Poverty in the Philippines
Poverty overshadows most lives in the Philippines. By 2016 more than 26 million remained poor, and nearly 12 million live in extreme poverty, their earnings not enough to buy three meals a day.
The benefits of economic growth are not reaching those who desperately need it. The major cause comes down to lack of education. The Philippine Statistics Authority’s survey showed that in the first semester of last year, 26.3 per cent of Filipinos were living below the poverty line (a measure of the minimum income required to meet the basic necessities). The fact remains that the Philippines has failed to meet its commitment to the United Nations under the millennium development goals on poverty, which was to halve by 2015 the country’s poverty incidence to 17 per cent in 2015 from 34 per cent in the 1990s. The real poverty figure could in fact be higher if we are to consider the official national food threshold of P 7,638 ($148.74 US) a month–the requirement for a family of five to be able to have three regular meals every day. This threshold is equivalent to P 254.60 a day for a family of five, or P 50.92 ($.99 US) for each member to be able to eat three meals a day. That is P 16.97 ($.33 US) for each meal.
Sadly, illiteracy is repeated every generation.
This is why we have created The Hesser Foundation. We want to break the cycle of illiteracy!
When you make less than $2.00 per day you cannot feed your children let alone pay $25.00 a year for schooling. This is the reason that illiteracy is past down from one generation to the next.
The cost of the tuition is $15.00 per year and the school supplies are $10.00 per year. Your gift of $10.00, $15.00 or $25.00 will not change the world but it will change the world for one child!
The Hesser Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit charity. We go to the small cities that are untouched by the large charities. The best way to get people out of poverty is thru education. It is our wish to do that in the Philippines.
Our offices are donated and we do not take a salary. We have always relied on a dedicated team of local volunteers this way the money is given directly to the schools for tuition and supplies.
Filipino children that cannot attend school are compelled to work to help support the needs of their family. This keeps the cycle of illiteracy passing from one generation to the next. Close to a million Filipino youths work as garbage scavengers in public dumps. The working conditions are filthy and have serious effects on the health of those individuals. Other children work in farms and plantations, in dangerous mines, on streets, in factories, and in private homes as child domestic workers. These children have jobs that place them in immediate physical danger. These risks include exposure to potentially harmful chemicals or sharp tools, and other dangers that may be less obvious but no less risky. Children are often forced to work long hours with few breaks, which takes a toll on their physical development. Others are abused by their employers, both physically and psychologically.
These children need your help!