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!
Celebrating 20 Years of Help, Hope & Change
A jubilant crowd laughed and cried through the ICM 20th Anniversary Celebration evening as we shared 20 powerful stories of lives that have been dramatically changed over the last 20 years of ICM’s operations. One of the highlights of the night was the surprise guest appearance by “Philippine Idol” winner, Jude Matthew Servilla, a previous ICM feeding recipient with an amazing voice.
Susan Entong, an ICM recipient who spoke at our 2008 banquet, also shared her story of forgiveness and hope. Susan endured horrible burns on her face and body when her father threw a kerosene lamp at her. After numerous reconstructive surgeries provide by ICM, Susan now lives at ICM’s Excel House and is a star student in public school. She plans to be a social worker when she grows up and is well on her way to fulfilling that dream. Her extraordinarily optimistic view of life left an indelible mark on many of us.
It truly was a night full of celebration! For those of you who were not able to attend, please enjoy these photos and this short video reflecting on ICM’s amazing 20 year history:
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.
Dreams Came True for the ICM Choir!
Dreams came true for the ICM Children’s Choir this past December. The fourteen kids traveled to the USA to perform at the Washington DC ICM Banquet and at multiple other events and venues in D.C. and New Jersey. The goal was to raise awareness of (and support for) ICM’s Philippine work. They left a powerful impression on everyone who saw them. And they had a blast! Their performance at the Kennedy Center was even streamed live to audiences around the world! To watch the Kennedy Center performance, CLICK HERE! Thanks for making this all possible.
Photos by Heather Elliott, ICM Media Officer
Tippy Tap: A Happy Day for Hygiene
Story by Tess Lyons, ICM Development Officer // Video courtesy of Lynn Ketch, ICM Trip Participant
“Happy Birthday to You” is the most frequently sung song in the world, but not just because of the number of birthdays celebrated each day. This is the song the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommends singing for 20 second while washing your hands in order to stop germs from spreading. Combine a much loved song with a fun hand washing device, and you have children lining up to keep themselves clean!
ICM has recently started teaching program participants how to build tippy taps - hand washing stations for homes without running water. Many ICM families must walk long distances to get water, so the tippy tap makes hand washing a much more convenient (and more likely) activity. Helen Turner, ICM’s Chief Operations Officer, stated that “Finding ways to improve hygiene is important for those living in poverty. Diarrhea is a common problem and is largely due to poor hand washing; the dehydration caused by the diarrhea can be deadly, especially for young children.”
Lynn Ketch, an ICM visitor from the USA, took this video of a group of children washing their hands at the tippy tap. She observed that “Mums the world over battle hand washing with their children. The tippy tap provides a fun way to wash with running water in a community with no running water. I am guessing mum won’t have to ask her kids more than once to go wash their hands!”
Reproductive Health Conference in Mindanao’s Tribal Area
Story by Deanna Sutherland, ICM Program Support // Footage by Kathleen Hilado, ICM CO, Koronadal
Imagine how frightening being pregnant at 14-years-old would be. This is the reality for the young women in the mountain-dwelling tribal community called T’boli, in Southern Mindanao, Philippines. The families in this tribe traditionally arrange for their daughters to be married at the onset of puberty. The young brides often become pregnant at 14 or 15 years old and have limited medical knowledge about human anatomy, pregnancy, or the birthing process. Juanito Policios, ICM’s Koronadal Base Leader, was excited to report that on March 8, 2011, ICM partnered with other Philippine non-profits and government officials to host the “Lake Sebu Reproductive Health and Buntis (Pregnancy) Congress.”
Lake Sebu is one of the poorest regions in the province and only has one health clinic to serve more than the 6,000 women who live there. This important conference was attended by 260 pregnant women from this region and the soon-to-be mothers, ranging in age from 14 to 46, were excited to attend. It provided essential prenatal information highlighting the importance of consuming a nutritional diet during pregnancy, information about the developing child, breast-feeding, the delivery process, post-baby mother care, and infant care. The mothers-to-be were all strongly encouraged to have a health professional present at birth.
The partnership ICM’s Koronadal Office made with other NGO’s and LGU’s to coordinate this Pregnancy Congress is a great encouragement to ICM’s other bases who are also working with their local partners to offer the same type of opportunity to pregnant women in their areas. ICM was thrilled to provide maternal health care packages for the mothers at the event and saw first hand the importance of this community discussion.
Photos by Juanito Policios, ICM Koronadal Area Head
Your donations have made life changing conferences like this one possible. ICM has been working in the T’boli region for several years, offering its Transform Program and preschool learning centers to communities there. ICM’s first three preschool learning centers were located in this mountainous region, with primary participants being children from the T’boli tribes. The success of these initial three schools encouraged ICM to implement the program throughout all 6 bases. There are now 80 learning centers across the Visayas and Mindanao regions, educating 2,000 students and their parents every year.
The average T’boli household has eight children and the main livelihood is farming. T’boli women proudly maintain the culture’s rich handicraft heritage which features the colorful beading, brass work and woven & embroidered clothing which make up their formal native dress. According to Pastor Policios, about half of the people living there have never left the mountains where they were born. They are very talented musicians and artisans, as you will see in the video below:
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:
University Students Making a Difference
Last year, a group of college students from the University of Virginia in the United States heard about the need for preschool sponsors and decided to take action. They worked together and raised USD$5,000 to sponsor an ICM Preschool. This donation enabled one preschool to open its doors to 25 children in a slum community in Bacolod City. That is 25 changed lives. And the best part is, they got to meet…
Two girls from the group, Corrie & Laura, traveled to the Philippines to visit their preschool. They received a warm welcome and hand made thank you cards, which they brought back to the other UVA students. Today, in Bacolod City, the 25 students from their preschool graduated! And tomorrow, UVA is donating funds from a campus wide fundraiser to ICM. To all the students at the University of Virginia, thank you!
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:
