Category: Programs

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...

  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...

When Elizabeth and Mary Ann, both residents in Mindanao, joined Transform, back in February, they had no idea how much help it would be during this difficult year, even though the program was forced to stop halfway through because of the pandemic.   Elizabeth has a large family with thirteen children, their spouses, and eight...

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines’ Department of Education (DepEd) virtually signed a Memorandum of Agreement with nonprofit organization International Care Ministries (ICM) on December 4 to train and equip hundreds of thousands of families across the country with distance learning skills during the pandemic. “The role of parents in their child’s early education is very...

  December 10, 2020 – The Department of Education (DepEd) virtually signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the International Care Ministries (ICM) last December 4 to cement a partnership to assist parents of learners, especially in Kindergarten, on a better understanding of the modules provided by their schools. DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External...

Week after week, month after month, COVID-19 forced Rhodora and her family of nine to stay at home. Problems threatened to overwhelm them. Rhodora’s husband lost his job. Food was scarce. The fear of the virus was always with them. “It is only by God’s grace that we survived,” Rhodora shared, thinking back over the...

Janeth is 29 years old and she lives in a bamboo house in a mountainous region in Dipolog. She is a mother of three children, and her husband works as a rubber tree farmer. His job brings in approximately PHP17 per person per day; that’s less than HK$3 or 30 US cents. Thinking that Transform...

“Every day is not a harvest day. Where could I get financial help to meet our daily needs?” This is a question that Criselda asked when she looked at her family and the growing needs. The weight of her family fell upon her shoulders when her husband suddenly passed away from heatstroke during a harvest...

…how you make a living! And that’s not easy! Most ultrapoor families struggle with even keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads. Things like buying medicine, sending children to school and paying for electricity are difficult, if not impossible. In Transform’s Livelihood lessons, trainers teach the participants how to bring in...