Support for a Charity

There are a lot of institutions here in the country that are founded and organized to help people who are in need. A number of them are international non-government organizations that decided to set up locally to widen their reach and help more. Everyone is familiar with organizations like Unicef, Red Cross, Caritas, Greenpeace, etc., and that in one way or another had supported them through activities announced by the local media.

ABS-CBN and GMA 7, the two biggest TV networks in the Philippines has their own charitable institutions they support. A big factor of their success may be attributed to their wide reach through media and easy access for donations, cash or in kind. Most of the time, during typhoons and other natural calamities, these 2 networks have been very active in supporting local governments by asking donations through TV, radio and print and effectively sending donations to affected areas. Projects are not limited to natural calamities but also to people who need medical support but could not afford to pay bills in the hospital. Even students who need education support are beneficiaries of projects and donations from these two networks.

Personally, I believe, each and everyone should have a charity to support to share blessings given to us everyday. Most of us are lucky that we graduated from decent schools and have a regular income from work or personal businesses. Giving to church is good but I believe each person has a unique gift that we can share to our less fortunate brothers and sisters. Sometimes, we think monetary donations are the only things we can give but we can also support them in many other ways. It is just finding the right charity or organization that you believe in and decide to support. Giving and sharing should not be done only during the holiday season but all year round. A list of certified non-government institutions may be found in PCNC's website (Philippine Council for NGO Certification). These organizations have been operating for a number of years and have been certified. It is PCNC's job to certify organizations basing on their performance and structure to help people identify legit NGOs as against fly-by-night groups who are just in it for the money. Most of the listed organizations, even certified are unknown and would really need help not just funding, but also for more exposure.

For you, what cause or organization would you support?

Giving to Charity this Christmas Season

Christmas is just around the corner and everybody is busy buying gifts and preparing for Christmas eve and Christmas day. December is also a busy month for weddings. In fact, my wife and I have attended 1 wedding last weekend and another tomorrow. December is indeed one of the busiest and most anticipated month of the year. Try looking for food caterers during this month and you will be very lucky to find a good one. Chances are, good caterers are fully booked everyday until January next year. People attend all sorts of parties, Christmas parties, reunions, weddings, birthdays, office parties and New Year parties.

Since everybody is so busy these days, have you thought of the people who are less fortunate? Have you considered having your party to an orphanage or a place for the elderly? Have you participated to your church activities for the poor this Christmas season?

Honestly, most of the time, I haven't thought of this for a long time. I have been involved in a number of charity programs when i was in college but after school i have been too busy working. I worked for an environment organization for 3 years which somehow helped people most especially people living outside Metro Manila. My previous work, last year, was with Philippine Business for Social Progress which again reminded me of the need to help people who are less fortunate. I was specifically assigned to a program to help public schools get assistance from private companies. I visited a number of schools in Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela and Caloocan. I was really shocked to learn that most of the public schools have 3 shifts, meaning 1 shift from early morning to afternoon, another from afternoon to evening and the last was late afternoon to late evening. To think that they are only high school students. The average number of students in a section is 80-90 students, and one year consists of 20-30 sections. If you make a computation, 90 students times 20 sections, that's 1800 students in one year level. Multiply it to 4 year levels and you get 7200 students! Can you imagine the state of public school system here in Metro Manila? These public schools only have limited classrooms and overworked and underpaid teachers. How can 1 teacher teach 90 students in one section?

I have a personal mission and this includes helping our environment and our educational system. I know that i might have a minimal impact but i know no matter how little my efforts are, at least i know i helped to the best that i can. Who knows if i become successful in blogging, i might make a difference in our public school system. I could not forget the feeling when i was personally thanked by the head of the school after assisting them in getting a donation from a private company to improve their library and computer class facilities. What more if personally i was able to contribute to improve their condition? That will be one of my personal goals in life.