Four Decades Later
Story and Photos by Suzanne Chu; ICM Trip Participant
I first visited the Philippines with my mother when I was 8 years old. We drove 12 hours in traffic jams to the house that she grew up in – a two-story house with no walls. I remember wondering how it was that no one fell off the second story and killed themselves. Or maybe someone did and no one talked about it because that was just the way of life when you are poor.
Living in slum conditions is just the way of life for many Filipinos. My mother was lucky enough to get a primary education, attend an Ivy League school, find a good job and break the cycle of poverty for our family. Thanks to the efforts of ICM, thousands of kids will also have access to education and be able to live better and productive lives!
Four decades later, I brought my own kids (Nicholas and Ryan, ages 9 and 6) to the Philippines to Bacolod. While my kids see that “they have a lot” and “other kids have a little,” they just want to go back because it was fun. But for me, the greatest impact was seeing my mother in a different light. I never used to think of her as “remarkable” but having seen how far she has come and how far the family is capable of going because of her efforts, I now have a whole new level of appreciation for her. Because of this, I also feel a deeper connection to the Philippines and to ICM.
During our trip we helped to build a toilet, paint a church and celebrate Easter with the ICM kids by making origami Easter baskets and sharing Easter eggs and candy. It was fun to make even our small contributions and be part of a community of such lovely and welcoming people. Thank you ICM for making this incredible journey possible and to my travel buddies Jane, Savannah and Taylor. It has absolutely, positively shaped the hearts of my children and we would all love to be able to keep coming back!
UPCOMING ICM EVENT IN HK: Bankers & Lawyers on Detention 2012
On May 4th, 2012, bankers & lawyers will be pitted against each other (Bankers v. Lawyers) in a Quiz Game covering a variety of topics including Philippines trivia. However, the “catch” is that the losing side has to “sit in detention” in front of their friends and family while Irish, a young recipient of ICM’s Scholar program, gives the detainees a brief lesson about the Philippines… dunce caps may be part of the losing team’s attire as well!! Of course this is all in good fun and for a very worthy cause! Enjoy the event’s promo video below!
For more information or to sign up, CLICK HERE!
Photos from last year’s 2011 event:
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.
Bankers and Lawyers to Go on Detention for the Poor
On May 4th, 2012, ICM will be hosting our 2nd annual HK “Detention” event. 40-50 bankers & lawyers will be pitted against each other in a Quiz Game covering a variety of topics including Philippines trivia. The “catch” is that the losers have to “sit in detention” in front of their friends and family while a young recipient of ICM’s Scholar program gives the detainees a brief lesson about the Philippines… dunce caps may be part of the losing team’s attire as well!! Of course this is all in good fun and for a very worthy cause! The event is targeted at raising HK$2 million, which is the amount it will cost to run ICM’s Scholar program for the coming year. The program pays for the education of 5,000 underprivileged elementary students, providing scholarships to cover expenses otherwise prohibiting them from attending “free” public school.
If you are a banker or lawyer who wants to sit on detention for the poor, SIGN UP HERE !
Students Stepping Up: Pope John XXIII Regional High School Pledges US$5,000
The ICM Choir’s last performance of the 2011 USA Tour was held at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, New Jersey. The Choir’s multimedia performance shared how the children’s individual stories of abandonment, hunger, disease, and displacement have been transformed by the hope of a better future. As they sang their stories, they represented all children throughout the world living in adversity. Their music testified to the power that hope can bring. The students and staff at Pope John XXIII Regional High School responded with extreme generosity, pledging US$5,000 to help change more lives in the Philippines. Their warm welcome to the USA was a very powerful experience for the Choir Kids.
Thank you, Pope John XXIII Regional High School, for walking beside us in the flight against poverty.
The event even received local press coverage! To read the published article CLICK HERE.
Photo by Heather Elliott, ICM Media Officer
ICM Celebrating 20 Years of Help, Hope & Change
UPCOMING EVENT: SATURDAY, MARCH 3
We are kicking off the year with a celebration concert on Saturday, March 3rd and we hope you can come. The evening will include a media reflection of the past 20 years and the ICM Children’s Choir will share their Kennedy Center Performance. Kids are invited and welcome. Please come – bring along your friends – this is a great opportunity to introduce others to the effective and efficient work of ICM. We hope you can celebrate with us.
Tickets are HK$250 and you can book them using the form below. Looking forward to seeing you on March 3rd.
Reserve your tickets HERE
Kids Helping Kids by Donating Shoes
Even though primary education in the Philippines is free, students are required to provide their own shoes, books and uniforms in order to attend school. Without these commodities, children will not be admitted. Families living in extreme poverty cannot afford these things and so their children do not go.
As the teachers and children from the Kennedy School in Hong Kong wrapped up their year, they spent time reflecting on education in developing countries. Kennedy School Primary Year Program Coordinator, Jacqueline Harmer, decided to show the kids how easy it is to make an impact on another child’s life. She organized a shoe drive where the children could drop off their gently used school shoes. The shoes were then counted and sent to ICM to distribute out to their six bases across the Philippines.
In total, Kennedy School collected about 967 pairs of shoes! Thank you Jacqueline Harmer, the Kennedy School students, the Kennedy School teachers, and the Kennedy School parents for your overwhelming generosity.
Bankers on Detention: A Big Success!
Story by Mia Deocadiz, ICM HK Office Intern
At the cozy Classified restaurant in Hong Kong, eight-year-old teacher, David Paul from Bacolod City strutted his stuff. His ‘students’ for the day – a group of 19 sponsored bankers – paid full attention to his every word. The goal for the night was to raise US$100,000 to pay for scholarships for ICM’s 4,245 preschool graduates to attend Philippine public schools for a year.
Along with his two teaching assistants, Deanna Sutherland and Julie Turner, David Paul led the class through a variety of activities including role call, lines and a quiz. David Paul’s students were more than happy to play along and do what their young instructor asked them to.
The biggest crowd pleaser was the quiz about banking quotes. It ended with the young teacher awarding the highest scoring student (Kalpana Desai) with a gold star and the ‘dunce’ of the day (Michael Connell) with a dunce hat. The event ended with the students writing postcards to some of David Paul’s real classmates in the Philippines.
On the whole, the night was filled with a lot of laughter and fun. But the best news of the evening – early results indicate that ‘Bankers on Detention’ will raise over US$200,000! Thank you to the bankers who sat in detention, their sponsors and Macquarie Group Foundation, for supporting the event.
Photos by Merryl Tan, ICM Communications Manager
A Timely Blessing
Union Church in Manila graciously donated individual gifts of 6,000 pesos each to 37 pastors from 5 ICM regions. Story & Photo by Kathleen Hilado, ICM CO, Koronadal
Pastor Laurel Lina Piang of T’boli, South Cotabato is one of the pastors in Koronadal who received a gift of 6,000 pesos. He has been serving as a community pastor for almost 25 years. Pastor Piang felt so blessed because this was the very first time for him to receive such an amount from an unknown patron.
“This is the first time I was given a gift like this. I had no idea why I was called to the ICM office when one of the staff asked if I could drop by. I went there and I was surprised when they handed me a check with my name written on it.”
In 1987, after graduating from a Bible School, he started a pioneer church in his hometown in T’boli. During that time, groups who were radically opposed to Christianity inhabited the area. Amazingly, after facing many challenges, Pastor Piang gained support and commitment from the villagers instead of harm. The church grew in number and is currently serving the whole community. His greatest supporters are his immediate family. Through all the hardships and discouragement of working as a pastor within a slum community, he has never heard his family complain nor fight against his passion to serve Christ. He remembers clearly the times when his family had nothing to eat for dinner. All he could do was pray with them at the dinner table.
Pastor Piang never gave up but continued to obey God and serve him faithfully. Now, he and his family are working with the Manobo Tribe and teaching them basic literacy and numeracy. They are going to build a church there and the amount he received from Union Church will be used to jumpstart this project. To everyone at Union Church, Pastor Piang wanted to say, “Thank you very much for the wonderful surprise! The joy I feel is immeasurable. This amount is truly a blessing and came at just the right time.”
