students taking a year off in between high school and college. These students spend the year traveling to different locations around the globe, partnering with ministries in different countries. ICM was privileged to host a group of ten participating in the KIVU Gap Year at two of our bases in the Philippines. One of the participants, Rebecka Kaltenbach, shares her ICM experience below:
“To see what ICM is doing to help all those children impacted me in ways I can’t even explain. One memory that will stick with me forever was in El Nido. I had been going to the preschools regularly to get stories of the children and visit their homes to meet their families. I would see the kids every week and hangout for the day, so they got pretty comfortable with me. One day I went to Marty’s House Learning Center and I am not going to lie, I was starting to feel the heat. I was pretty exhausted. But when the kids saw me they stopped what they were doing and all 23 of them ran over to me and swarmed me with a huge hug! It is something that I will never forget; every time I think about it, it makes me miss what I was doing more than anything. But it also gives me joy to think that I as able to experience that!
The other thing that really stuck with me is the relationships I made with the ICM staff. Just being able to have fun fellowship with people that love the Lord and share a lot of the same interests was amazing. The last night the staff threw us a going away party and let me just say that I have never laughed so hard in my life. It was amazing and a highlight of my trip. But over all, to see what God is doing in the lives of so many people through the ICM staff just blows my mind and I was more than blessed to be able to experience that for a few months.”
Photos courtesy of Rebecka Kaltenbach
ICM’s 1804 Young Graduates
Throughout the month of March, 1804 proud graduates of ICM’s 80 Learning Centers marched across the stage in their cap and gowns to receive their “diplomas”. The students finished their year of learning with formal graduation celebrations held in each region. Songs were sung, dances danced and poems and verses recited. And family members and friends clapped and cheered. Thank you to all the generous sponsors who made this possible.
Kids Camp 2011
Story by Julie Turner, ICM Executive Director // Photos & Videos by Heather Elliott, ICM Media Officer
Over 100 kids from the slums of Dumaguete and Bacolod came together prior to Easter for four action packed days of fun, craft, sport and song. The ICM’s Children’s Shelter and a few local staff kids were added to the mix, along with nearly 20 kids from Hong Kong and Australia. All 120 children were divided into 12 family groups that were led by over 40 leaders from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia, the US, the UK and Ireland. Each family group was assigned a colour and came up with a team name and chant. Some where pretty cute (Lime Lizards, Purple Penguins, Orange Groove, Red Roosters) while some were a bit more ‘threatening’ (Black Ninjas, Pink Tigers). A special shout out goes to James and Maggie’s ‘In the Navy’ mantra, which had everyone humming to the Village People’s classic tune all week. All the chants had catchy tunes, as kids from one team were often heard singing another team’s chant. Even after being home for a week, my three kids are still randomly breaking into song in honour of an opposing team!
Kids Camp Leaders
There were a lot of highlights from the week, including crafts like team banners depicting the week’s Bible lessons that will be given to the children’s home churches, hand painted t-shirts and photo frames, and personalized water bottles and wall hangings. A special thank you goes out to our lovely craft leaders, Theresa, Lauren and Yasmin for their creativity and to our amazing sports leaders, Lachlan and Joel, for all of their energy. I’m not sure who had more fun during the obstacle courses, the chocolate relay, the sponge wars, the soccer games, and the parachute game, those two guys or the kids. But all were thoroughly exhausted and smiling from ear to ear after each activity.
The Pink Tigers
After a week of songs and lessons, I think the kids realized that they are valued individuals who are made for a purpose and worthy of love. This will give them the hope they need to achieve anything they set their hearts to and to make a difference. As I move to the UK in a few months, the timing of this camp was perfect. It reminded me of why we do what we do. These kids are just as important as my own, just as worthy of my time and just as in need of our support. ICM is impacting not only these children, but their families and communities as well. Although the camp only lasted 4 days, the time invested will last a lifetime. Thank you so much to all of the leaders who traveled long distances to help and a huge thank you to Pastor Sam, Rochelle and the ICM Dumaguete staff who did a marvelous job hosting us. As for Kids Camp 2012? Can it be organized from an island on the other side of the world? Absolutely – see you there!
We hope you enjoy our recap videos:
ICM101: Programs in Action
Over 100 people from 10 different countries joined us in the Philippines for ICM101; a week long introduction course into the heart and soul of International Care Ministries. Participants sat in on classroom lectures where ICM Chairman, David Sutherland, shared ICM’s vision and strategies for changing the face of poverty in the Philippines in the areas we serve. Each ICM101er was trained by local ICM staff on how to teach a lesson from the Health & Livelihood Curriculum. The following day, ICM101ers experienced a day-in-the-life of an ICM staff member, traveling into the slums and rural communities where ICM works, and actually teaching their lesson to recipients.
ICM101 gave participants a chance to see our programs in action, as they interacted with local staff and recipients in the field. By the end of the week, the group had visited several slum communities, the ICM Children’s Shelter, several preschool graduation ceremonies, special medical cases, malnourished childrens’ outreaches and microfinance communities. It was a week to remember.
Photos by Erin Manfredi, ICM Media Officer
Ringing in the New Year with a Purpose
We had a unique opportunity on December 31st to host a party for the youth near our ICM base in Dumaguete. We call it unique because of its source. On the other side of the world, a group of students from The Rock Student Ministries at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C. decided to do something different with their New Year’s Eve. They gathered their resources and implemented their ideas in order to sponsor five simultaneous parties in different countries across world, including Uganda, Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Philippines. Their purpose was to share their love and faith with impoverished youth worldwide, while raising awareness about global poverty.
Connecting through several media formats, 1,550 students in Washington, D.C. gathered to ring in the New Year with 5,750 youth across the world. In the Philippines, seven pastors from the surrounding slum communities partnered with the ICM Dumaguete Staff to host the event, making it possible for 307 people to attend. It was an incredible night of celebration and the first time these individuals were able to celebrate New Year’s outside of their slum communities. Check out our recap video:
