Merry Christmas

December 5, 2012

Dear Sponsors and Friends,
Thank you for helping to make it the best year ever for Give Children Hope and the sponsored children. Your love and support has been greatly appreciated by the children and families you have helped.

Your donations have provided two of the most important means that children living in extreme poverty need to free themselves from extreme poverty – critical daily meals and school opportunities.

I am including two letters with the one I am sending to you. One is from Kristina Sunico and the other one is from Helen Agawin.  Both work with our programs in the Philippines and they are, in large part, the reason why we are having such success with our Give Children Hope programs for the Filipino  sponsored children.

I am thankful for friends like you who do so much to further the cause of the children.  Life is very difficult for the children in the Philippines. Your love and support give the children hope even in times of great distress in their lives.

We send you our love from here and our best wishes for the coming holidays.

Don Cooper
Give Children Hope,
Chief Operations Officer
Enclosures

(Letter from Kristina Sunico)

Merry Christmas from your sponsored children here in the Philippines

								Dear Sponsors and Friends of Give Children Hope

As we enter this special month of December we want to thank you for what you have done to help the Filipino children here in the Philippines this year.

Your donations and children’s sponsorships have given over 600 very poor schoolchildren nutritious, daily meals at Sua and Maravilla Elementary Schools.

During this year you have made it possible for these 600 sponsored children to receive 1,222 math and reading books for their school use.

In addition you have made it possible for these sponsored children to receive their much-needed school supplies for their schools.

Through your sponsorship and support, the children have been blessed with shipments of clothing, shoes, and personal dress things they needed to feel good and look good while at school and at home.

You have given these sponsored children a chance to receive a good education that will help them and be remembered by them all their lives.

I want to thank you for giving these children so much this year. The children here at the Sua and Maravilla Elementary schools send thanks to you for helping them so much. They send their love to you with this letter. They wish you a Merry Christmas and that you may have happy holidays to come.

One of the sponsored children you have helped this year is Enos, who lives here in Manila. Enos is at a school here in Manila that doesn’t have the Meals at School Program as they are in Southern Luzon. But he wanted to let you know that he is very thankful for the sponsorship fund you have been giving him. He says, “I am getting so much busy with school but I am loving it. Being a  student here is fun. Your sponsorship fund has helped me with the food and school help I need. I knew from the Give Children Hope that you have been helping to feed the children in both Sua and Maravilla Elementary Schools. The children with the feeding have a great thing for them. Thank you for helping children like me.”

“All the other sponsored children wanted to extend thanks for the sponsorships you have extended to them, for providing their food and for their school needs. These little children are very happy whenever they see that they have complete set of school supplies in their bags, just like me. I am so happy that thru the sponsorship, all of my school needs are being pr ovided; That was so helpful and I greatly appreciate the help you have given me me, from then till now.”

Not only your sponsored children are grateful for your help and are excited for Christmas but almost everyone here are sharing the love around. The places are being covered with lights and lanterns. They are all so magnificent. We do not have snow but it is starting to get cold, the more it brings the Christmas feeling.

Here in the Philippines our sponsored children here in Manila and our 600 children receiving the Give Children Hope Meals at School Program at Maravilla and Sua Elementary Schools give thanks to each of you for sponsoring them with daily meals that they so much need. Also, thank you so much for the books, clothing, and your love in remembering us.

In behalf of the sponsored children, we would like to great you and your families a Merry  Christmas. May you enjoy this great season with your families. We hope that you will feel our love for all of you.

For the Give Children Hope sponsored children,

---

Kristina Lou Calidayan Sunico-Nobles

(Letter from Helen Grace Agawin)

Dear Give Children Hope Sponsors and Friends,

May you always have a great day! Our Give Children Hope Meals@ School here is continuously doing great everyday! .. The parents and the people of Sua School as well as are amazed with this wonderful program ... They are so much thankful for all the people behind this especially to you! In behalf of them I thank you from our hearts!

I hope things are doing well with you.  I am sorry for not always communicating very often. As a college instructor, I am just too busy with work especially that it is the closing of the semester, lots of things to do and to finish before the deadline.

I live in Camarines, Sur which is on the Main Island of Luzon in the Philippines.  It is located at the southern end of the island.

 As a mother, a grandma, and a wife...plus our meals at school program, I am kept really busy.

 I want to give you an update on what is happening in our Meals at School here at Sua Elementary School and for the same program for the children at Maravilla Elementary School. We now have Facebook sites which have the posts and the uploaded pictures for both Sua and Maravilla ElemSchools. I hope you always get a chance to look at them.

All goes well here with the program. … in fact, we have mastered what to do in an organized and systematic way.  The parents told me that even if they no longer taste what they cooked…they know for sure that it tastes very good because they know the exact amount of ingredients to put already.

If you can just come to talk with the parents, you will know how grateful they are for having this wonderful program of Give Children Hope. It helps them so much. A teacher told me of how some of her students do when feeding times come--- they would bring with them a bowl/container with a cover, and after eating half of the serving they will cover it and keep the half to take home for their younger siblings, but most of the time they have the second or 3rd serving.

There was one time I went to see my sister Maribelle, she teaches high school students…when suddenly a group of young girls caught my attention they give me a respect in a typical Filipino way ( getting your hand to their forehead). I was wondering who these kids are they are not ordinary because I could feel their love and I could sense their happiness upon seeing me.

 I asked them who they are and with excitement they said that they used to be students of Sua Elementary School and were beneficiaries of the meals at school of GCH.  I know through the smiles on their faces and the respect they have shown me and excitedly telling me how they enjoyed their everyday meals that they were grateful to Give Children Hope.

I wish you can come to see how this program is doing and how it is helping a lot of children here and perhaps listen to their life stories.

Last night I was talking to my son-in-law in Manila telling me about the meeting he attended with the returned missionaries who served in Naga Mission.  They have plans on helping other people too… and he said they made Give Children Hope an example.  My son-in-law was surprised when he heard about GCH because he knew how true and how active the foundation is … and he raised his hand and told the group that he can attest to that; that he knows that GCH is doing well in the Philippines and is supporting Maravilla and Sua school children with the everyday meals at school program and other help it is giving the children here in the Philippines.

On behalf of the 600 children, teachers, and parents of Sua and Maravilla Schools...
May you all be blessed abundantly in life.

Sincerely,

Helen Grace P. Agawin - GCH Cam. Sur
GCH Philippines Meals at School Coordinator

New Photos from Sua Elementary School

We are grateful to the wonderful parents who help out in preparing the meals.

Merry Christmas from Sua Elementary School to all of our sponsors!

Working hard to prepare nutritious meals for the children

Looking over the new books that were delivered to their school recently.

Excited to have some new reading material

Thank you to all those who donated school supplies for the children.  It has helped a lot and definitely made a difference for this small school.

Some New Pictures from Sua Elementary School

It thrills us to be able to see the happy, smiling faces of these young children at school.  We are grateful for all of your assistance in making this happen.  We are making a difference one meal at a time. 

Thank You from Sua Elementary School

November 2nd, 2012

Dear Give Children Hope Sponsors and friends,

We were sad to hear about Hurricane Sandy that devastated so much of the northeast in the U.S.until Tuesday of this week. We express our sorrow for those many lives that were lost in the storm, especially for the loss of the three children who were in harm's way. This is always so sad.

Most everyone here has experienced the sorrow, and the suffering of at least one major hurricane (called Typhoon here) that has terrified us and taken the life of a loved one or a child we have known.

We pray for those many people that were affected by this horrible storm and that they may have our Lord's blessings.

Here in the Philippines we have entered the month for giving.  Our sponsored children here in Manila and our 600 children receiving the Give Children Hope Meals at School Program at Maravilla and Sua Elementary Schools give thanks to each of you for sponsoring them with daily meals that they so much need. Also, thank you so much for the books, clothing, and your love in remembering us.

Two of your sponsored children here in Manila named Enos aged 15 and Abib aged 7 both want to express their gratitude for the help you have been extending to them. “We have been so blessed by this sponsorship from Give Children Hope, our sponsors help us buy our food, school books, and food.” They know that going to school is very important and they want to study harder.

Like these children, I too have a lot of things to be thankful for. When I was at their age, I was so thankful for many things even for simple things. I was thankful for my friends, for my family, for my things in school, for my food and for almost everything.

I was so happy with everything. Especially, I was thankful for my sponsorship from Give Children Hope, it has helped me, my siblings and my family during the troubled times.

 I was so grateful to receive letters from my sponsors asking how I was and them sharing their life to me. I feel so loved, I still keep those letters and I will always be grateful for them. My sponsorship has been a great help to me. It was there when I needed food, things in school, and to pay for my school fees. The sponsorship has become a great part of my life. I love those memories and will always be thankful for that.

We hope that despite the devastation from the hurricane many have experienced, you will be able to have a lovely Thanksgiving Day.

Kristina Sunico-Nobles

Our prayers for you and your families from the sponsored children

September Update

Dear Sponsors and Friends of Give Children Hope,

We hope that you are in good health and happy spirits as this letter arrives to you. It has been a very fun September and it was really quick, don’t you think?

The students have spent another busy yet fun month in their school. Specifically, the students in Sua Elementary School in Camarines Sur had a holiday as they have celebrated their Peñafrancia Festival that has been going since the Spanish times here in the Philippines..

I have learned that this month, you also celebrate one of the most important events in the American History which is the Columbus Day; the day Christopher Columbus discovered America. It is nice that this celebration has continued.

In the Philippines, we are now officially welcoming the Christmas season. The street have now been started to be dressed with colorful lights and other decorations though we still have to expect several typhoons as this month is still rainy season. Nevertheless, the decoration and celebration will still continue no matter how heavy the rains will be.

Also, we would like to give thanks for your continuous effort in supporting the Meals at School Programs of Give Children Hope in Sua and Maravilla Schools.

We are halfway through the ending of this school year and a number of students will be graduating from elementary school and hope to get higher education. We are thankful for your continuous support. You have given them so much more than the meals.

The Give Children Hope donations of books and other school materials are being enjoyed by the children so well. They are such a big help for these students as they books are really scarce in their library. Each student does not really get to have their own set of books and with regards to other school supplies, their parents have to work double time so that they could afford to buy their children new pairs of shoes. Some are hand-me-downs from their distant relatives.

We are grateful for all your help to these children, these materials may be used, but it is a new thing and a new hope for them. Not only the children are happy but also the parents are so grateful that you have been an avenue to provide their kids these school materials.

They have been enjoying the benefits of the Meals at School Program as they get the nutrition and the energy that they need for the day. They also enjoy helping around and it is teaching them a sense of responsibility and helping them realize how grateful they are to be the beneficiaries of this Meals at School Program of Give Children Hope.

We extend our deep love and appreciation to all of you. May your families be blessed with good health and continuous prosperity.

For the sponsored children,

Kristina Lou Sunico-Nobles

These first three pictures are of children coming to eat warm meals at school even when classes aren't in session but teachers are present.  This shows how very important this nourishment is to these young students.

Showing Their Sweet Appreciation

More Donated Books

Our gratitude goes out to Sir Ian and Ma'am Joy Horton for their generous donation of books to the Sua Elementary School.  These will be a great help to the student's education!!  Give Children Hope is working towards delivering more books to the Maravilla School soon.

A sweet note of appreciation from the school:

This little girl is in the Pre-school class . She goes to school on her wheelchair with her 2 aunts helping her.  One Auntie has to stay and be with her all the time while the other Auntie helps in the preparation/cooking of meals for the children that Give Children Hope is providing to these 340 students every single day.  I gave her the sketch pad, coloring pencils, and a story book so she will also have something to do while her classmates are playing and running around before the classes start.  Sadly she can never participate in their playtime fun so we hope this can be her way of having fun before classes.

Meals at School Program (Sept. 21st Photos)

Here are some recent photos of the food being prepared and served to the children of Sua Elementary School.  As you can see, the children and parents alike seem to be working together and spirits seem to be high because of the warm meals daily that keep the students from going hungry.  The school continues to report great things about the Meals at School program and sights it as being responsible for  better grades and motivation among the students.

Our Outreach to Brazil

Give Children Hope was able to bring some food and supplies to an orphanage located in Port Alegre, Brazil recently.  This is the second visit to this orphanage and we hope to have many more.  GCH is also supplying several dozen families with food baskets regularly to keep them from going hungry.

Nanette Demesa...A Grateful and Hard-Working Mother

This is Nanette Demesa a mother of 7 children, and a housewife. She is one of the mothers who we can always count on to help with the Meals @ School Program of Give Children Hope. While waiting for the break time of the students to have their meals, I was able to talk to her.  Her husband is a fisherman in the nearby river where they live. He is earning a minimum of 70 pesos per day (less than 2 dollars) with his catch after selling them to his neighbours.  And because he sells them he has less fish for his family to eat. With this money they can buy 2 kilos of rice. And this is for a 2 meal consumption of the family per day.

They are so grateful for the program of Give Children Hope Meals @ School everyday.  It helps them out a lot. She has 3 children who benefit from it.  Before the program, going to school her children would only have a cup of coffee and would be so happy if there was a piece of pandesal (bread) that went with it, but because of the everyday Meals @ School program, her children go home with a full stomach.  So instead of cooking 1 kilo of rice for the entire family for lunch, she only cooks ¾ kilo so she saves ¼ kilo a day.  This is a big saving for her family.

Her grade 2 son has improved his health and has gained a kilo already… from 14 now he weighs 15 kilos. This is the mother who always comes with her 4 year old son who also enjoys the meals. Her eldest daughter is now 4th year in High School and when asked what her plans are, she said she’ll work after graduating from high school... no hope to be in college.  It is not in their minds because life is so hard for them.  Hopefully we can change that misconception with our giving and our support.