A few weeks ago, I was privileged to attend the graduation of seven of the 12 Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Jumpstart Kindergartens operated by ICM and privately funded by donors. After 10 months of learning, over 180 children were celebrating their graduation, flanked by proud parents and teachers. They looked so smart and happy in their...
Monday, April 18th, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Last March, after completing ICM’s Transform program, 14 ladies formed the Tubtubon Savings Group. Initially, the ladies each contributed 20 pesos per week. After two months they had enough money to purchase the item they chose to sell – detergent. Each member of the Savings Group took turns selling the detergent. Although they were able...
Tuesday, October 20th, 2015 at 7:06 pm
HKIS family trip – June 11-14 On the day after First Grade let out for summer vacation, a group of five HKIS students headed out to Dumaguete City, Philippines with their parents on a service trip with ICM. The group of friends spent 4 days building container gardens, painting a school and serving nutritious food...
Monday, September 21st, 2015 at 12:16 pm
Six graduates of Ajong Sibulan Kindergarten returned to their alma mater this month to talk about their dreams and explain to their younger peers what they enjoy most about “big school”. All six of the children are honor students, and they are studying hard to reach their young goals. Nine-year old Mary Grace Seraspe attends...
Thursday, September 17th, 2015 at 11:37 am
Two women share how ICM’s Savings Group changed their lives and finances. ELENA Elena, 65, lives in a wooden house on stilts by a mangrove field with her granddaughter Rhealyn, who suffers from an undiagnosed chronic health condition. At 14-years-old, Rhealyn cannot speak and can barely stand by herself. The area around their house is...
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 at 10:03 am
Sue Hamilton, ICM Volunteer Writer/Editor The recent TOMS shoe drop to all ICM Bases in the Philippines was a cause for great excitement for many ICM recipients. TOMS, a US-based shoe retailer, developed a “One for One” movement that has provided ten million new pairs of TOMS shoes to impoverished children in over 60 countries...
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Story by Helen Turner, ICM Co-CEO & COO At the recent Doctors fellowship dinner in Dumaguete I was able to catch up with Joanne Dayapdapan who was one of the first special medical case patients I met when I first started working with ICM. In 2009 Joanne was just 16 years old and had been...
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 at 10:53 am
Story by Carine Owens Kids Camp provides a chance for my children and I to step outside our lives of abundance. It creates an opportunity that allows our kids to see the reality of poverty and how many people survive each day in dire circumstances. We join these children for four action packed days to...
Friday, April 12th, 2013 at 8:31 am
Alex Kim, who lives in Singapore and studies in the US, partnered with ICM to “Join the Journey” by volunteering his time and spending a month with our staff on the ground in Dumaguete. Here are excerpts from his trip summary: “My spell in Dumaguete has been nothing short of amazing, I’ve learnt many things during my stay...
Thursday, March 28th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
“I traveled from an earthquake affected area in Ayungon,” said Christy. “It took 4 hours to arrive here.” Christy was one of 134 kids who attended Kids Camp 2012 which was offered to kids from the communities that were severely affected by the two major natural disasters that hit Dumaguete this year. A few...
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 4:00 pm