Rural Life in the Philippines
Updated: May 4, 2021
Negros Occidental is primarily agricultural, with sugar as its main product. This earned the province the moniker “The Sugar bowl of the Philippines.” However, poverty incidence is high here, with about 41 percent of poor families in Western Visayas concentrated in this province. Unemployment rate is also high at 9 percent.

CHILD LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES
Due to poverty, many children drop out of school and are forced to work in sugar cane plantations to bring income to their family. Here, they are exploited and forced to work long hours for meager pay. Negros Occidental has the highest magnitude of poor families in the country, mostly concentrated in rural areas. About 33 percent of the population lives on less than $2 US a day.

BACKPACKS FOR THE CHILDREN FILLED WITH SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Some exceptional children want to go to school. Most parents do not have the money to send them to school and think that they should work to help the family. This is where The Hesser Foundation comes in. We will help the child who wish to go to school by paying for their school, supplies and costs. The child must keep their grades up or they will be dropped from the program.

COMPUTERS DONATED FOR THOSE WITH NO ELECTRICITY OR COMPUTERS
Also, we are currently in the middle of this Covid-19 pandemic so we have donated two computers for those who do not have the electricity or computer to study at home. Our local volunteers set up a computer station in their homes for the children to use.

DONATED FOR AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
We are in need of money to help these poor children. We have more applicants that we have money. Your gift of only $5.00 per month will send three more children to school for a year. Please help by going to https://www.thehesserfoundation.org/support-us.

WE CAN NOT HELP EVERYONE WITH OUT YOUR HELP
We thank you for your cherished help.

OUR CHILDREN NEED YOUR HELP
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE HESSER FOUNDATION:
“Congratulations for the fantastic work you are doing to relieve these innocent kids who need the support of everyone! Don’t give up!”
Toti Y
“I personally met with Michael Hesser today to find out more about what/how his foundation supports the children of the Philippines. A kind soul, softly spoken man with a generous heart is the only way I can describe him. What a great initiative and generous project!”
Maureen T
“This is one of my favorite foundations to donate to. All the proceeds go straight to children in need in the Philippines. Most foundations filter through a few companies that take a percentage…”
Sabrina M