Here in ICM, we have found that one of the best ways to promote economic growth among the poor is to empower women for greater productivity. In fact, 88% of our Transform participants are women. So it’s no coincidence that most of the stories that we have featured in our newsletters and social media are...

Few things give more hope in a season of great need than a thriving vegetable garden. As the pandemic drags on, ICM has committed to persevering, to not grow weary of doing good. To help communities have food security during the pandemic, ICM staff has been packing and distributing seeds so people can grow vegetable...

Angel, ICM’s Family Academy coordinator in Dumaguete, first heard of ICM when the staff came into their community — Bayawan, Dumaguete — to conduct the Transform Program in 2015. “My father is a pastor and when we found out about ICM’s mission and vision, I was so happy to join Transform as a counselor,” she...

Padayon! Is the rallying cry of ICM through this pandemic. It is a Visayan word often used as an encouragement to keep on going, especially whenever times get tough. Pre-COVID, Pastor Jessie’s church in Banago, Bacolod City had 60-70 people at Sunday services, not including kids. In his 16 years as a pastor, Pastor Jessie lived...

In the time of COVID-19, have you ever gotten to a point when it seems all hope is lost? Even the best of us get discouraged, especially during the pandemic, when everything is so uncertain! “I always have trouble finding food,” Pastor David told us. “Sometimes I feel hopeless.” Pastor David is one of our...

It has been a year of COVID-19 quarantines here in the Philippines. One year since life as we know it ground to a halt because of the pandemic. In a year, we have changed the way we have always done most of the things that we took for granted — from going outside of the...

Watch our CEO David Sutherland interviewed by Michelle Ong on ABS-CBN News Channel‘s Market Edge.  David talked about the effects of the pandemic on the people living in ultra-poverty and how ICM is helping them get through these tough times.  David brought up the Sentinel program. Our “sentinels” are hundreds of partner pastors, community leaders,...

In the era of contact lenses and eye surgeries, eye problems may seem like a thing of the past, but for those living in ultra-poverty, vision issues can be an insurmountable challenge. Loreto, a 51-year-old farmer in Dipolog, is the primary breadwinner for his family. He works hard to not only provide for his family’s...

  We often say that a savings group can act as a safety net for when its ultra-poor members are facing emergencies. Janice in Dipolog lived this out when she and her family found themselves living in a pigpen. When Janice first joined Transform in 2017, she wasn’t so sure about the livelihood lessons. Wives...

Ten months into the pandemic and community quarantine, the poor in Palawan, the Visayas, and Mindanao continue to struggle to meet their basic needs. Thirty-four percent were worried that they would not have enough food to eat; two-thirds (67%) percent are earning less than before the pandemic; and a quarter (27%) are unable to pay...