Our first month was spent on the island of General Santos, more specifically the big city of Gensan, where we were teamed up with a ministry by the name of International Care Ministries (ICM). Below is a little about ICMs ministry.
Quick Stats on the Philippines:
The United Nations says that any person who lives on less than USD1.25 (Php58) per day is poor. In the Philippines, the poverty level is UD0.76 (Php38) per day.
· 27,626,888 Filipinos (33%) live below the poverty standard.
ICM reaches people who live at or below the Philippine subsistence standard of USD0.54 (Php27) per day. “Subsistence” means only enough income to pay for food, nothing else.
· 12,227,312 Filipinos (15%) live below the subsistence standard.
What does that look like?
Of the bottom 40% of Philippine society
· 29.8% do not have access to safe drinking water
· 88% do not have own-use faucets
· 26.9% have no access to toilets
· 44.1% do not have access to electricity
· 36.9% do not have owner-like possession of a home
· 45.2% live in homes made of lightweight materials
· 15% of poor children never attend school
A little about ICM and their ministry…
ICM’s unique approach used to address the problems of poverty is to partner with the existing infrastructure of the local Christian church that is found in most slum communities. These churches usually are, at best, struggling to even exist, but they often represent the only institutional support structure in the slum environment. These small congregations provide hope and help, to the extent they can, to the very poor families and single mothers struggling to survive in the slums. But because the churches are supported by the offerings of very poor people, there are never enough resources to meet the needs of the people in the community.
ICM’s role is to empower these local congregations to actively share the message of God’s love with those in their communities by providing programs which tangibly address the most serious problems faced by those living in poverty.
ICM employs nearly 200 local Filipino staff, most who come from similar environments as those they are serving. Without an external resource-consuming executive structure, virtually all contributions go directly to those providing services in the Philippines.
ICM is using the following programs to attack the issues with poverty:
Transform Program
The goal of Transform is to bring permanent change to the lives of those living in poverty. For one year, ICM comes alongside 25 of most vulnerable families in 150 communities to make a real difference in individual lives.
Hosted by a partnering church in a poor urban slum or rural village, the recipient families participate in classes to improve values, hygiene and health awareness, money management and livelihood opportunities. Each week they receive food supplements to help meet their needs. The entire community receives medical care throughout the year. The host church provides a new community for the families, bringing the encouragement of friendship and a sustained network of emotional, social and spiritual support.
Transform consits of Six months of weekly Values, Health Care and Livelihood (VHL) classes. These classes include:
VHL Curriculum – This course is designed to address the needs of the whole person – emotional, spiritual, physical and economic.
Values Education – This valuable course emphasizes the importance of strong values for personal growth and provides opportunity for people to consider how Biblical principles relate to their personal lives.
Health Education – This UN-approved curriculum covers such important topics as healthy hygiene practices, disease recognition/prevention, nutrition, immunizations, breast feeding, child care, and first aid.
As a component of the Transform Program, ICM also offers the following:
Medical Clinics – ICM brings six open air medical clinics (OACs) to a Transform community over the course of the year-long program. ICM’s medical professionals see about 75 patients over the course of the day-long clinics, providing medical assessments, free medicines as needed, counseling and free referrals to doctors who volunteer their services for more serious cases.
Microfinance – Historically, microfinance programs fail for those without an already-existing small business. In partnership with the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), ICM has piloted a new program to help the ultra-poor develop successful business initiatives. After our first year, we are excited to report a 99% success rate in five communities.
Preschool + Program
The main goal of this program is to prepare students to enter the public school system by giving them a head start on reading, writing and math skills. However, the overall benefit of ICM’s preschool program reaches far beyond education. Students receive nutritious meals each day prepared by teams of parents who are taught the value of a balanced diet. Parents also receive weekly classes in ICM’s VHL curriculum, emphasizing the importance of values and proper health care and providing training in numerous livelihood opportunities. All of this is delivered in the context of a new network of friendship and support provided by the partnering church which hosts the program. ICM’s Preschool+ inspires hope to entire communities and shows new potential for the next generation.
Elementary Scholarship Program – Graduates of ICM’s preschools who continue into the Philippine public school system often cannot afford the incidental costs of “free” public education. ICM extends elementary scholarships to these students which cover the cost of uniforms, supplies and school fees. The elementary students also receive encouragement and homework help each Saturday to ensure their continued success throughout the school year
Mercy Program
ICM has several programs which provide special assistance to individuals and communities facing special challenges.
Care Clinics – ICM operates medical clinics at each of its five bases which are open to the poor on a walk-in basis five days per week. Health assessments and services are provided by trained medical professionals. Serious cases are referred to local doctors who volunteer services to ICM patients
Special Medical Case Program – In the course of interacting with the tens of thousands of individuals in ICM’s programs, ICM staff members often discover individuals with serious medical problems who do not have the means to pay for the medical treatments they need to recover. Generous ICM donors have established Special Medical Case Funds which are set aside to specifically cover the costs of those medical procedures.
Tuberculosis Care Recovery Shelter (CRS) – ICM’s CRS provides residential medical care for chronic TB patients. Patients receive three nutritious meals per day as well as monitored tb medications. As patients recover, training is provided in organic soil production, container farming and other livelihood opportunities.
Children’s Shelter – ICM’s Children’s Shelter, located in Negros Oriental, provides a home to 18 children and young adults who have no families to support them. The children of school age all attend public school during the day and work together on their homework in the evening.
Red-Rope Project – ICM’s Red-Rope Project is a hand-sewing livelihood initiative for a group of talented, but poor women in Negros Occidental. These industrious Filipino women produce high quality hand-made quilt products which are sold in Hong Kong, the Philippines and the USA. Products include silk and linen cushion covers and table/bed runners, custom made bed quilts, hand-pieced miniature quilt-square coasters and ornaments and baby quilts.
Slum Reconstruction Project – ICM is partnering with Gawad Kalinga, a non-profit Catholic organization of the Philippines, to rebuild the entire 800 family Riverside slum in Banago, Bacolod City. As of August 2009, 50 families have moved into their clean new homes.
Leader Care
This existing network of thousands of slum pastors across the Philippines is what enables ICM to cost effectively reach so many of the poor. ICM consider these pastors to be heroes that unselfishly serve their communities. ICM’s Leader Care Program is designed to build up and support these leaders, empowering them to continue in their passion for the poor with hope for effective change. ICM tells them in tangible ways that they are not alone.
Network – A network of 1500+ pastors thourghout the southern Philippines allows ICM to impact thousands of poor areas without hiring social workers in every location.
Thrive Program – ICM holds monthly fellowship and training meetings for all pastors in the ICM Network. Those currently receiving a program are held accountable for their responsibilities under ICM’s programs. This program creates unity among churches in the same areas.
ICM Academy – ICM hosts quarterly 2-3 day training courses for pastors who are receiving an ICM Program. The curriculum and instruction is provided by other non-profit organizations expert in their fields (government social service agencies, business leaders, family counselors, church health professionals).
Entry Program – In order to partner with ICM and participate in any of ICM’s programs, pastors and their congregations are required to complete the Entry Program Participants attend 2-3 days of teaching, followed by one day of written exams and a second day of oral exams before certification. Pastors and church members are trained in a Basics in Christian Living Course (BCL) designed to build up the spiritual and emotional readiness of the local church to better serve their communities.
Philippine Health Insurance – ICM provides health insurance to all pastors and their families who receive an ICM program.
Uplift Program
ICM’s Uplift Program is designed to” jumpstart” change for the poor – uplifting recipients with encouragement, education and opportunity. Uplift is a two month program (with up to four additional months of follow-up) allowing ICM to economically effect positive change for the poor in hundreds of communities. The Uplift program is delivered to the poor in partnership with a slum or rural church serving the poor community. The program is extended to the 15 to 20 families determined to be the most vulnerable in the community. These families are invited to participate in the weekly education class, where they receive 2kg of rice at the conclusion of each week’s lessons.
Uplift Program components includes a three part curriculum emphasizing Values, Health and Livelihood (VHL). (see below)
· Values – These lessons emphasize the importance of strong values and the need to participate in the change they want to see in their lives. Recipients are also provided opportunity to consider how Biblical principles relate to their personal lives.
· Health Care – This UN approved curriculum covers such topics as the importance of good hygiene practices, first aid, disease prevention and recognition and child care.
· Livelihood – This hands-on interactive training focuses on each recipient establishing a working container/backyard farming operation and organic soil production (vermin-culture) enterprise. Follow-up is provided to help ensure the success of each recipient’s farm.
The Uplift communities also receive an open air film showing (promoting good health practices and strong values), children’s Christian education training for at-risk children and dental clinics for the children.
The Impact ICM is Making in the Philippines:
· ICM positively impacted more than 100,000 destitute lives in 2008/9.
· 182 communities received weekly classes in values and health care
· 3,146 families received 4 kilos of rice each week for six months
· 1,850 people received medical procedures through the Special Medical Case Funds
· 38 preschools were operated, each running for a year
· 900 students graduated ready for first grade in public school
· 200,000+ meals prepared and served to preschoolers
· In 2009/10, 6,400 households in 400 communities participated in the Uplift Program.
· ICM is operating 80 Preschool+ Programs during the 2010/11 school year. That’s 2,000 students and their families who are benefiting.
· Approximately 600 pastors receive an ICM program each year
· Up to 98 TB patients are nursed back to health yearly, each staying from six to nine months.
· About 3,000 patients are served by ICM Care Clinics each year
· Approximately 360,000 doses of medicine are dispensed by ICM’s Care Clinics each year
