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I t is hard to believe
that we have begun
our 6th year and we
are as excited
about the future of
HELP FOUNDATION as
the day we started. Last
year was a very challeng-
ing year to say the least.
Because of the economy,
many of our donors were
not able to continue their
very generous donations.
Also, our own projects
suffered because of inter-
nal problems. But I be-
lieve that the recession is
behind us because your
donations have in-
creased. Recently we
changed our focus by
concentrating on sus-
tainable projects. There
are so many of you have
“stuck with us” and for
that, I am most apprecia-
tive!! We have had some
disappointments: namely
the Bethany Christian
Home for Children. In
our last newsletter, I re-
ported to you that we
had completed an exten-
sive study of Bethany
and recommended some
major changes. Unfortu-
nately, the Board of Direc-
tors of Bethany and the
staff of Bethany elected not
to make the changes recom-
mended. If I cannot guar-
antee that your donation
will go for its intended pur-
pose, then I am not doing
my job. This was the case in
Bethany. Our mission was
to help the orphans, not the
staff of Bethany. However,
this year, we continue some
involvement in Bethany but
we control the funding. A
group of donors are provid-
ing therapy for a special
child at Bethany; a donor is
sending an adult orphan to
college and we are continu-
ing to support Jim and
Jane Kirchner, volunteers
from Kansas, who did mar-
velous work at Bethany by
allowing them to use HELP
Foundation to raise funds
for maintenance and re-
pairs of the buildings at
Bethany.
We have so many
other worthy projects where
I can guarantee that each
dollar spent goes to a needy
child or a poor family. Our
hopes and dreams of help-
ing poor children in the
Philippines continue. Al-
though we still support feed-
ing/nutrition programs and
school sponsorship, health, and
sanitation, our main effort re-
volves around SUSTAINABLE
projects. Our new goal is to
provide people with the train-
ing, education, and microcredit
to enable them to make a liv-
ing. It only makes sense to
provide the tools for the poor to
enjoy financial success. We will
not abandon our sponsorship
program, our rainwater har-
vesting program, or our very
successful feeding/nutrition
program because these projects
“open doors” for and save lives
of children!! However, our mi-
cro-loan program builds self-
esteem and enables the poor to
take care of their own children.
The update below is a combina-
tion of old and new.
Update from the Program Manager
My grandson Evan and I
December, 2009
Hu ma n i ta r ia n E f f or t s t o Le ssen Po ver t y o f Un de rp r iv i l eg ed C h i ldre n in t he P h i l ip p ine s
Volume 7, Issue 2
The H.E.L.P FOUNDATION
E-mail: [email protected]
Providing Hope and Opportunity
The foundation’s student spon-
sorship program now has 240
sponsored children. We have
three full time volunteers + my
wife working just to keep up
with the program. I am
pleased to report that Aviation
Concepts, Inc. headquartered
in Guam, are new sponsors to
29 children. They are the first
corporate sponsor of children.
It is interesting to note that
one of the large international
school sponsorship programs
asks for $24/month and must
be quite successful because
they are able to receive mil-
lions of dollars for their pro-
grams. Since we require $10/
month for exactly the same ser-
vices; school expenses, school
supplies, food allowance, I
question where the other
$14/month is being spent. I
can assure you that it is going
for administrative expenses!!
We don’t spend money on ad-
vertising or administrative ex-
pense; that is my responsibil-
ity!! Your donation goes di-
rectly to the poor children!! Of
all of our projects, this is the
most labor intensive!! Our
hope is that every child will
write his sponsor and every
sponsor will write the child
he/she sponsors. That works
about 85% of the time!! We
work hard to get each child to
write his/her sponsor but it is
a difficult proposition. The
same is true with sponsors
writing their children. I have
no control over that but most
of the sponsors send a note to
their sponsored child. Let me
tell you sponsors, writing a
note is very important. There
is nothing that the sponsored
kids would rather receive than
a letter from you. If you send
a picture, it will end up on the
family altar right next to Je-
sus and the Virgin Mary!!
You are providing them hope
and opportunity and that is
what we are all about!! This
program will continue to grow
but we are now focusing our
efforts in Mindanao and will
slowly transition from the
Payatas Dumpsite in Manila.
School Sponsorship Program
The H.E.L.P FOUNDATION Page 2
Writing letters to their sponsors
Christmas Card Making
HELP Foundation, through
the generosity of Stan & Dr.
Helen Hooper, is sponsoring
an outreach program which
improves basic literacy skills
and nutrition of poor, mal-
nourished and academically
challenged 3rd graders. The
students are removed from
their regular classroom two
days a week and receive inten-
sive tutoring in English,
mathematics, and writing.
They also receive a nutritious
lunch meal and a children’s
vitamin. These kids are mak-
ing remarkable progress.
Literacy Program
The 3rd graders and the volunteers
On their math lessons
Page 3 Volume 7, Issue 2
The “bread and butter” of our
vision is to enable families to
earn an income so that they
can improve
their quality of
life and sup-
port their own
children. I was
fortunate to
hire an ex-
tremely tal-
ented young
man who has
the knowledge and ability to
make this program work effec-
tively. His name is Amado
Rivera but we call him Jojo.
He is multitalented and is not
only in charge of the loans, but
also is a master trainer. Jojo
shares my passion for helping
the poor. Actually, he came to
Bukidnon to work at Bethany,
compliments of Lynn and
Terry Habeck from Guam.
When his assignment was ter-
minated at Bethany, I hired
him to manage our livelihood
projects. HELP Foundation
only has one microcredit op-
eration in Bukidnon that it
manages solely but we are in
the process of taking over the
other two microcredit opera-
tions in the Payatas and
Caubian, where the funds are
provided by HELP but man-
aged by Punlad Buhay Foun-
dation and Pagtambayayong
Foundation. In Bukidnon
alone, we average over 150
new loan applicants/week. Mi-
croloans mean simply that.
We initially loan 1,000 pesos
($21.00) to poor rural families.
They have to submit a busi-
ness proposal which usually
entails a “buy and sell” busi-
ness. If the borrowers have no
skill, Jojo also conducts
classes on making products
that can readily be sold. The
success is phenomenal. Many
of the products that I bring
back to the States are a result
of these microloans. Our next
major project is building a
training center in Talakag
that will assist in developing
individual skills that can be
utilized both locally and
abroad. The cost of the Train-
ing Center in itself, is not a
sustainable project, however,
each graduate will have the
ability and potential to enter
the work force.
Livelihood Project
Jojo Rivera, teaching mothers how to
make pastillas (Filipino candy)
Bread basket weaving
A small Store Selling Fish balls
Selling Barbecued chicken and
pork
Availed the Microcredit Program
H.E.L.P. is a nonprofit 501 (c), 509 (a)(1) organization
under the Congressional District Programs Inc.
Amado Rivera
The H.E.L.P FOUNDATION Page 4
There are so many things go-
ing on in Caubian; microloans,
water projects, nutrition and
sanitation projects, solar oven
fielding, medical missions, etc.
One of the exciting things
about Caubian is that I have
been able to partner with
other missions. In addition to
the help of the Lloyd & Carol
Brown Foundation, and Ro-
tary, I just received word that
a British Company (Smart
Digital Online. Ltd.) wants to
partner with HELP Founda-
tion. The solar oven was de-
layed but it is scheduled to
arrive in mid-February. The
oven has the capacity of bak-
ing 1,000 loaves of bread/day
and also the capability of boil-
ing many gallons of water for
drinking. The residents of
Caubian have taken steps on
their own to improve their en-
vironment. They are planting
mangrove trees to restore the
coral reefs; they are develop-
ing a recycling center so that
the waste will not be thrown
in the ocean; they want to pro-
vide community bathrooms for
the 3,000 residents. Because
of our help, they are a commu-
nity in action. In the next few
months, we will focus on
Caubian projects.
Caubian Island
Village Pharmacy at Caubian
A child helping his mother sell shells
Fixing water barrels
Goat Project
remain with the herd and its
offspring will be given to poor
rural families. I am happy to
report that the Temecula Ro-
tary Club, Temecula, Califor-
nia has purchased 8 female
crossbred goats and the Chan-
dler Horizon Rotary Club,
Chandler, Arizona has pur-
chased 17 female crossbred
goats. What a great project!!
The goat farm has grown to 125
mothers, 55 kids (to be given
away) and 4 lucky fathers!! We
have continuing classes with
poor rural families who will be
the beneficiaries. We have two
fundraising projects for goats;
the first is an “Adopt a Goat
Program” where for $40.00, one
can “adopt” a goat and can even
name it. The other project is
where service clubs or individu-
als can buy herd goats and this
initiative will have long term
benefits for the project because
each female goat purchased will Temecula Rotary Club donated goats
Chandler Horizon Rotary Club donated
goats
H.E.L.P. is a nonprofit 501 (c), 509 (a)(1) organization
under the Congressional District Programs Inc.
“The B.J. Ballhorst Botika”
every attempt to honor your de-
sire to use your donation as you
request. Currently we have the
following programs:
- General Fund -
feeding/nutrition, potable water,
medical missions, sanitation
-Adopt a goat
-Purchase of herd goats
- Literacy (sponsorship) $120/year
- Potable water
- Livelihood Training
- Microcredit
When you send your donation,
Please include a note to indi-
cate to which project you
wish to donate.
Send to:
We have lots of work yet to do.
During the past 5 years, I
have worked diligently to
build a team of local nationals
who were competent and
whom I could trust. I am confi-
dent that I have that team in
place. Melchora Saliring, a
respected nurse and Amado
Rivera, a talented business-
man will head the operation in
the Philippines. Cathy Baillo
and Gina Rico will serve as
business managers; Allan Ma-
pano will manage the goat
farm; Jaspher Obina and R.J.
Omolon will be responsible for
Caubian projects; and Emma
Bigcas and Frechina Hijosa
will manage the sponsorship
programs. Of course, I and
especially my wife Pat will
provide oversight. I tell you
this because next summer, I
will spend most of my time in
the states working for Rotary
International as the District
Governor Elect in 2010 and
District Governor in 2011 in
RI District 5670. Pat will
spend a substantial amount of
time in the Philippines and
make sure that all projects are
managed efficiently. In fact,
she will probably do a better
job than I do!! I am expecting
many volunteers to return to
the Philippines and lend a
hand because their contribu-
tions are immeasurable. My
decision to take on this addi-
tional responsibility hinged on
the fact that Rotary Interna-
tional is one of the best, if not
the best humanitarian service
organizations in the world.
Rotary members have pro-
vided over $50,000 to our pro-
jects and the Rotary Founda-
tion has provided over
$150,000.00 in grants. Need I
say more? However, I con-
sider each of you as a partner
and your generosity has been
the key to our success. I make
Page 5 Volume 7, Issue 2
Some of the beneficiaries of the Goat Project through Adopt a Goat Program
Giving away of a goat with Pat
Hooper, goats name Jada given by
Steve Schmidt Goat’s name Sparky
given by Steven &
Kimberly Graff
Goat’s name Piano Sue
given by Sharlene & Doug
Gardner
The H.E.L.P FOUNDATION
c/o Keith W. Hooper
23031 60 Road
Lebanon, KS 66952
Goat’s Name
Charlie
given by
GOODLAND
ROTARY
Final Thoughts
Goat’s name
Kaley
given by Cris
Conant
We’re on the web
Www.thehelpfoundation.com
c/o Keith Hooper
23031 60 Road
Lebanon, KS 66952
Phone: (785)389-3621
E-mail: [email protected]
The H.E.L.P. Foundation
December 2008
Alfe from Caubian
Nutritious meals from your donations
PowerFlour from Rotarians in Wisconsin
Vitamins from a pharmacist in Kansas
WOW!
November 2009
Your generosity DID IT AGAIN.
Some of the sponsored children receiv-
ing school supplies A pose after the classes on goat raising Some of the kids from the feeding program
There are so many gods,
So, many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind
When just the art of being kind
Is all that the world needs
Arthur Morris
1868-1929