Development & livelihood projects

Faroese Philippine Services is also actively supporting development and livelihood projects. FPS has supported the building of preschools in Comon, Nueva Vizcaya and is now supporting Mt. Zion Kinder and Nursery School in Caterman, Ilocos Sur. FPS also got a grant from the Faroese Government to build the elementary school in Bambang.

To the right is the annex to the church, where Aurora Kinder School in Comon has classes. One of the sponsors financed most of it.

In addition to these projects FPS has informed the sponsors that they can finance special projects for the family of the child they sponsor.

Special help to hearing impared boy improved family ties
One of the sponsors supported they boy she sponsored to go to a special school for children with difficulties to hear. She provided special hearing aid, visits to the special school in Manila and paid transportation and housing costs. Because of the special attention of the sponsor it happened that a rich auntie of his softened her heart to this nephew and his parents. She lived in USA but had a business in town and by and by she took over the responsibility of the sponsor. The auntie let the family take care of her business and paid all the expenses for the sponsored child. The improvement of the boys ear was minor, but giving him a chance led to better family relations and a livelihood for the parents.

Poor family got lot, house and livelihood from their sponsor
Just recently in 1999 one family moved in to their new house on their own lot with pigpen and 3 pigs. They also got their own waterpump.

This is the old house where Michael Pascual lived with his family until his sponsor started financing a livelihood project for this family.

This project started small, since the sponsor just wanted to know how to help the family to have their own small business, so they would not depend on unreliable and periodical work for ricefield owners.

We asked Rev. & Mrs. Conrado & Lilia Domingo to inquire what kind of business the Pascual family in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Vizcaya would like to have as their livelihood, in case their sponsor would help them to start it. They said that they knew something about hograising, and had relatives who also had pigs.

This was the kitchen in Michael Pascuals old house.

The Pascual family lived in the poorest part of Sto. Domingo. Their cottage was one of many attached side by side, so if fire cought one house, they would all burn down. They had 2 rooms. Often the children would sleep in the mainroom and the parents on matrasses in the other room - to get a little privacy. They would sleep on matrasses on top of some joists laid on the ground.

Micael with his mother looking at their first 2 pigs in the newly built pigpen on their own lot, paid by their sponsor.

To avoid the smell of the pigs in the neighbourhood it was necessary to buy a lot and build a pigpen and preferably a house for the family to live in, so they could take care of the pigs without walking for many minutes.

The rectangle lot of the Pascuals ex-tends from the tall tree down to Dan Domingo (left corner) across to Rev. Conrado Do-mingo and up to the 4th corner - outside the photo. Last summer the house was not finished .

The sponsor said ok, to purchase a lot, build the pigpen and buy2 pigs and feeds for these pigs. The first time they bought 2 pigs, it was not the right kind, so they just sold them and bought 2 of the right kind, that would grow bigger, faster and fatter.

I visited the family of Michael Pascual the 5th of August 1998. They are: Leonardo and Marlyn with children the oldest daughter Marilou on the left, then Maricel and Michael.

Now they have sold the 2 pigs and managed to buy 3 new pigs. When I visited them in 1998 I was informed that they could not move to their house, because there was no waterpump near their lot and new house. When I came back from the Philippines, I informed the sponsor about this, and he sent money to purchase a waterpump and to finish the last part of the house.

Assistance to rice farmers
FPS is also assists farmers to increase the crop from their fields. In December 1998 we got a request from the FPS representative in the Philippines, Bishop Conrado A. Domingo, asking if we could assist farmers in their area by providing loans from the FPS Health Care Plan (HCP) to enable them to buy fertilizer for their fields. The request has been granted.

This is beneficial for the farmers as it will help them to get more growth and products from their fields. It will also benefit the HCP of FPS as it will earn more interest than the normal deposit in a bank.

The agreement allows the Bible school students in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya to thresh the rice, which indirectly supports the livelihood of the poor Bible school students.

This practice of borrowing from HCP has been stopped in 2004.