Hope for the Nations Philippines

Packs of Hope

Hannah Baes — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 05:42:07 +0000

Packs of Hope

On our last Beyond Feeding distribution at Manuel Guianga, Matilda shyly smiled at one of our staff and said in a rather sad and shaky voice as if she was on the verge of crying…

Karon na mahuman inyong panghatag, Ma’am?

(Is this the last time you will give us food, Ma’am?)

Matilda isn’t really part of the community we were helping for the last leg of our Beyond Feeding program but our local health workers included her name on the list as a special consideration since Matilda and her family are really dirt poor.

Every food distribution day, Matilda would walk for hours along muddy roads just to receive our food packs which she said have immensely helped them survive this pandemic. She also said how the bread rolls we have included in our packs have sustained her while she walked back home and have sustained their family since there are times they don’t have water to cook rice.

With tears slowly racing down her cheeks, Matilda shared how life had been so harsh to her. She added that her eleven-year-old son cannot walk and they have been promised a wheelchair by different organizations before but those were just empty words. While wiping her tears, Matilda said that ever since she joined our Beyond Feeding program, she slowly had hope come alive in her because she realized that there are still people who remember them and care for them.

Dako kaayo mo’g tabang namo, Ma’am. Salamat kaayo sa pagkaon ug salamat kay gitagaan mi ninyo’g paglaom.

(You have been such a huge help to us, Ma’am. Thank you very much for the food and thank you for the hope that you gave us.)

Although our 3-month program in this community has ended, we are still keeping in touch with Matilda. In fact, we were able to give her a wheelchair for her son.

It is stories like this that encourage us to press on and continue feeding communities and giving hope to them despite the risks, because there are families out there who are desperate to eat and have nowhere else to go.

YOUR SUPPORT HAS KEPT FAMILIES FROM GOING HUNGRY.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to take its toll on vulnerable Filipino households with hunger and malnutrition worsening due to lack of access to food, let alone nutritious food, lack of safety nets, and lack of available jobs for the Filipino poor.

For the past year, through our Beyond Feeding program, we were able to help families who are bearing the brunt of this pandemic across 17 marginalized rural communities within Davao City and beyond.

Beyond Feeding has undoubtedly made a significant impact on hundreds of Filipino families who otherwise would go to bed hungry and depleted. A food pack every two weeks for three months may seem so small but to a hungry home, that already means a lot.

beyond feeding

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No Crumbs Please!

joannanoriel — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 09:42:58 +0000

No Crumbs Please

September 27, 2020

by: tancho baes

I remember feeling conflicted inside as I watched those hungry and malnourished 7-to-9 -year-old school children eating “lugaw” (Filipino rice porridge) brought by a government agency as their lunch that day under the agency’s school feeding program. I felt conflicted because on one hand, I was glad that those kids (a lot of them came to school with an empty stomach) had lunch that day. On the other hand, I was sad because there was nothing appetizing about the porridge. They were serving the impoverished students something that they themselves might not even care to eat. I wondered what that says to these impoverished students who already have a very low view of themselves?

“When we give the poor our best…, we are helping them gain their dignity, self-respect and self-worth.”

That day changed the way we do feeding programs. I have come to realize that when we give food to impoverished children, we are not only feeding their stomach; we are also feeding their soul. When we give the poor our best – when instead of giving them “crumbs” we give them the “better portion” of what we have, we are helping them gain their dignity, self-respect and self-worth.

So if you are thinking of helping the poor, please give them the “better portion” of what you have.

“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”
– Proverbs 22:9

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Have a Little Compassion

Tancho Baes — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 13:26:32 +0000

have a little compassion

July 27, 2020

by: tancho baes

It was mid-morning and fairly hot when I stopped to buy some vegetables from the vendor who was selling some produce along the rural highway. There was a lady buyer with a teenager about 14 or 15 years old whose left arm was wrapped around her waist. As I walked across the street towards them, I could hear the buyer, with an obliging voice, haggling with the vendor, wanting to get a lower price of what she wanted to buy. From the way she dressed, plus the car parked three meters away on hazard lights waiting for her and her daughter, I surmised that she can afford to buy those veggies for double the price if she wanted to.

The little girl standing beside the vendor, around 9 or 10 years old, looked at the pushy lady probably fascinated by the fancy accessories she was wearing, or probably was mature enough to wonder why a well-dressed and seemingly rich lady would bargain for a lower price from poor vendors like them. With a forced smile, the vendor, who looked older because of wrinkles on her face, and who I found out later is the wife of a poor small farmer, said “Ma’am, maluuy pud ka namo Ma’am. Gamay ra kaayo akong tubo ani para dali mahalin ug makakaon akong pamilya. Sige na Ma’am. Palita na lang ni Ma’am. Pakapinan nako ug usa ka gamay’ng bugkos nga tanglad.” (“Please ma’am, have compassion on us. I only added a little markup so I could sell this fast to feed my family. Please ma’am, buy these please. I will give you a tiny bunch of lemon grass for free if you buy these.”)

“How much is that per bunch.” I asked, pointing at the bok choi, (the vegetable the lady was trying to bargain). “7 pesos per bunch, sir,” the vendor answered. “That is cheap!” I replied. “You could sell that for double the price if you sold them at Calinan Public Market. Give me 12 bunches please. I will pay you 10 pesos for each bunch.” I handed the vendor 120 pesos and she quickly bagged what I bought while thanking me profusely. I did that to make a point.

Why do so many of us who have the means to buy bargain for a lower price from poor small farmers who rely on the sale of their produce for the survival of their family? To think that most make more money in one month than these vendors do in a year.

“Without someone advocating for them, these impoverished small farmers, the second poorest sector in the Philippines, are vulnerable to the exploitation of people who are insensitive to their plight.”

Many of these vendors are living hand-to-mouth and we just realize that with every peso we knock off the price, another one of the vendor’s children will probably go hungry that night.

Without someone advocating for them, these impoverished small farmers, the second poorest sector in the Philippines, are vulnerable to the exploitation of people who are insensitive to their plight.

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Pedro’s Dream

Hannah Baes — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 00:30:09 +0000

Pedro’s Dream

July 27, 2020

by: tancho baes

I still remember the look on Pedro’s face when he told me he dreams of becoming a lawyer someday so that he could advocate for and help his people. At 12, malnourished and standing as tall as a healthy 8 year old, you could feel a deep sadness in him as every day, with no help in sight, his dream is slowly fading away. Behind his mischievous smile is a silent resignation that his dream will never take wing into reality someday. Pedro (not his real name) would only have to look at the faces of his parents and the adults in this impoverished rural community to see a sad collective of unmet dreams. But for now, his dream is what bridges the gap between a life of despair and a future of hope.

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I Am Stuck

Tancho Baes — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 10:39:01 +0000

I am stuck

July 27, 2020

by: tancho baes

“I am stuck!”

That’s what Mario (not his real name) told me when I spoke to him during my visit to his community. With his wrinkled sun-scorched face looking away sheepishly, Mario shared with me how he feels trapped in the cycle of poverty and how deeply he feels stuck believing he is powerless over his circumstances. He remembered how at a very young age, he already tried to make sense of his reality and that of his family and his neighbors. Now at 34, with desperate resignation, he has come to believe that he will remain poor for the rest of his life, like his parents, not only because there are no opportunities in the impoverished rural community he lives in but also because he is uneducated and unskilled.

Shifting his gaze from the ground to the hills nearby, with his youngest malnourished two-year-old child sitting on his lap, I noticed a crack in his voice as he said, “I am stuck, sir! There is practically nothing for me and my family here. My heart breaks when my children cry because of hunger. Many times, my wife gets the brunt of my frustration. I am tired and I don’t know what else to do. I want to give up, but what will become of my children? I am thinking of going to the city to look for a job. But I don’t even have money for transportation.”

He looked at me quickly… then looked at his son and said with resignation, “Ginoo nala’y bahala ani sir.” (“It’s up to God now.”)

There are so many Marios in the rural areas who also feel trapped and stuck in their dire economic situation. They are hoping against hope, unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and feeling they will never come out of poverty or accomplish anything great in their life because that’s what they have come to believe about themselves all their life.

But what if someone comes along and helps them see their potential? What if someone shows them the flip side of their “powerlessness” narrative so they can tell a story of empowerment about themselves? What if someone with resources, expertise and opportunities helps them realize that they cannot only dream dreams, but they, too, are capable of making their dreams come true?

“We believe that we are in the precipice of something monumental coming out from the vision for the rural poor that the Lord has laid in our hearts.”

Hope for the Nations Philippines exists to be that “someone.” Through our transformational community development program called Hectares of Hope, we do not only envision the rural poor come out of untenable poverty in two years and attain a middle-class status within five years but we also envision them building strong and healthy families and having a deep love for God, a strong love for the country and a passion to serve. This transformational community development which involves spiritual, social and economic growth employs innovative and sustainable solutions to ending rural poverty.

We believe that we are in the precipice of something monumental coming out from the vision for the rural poor that the Lord has laid in our hearts. We are breaking barriers for the impoverished, risking it all for something extraordinary that has not been done before probably. This ambitious vision is not easy to achieve within the timelines we set. It will require significant effort, planning and courage. But with God’s help, we believe we can do it in partnership with those who believe with us that the impoverished are like oil deposits buried under the ground, waiting for someone to dig them out.

Picture Mario as being one of those being “dug out.” Picture him with a renewed hope and an unparalleled motivation – a man with a missional heart and contagious generosity, a man with a godly perspective on life and the world – a father who is building a healthy family, loving his wife and raising godly children. Imagine him contributing towards the welfare of his community and being a positive influence to his peers and neighbors.

And then imagine yourself standing behind him, helping him out and cheering him on as he runs on to become the kind of person the Lord has designed him to be, paying it forward by inspiring and helping others achieve their dreams.

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