Category: Bacolod

Four Decades Later

Story and Photos by Suzanne Chu; ICM Trip Participant I first visited the Philippines with my mother when I was 8 years old.  We drove 12 hours in traffic jams to the house that she grew up in – a two-story house with no walls.  I remember wondering how it was that no one fell off the second...

Earthquake rocks Central Visayas

Dear ICM Friends, Sorry to say that another natural disaster has struck the Philippines and this one also hit ICM’s target provinces. You may have heard in the news that a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook the central island provinces of the Philippines yesterday morning, triggering landslides.  There have been hundreds of aftershocks. At least 43 bodies have already been...

Kennedy School Diaries: Pam Riordan

Pam Riordan is a teacher from HK’s Kennedy School.  She recently joined a group of parents and kids on an ICM vision trip to Bacolod, where she participated in building homes for slum residents. “I didn’t know what to expect but was extremely excited.  On day one of visiting the slum, I realized exactly how...

Milestone for Red Rope: They’ve become an independent cooperative!

It looked just like any other Christmas Party in the Philippines – women and children playing games, eating sweets and singing songs.  But for the women of Red Rope, this was a very meaningful party. This was the first Christmas Party they had ever thrown at their own expense!  And second, this month Red Rope...

Christmas Celebrations

Three ICM staff members, Annie Tapuz and Laila Natapol from the Bacolod office, and Heather Elliott, from ICM’s HK office, got into the spirit of celebration this Christmas by hosting several celebrations for different groups in Bacolod City.  In the Philippines, celebrations are an important part of the culture, creating unity and a sense of...

Lotlot celebrates Eighteen – a Birthday to Remember!

A girl’s 18th birthday in the Philippines is a much-anticipated passage from adolescence to adulthood.  For Lotlot, this was an especially unforgettable day as she glowed in the excitement of a surprise 18th birthday party thrown by her sixteen “sisters and brothers” at ICM’s Excel House, in Bacolod.  Lotlot, who suffers from cerebral palsy, looked...

Youth Serving the Poor

“This is my second time going with ICM and I’ve been there four times with my family,” said ten-year-old Xavier, who was part of a recent group of parents and children from the Kellett School in Hong Kong.  Xavier helped build houses at the ICM slum reconstruction site and also helped dig a sewage ditch...

A Day in the Life of ICM Staff: Dolores Gagatam

Story by Lily Talaban, ICM CO, Bacolod Many Filipinos dream about working abroad in order to provide more for their families.  ICM’s Malnourished Children Outreach program leader in Bacolod, Dolores Gagatam, had this very opportunity. She had been working with ICM since 1993, but in 2007 she accepted a job in Canada.  While in Canada, Dolores...

Do you have a bed?

Tess Lyons has been a dedicated volunteer with ICM for the past three years.  Tess and her husband, Charles Caldwell, are currently sponsoring their 4th ICM preschool. They have taken their four children down to the Philippines several times to visit their students and to participate in the ongoing slum reconstruction building project cosponsored by ICM and Gawad...

ICM’s 1804 Young Graduates

Throughout the month of March, 1804 proud graduates of ICM’s 80 Learning Centers marched across the stage in their cap and gowns to receive their “diplomas”.   The students finished their year of learning with formal graduation celebrations held in each region.  Songs were sung, dances danced and poems and verses recited.   And family members and...