Bata Pasko is launched in Pagasinan!

One of World Sisters United directors, Vangie, came up with a brilliant idea that we got to pilot this Christmas. Its called Bata Pasko, it means "children's Christmas" in Tagalog. Vangie wanted to do something to help out poor and homeless kids in her Pangasinan region of the Philippines and give them something special for Christmas. So she, along with Raine (another director for WSU), each canvassed the area for donations for food and clothes. And my mother was kind enought to donate $216 for gifts for the kids. The even was held in two locations. Malasaqui and Pangasinan. Each party had 30 kids and it went over specatularly. The kids were given new clothes to wear for the occassion and then fed. They played many games and then opened up presents. Check out some of the pictures from the party Raine held:


Meals for the kids at Bata Pasko

Presents for Bata Pasko

Ate Anna and Raine with some kids at Bata Pasko

Hard times VS blog times

For the last few months I have been too preoccupied by my own financial survival to actually blog. Since my last blog the entire global financial community has collapsed and has subsequently been propped up by governments who are struggling to keep economies rolling along. I myself have been experiencing serious financial hardships as a result of many factors. When I started the nonprofit, World Sisters United, I had planned on raising the startup capitol from my home equity line of credit and then selling my house which at the time had an all time high value and had plenty of equity in it for me to recoup the money I was spending on this organization and buy another house. I also had planned on getting the 501c3 status sooner and was planning on contributions and grants to pick up the operational costs for WSU. As well I planned on doing a massive ebay sales drive to raise additional money for building up this organization. But as I was compiling a huge debt of over a hundred twenty thousand dollars while building up the infrastructure of this non-profit I had no idea the housing market would collapse and the financial market would collapse. So now I’m in an extremely difficult situation. Along with all these hardships the county property taxes have risen and have added an additional two hundred dollars to my mortgage. So now with maxxed out credit cards and a second loan on my house of a hundred twenty grand, my monthly expenses are well beyond what I make. I learned fast that ebay and craigslist sales will not pick up the difference since nobody is buying right now and I am now left being three months behind on my mortgage and two months behind on every other bill I have. I may actually end up loosing my house as a result of all this.

I’m not entirely distraught about this situation because I figure I am right in there with one out of ten americans so I figure that I will have plenty of company if I loose my house. I won't be homeless because I also have a house in India and can always move there but I really don’t want to give up a residence in the US so I’m not just going to relinquish my house here without a fight. My strategy is going to be to rent out my bedrooms and move into my still unfinished downstairs. (I live in a fixer upper that is only half fixed up). One caveat concerning renting out in my house is that for whatever fated reason my plumbing in the main bathroom is out of commission presently so I cannot rent until I get that fixed and I don’t have the funds to fix it! So these are challenging times for all of us in our own ways. For me I have never before this time experienced a period where I actually go to sleep hungry. There is an interesting irony at my being in daily contact with poor people in the Philippines where all we can chat about is how neither of us have food to eat (yet we have internet connectivity). I do try to stock up on potatoes, rice and dal so I have some basic staple foods and my cat always gets priority. So many nights now in the last couple of months I have gone to sleep with empty belly while my cat purrs away with a happy belly. Why do we often treat animals better than humans?

Peace to all in this NEW YEAR!!!!
L

Blogging for Typhoon Frank Victim

Above is an image from Wikipedia of the pathway that traces Typhoon Frank. You can see where it first hit land which is the Island of Samar. This is the island that our World Sisters United Director Lita Verdiflor is from. Her family house was entirely destroyed. We are seeking help to rebuild their Nipa Hut. Only 250 dollars is needed to completely rehouse this family. We are working hard to get pictures of the destroyed house we don't have access to cameras, and internet infrastructure is down. The family is presently staying with a kind neighbor. But can only do this for so long. We are desparately seeking donations to help this cause. Please check our other blogs to see how micro-giving can really help a person out in a tremendous way. We have raised over a thousand dollars through this site and 100% of the money (after paypal fees) has gone to the victim.

These typhoons and tropical storms in Asia barely hit the news here in the USA but they are huge events that displace hundreds of thousands of people. Frank made the news because of the tragic ferry that sank where over 700 were lost. As you can read below this Typhoon was on the scale of Katrina with its distruction and loss of lives.

Wikipedia on Typhoon Frank:

On June 20, Fengshen made landfall in Samar, in the central Philippines, traveling northwest.[76] Early on June 22, it made a direct hit on Metro Manila, thus causing power outages in the area[77]. At least 155 people have been killed by the typhoon as it drops torrential rain causing flooding and mudslides.[78] In Iloilo province, 59 are reported killed and 40 missing.[79]In Iloilo City, 30 thousand people were forced onto rooftops when a nearby reservoir burst.[80] In the Bicol Region, more than 200 thousand people sought temporary shelter from the typhoon

Below is pictured a satallite view of Typhoon Frank as it engulfs the Philippines islands June 2o.
to read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pacific_typhoon_season#Typhoon_Fengshen_.28Frank.29

Please send a dollar to help Lita's family, victims of Typhoon Frank!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Rusty gets MRI in Manila

Here is a shot of Rusty Eugenio as he enters the MRI lab at the De Los Santos Medical Center in Manila, Philippines. After getting the MRI he returns to Baguio where his doctor will plan the next stage which will be back surgery. Rusty injured his back in a job related accident and wasn't able to get medical attention because of no money. This was a year ago. Since loosing his job and his health things have gone down hill. Rusty cannot bend over and can't work at all now. He is in constant pain. When he did take some pain killers the medication combined with his depression over his situation messed with his mind and started to become aphasic. He has a wife and three children but they have had to move out because he behaves like he's mad all the time now.


The first doctor that looked at his case (see earlier blog on Rusty http://larriji.blogspot.com/2008/05/blogging-for-rusty.html) determined through the x-ray and exams that he had indeed broken his back and it healed off center. So Rusty will need back surgery. Fortunately Raine (Rusty's sister) found a hospital in Baguio that only charges for supplies and medicine, all the doctors are free. So the back surgery will not be so expensive. So the results of this MRI will allow the surgeons to know how to proceed. We are seeking assistance from anyone who can donate even a dollar to help with the medical and travel expenses for Rusty. As well there will be physical therapy costs after the operation. Please give what you can.

Please send a dollar to help Rusty!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Blogging for baby Christian

Baby Christian is three months old, born to WSU director Ate Joana, who is struggling to feed her two children without any support from a husband or boyfriend. Joanna is a cybersex worker who is wishing to leave that life behind. But with no education and no money even for food she is stuck in a difficult situation. She lives on the dirt floor of a shack in a Manila squatters village with her two children who have chronic health problems. The difficulties become compound with the lack of proper nutrition, wet conditions, rats, mold, added to all the fevers and diseases that her children get exposed to. The difficulties of a single mom raising kids in such poverty is unimaginable for those of us who living in the US. For the last two years I have been visiting the Philippines and know this squatters village that Joanna lives at. It's basically a swamp where people have built shacks out of scrap materials. The tropical storms typically tear off the roofs and flood their dwellings and you can imagine the mosquitoes that swarm the marshes that surround the village.

The cliche "when you're down, you're down" is confirmed here in this Manila ghetto. But still as you can see the picture above that this beautiful young women and her beautiful baby has a great deal of happiness and hope that their situation will improve. World Sisters United is working with Ate Joana and trying to help her finish her education and to purchase for her a small farm. So far we have purchased four small farms and built 12 sari sari stores to help other single mothers like Ate Joana. We are seeking people who would be interested in sponsoring her by contributing only five dollars a month. Joana's monthly needs are around us$250 a month. So it doesn't take that many people to supply her needed budget. And what will Ate Joana do while she is being supported by you and forty-nine other kind souls? She will finish her school so she can get a job.

Getting a job in the Philippines is not easy. Firstly, the employees require background checks and health reports that cost about 80 dollars. Secondly, they require a high school diploma for entry level retail jobs and college degrees for any decent paying job with good advancement possibilities. So we will be trying to assist Ate Joana get somewhere in her life against all odds. Most young women in her situation end up as bar girls prostituting to sex-tourists from the US, Europe, Japan and China. Ate Joana deserves better. Please help her out. Helping her out is helping baby Christian out. Every child we help out with their nutrition will help lift us all up. Proper nutrition at that critical infant stage insures proper brain development. Thus, helping out this baby with early nutrition will possibly give us that next great genius who creates that next great invention that helps us solve one piece of our sustainability problems.

Please send five dollars to help baby Christian!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Update on Glen

This is the most recent picture of Glen eating dinner. Its clear to see that his stomach has swollen up again to an alarming level. The saga of Glen has been very difficult because the doctors have not come to any conclusion as how to proceed further with his case. We raised thousands of dollars to get elaborate tests done in the finest medical facilities in Manila. But after the MRI, CT Scan and Angiogram tests the doctors on his case simply could not come to any conclusion. So the current status of Glen has not really changed in over a year now. His organs have failed him and his body does not process toxins so they build up and after a couple of weeks he needs to have the toxic fluids drained. His girl friend, Anna Salas, has been aggressively seeking government services and that has helped but the costs still run around US$120 each time Glen needs to be drained. And along with those costs there is medication costs that can be really expensive. So we are seeking funds to help Glen once again with medication costs and paying for his draining costs. As well if there are any medical specialists out there that can give some advice on this case it is much appreciated.

Please send a dollar to help Glen!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Blogging for Lola Gloria

Pictured here is Lola Gloria from Malasiqui, Philippines. I met Lola Gloria for the first time in 2006 and then again last year in 2007. She is a lovely person who is very spirited and kind. Below is a letter from her granddaughter Waynie telling us how her Lola (grandmother in tagalog) is having mental problems and desperately needs medicine. The family has sold all their farm animals and is spiraling deeper into debt trying to pay for the help their dear Lola needs. We are asking for your support to help us with medicine she dearly needs. We will be getting notes from her doctor to understand more about her mental disorder. But as we all know it's fairly common for the elderly to suffer from any number of chemical imbalances of the brain. Please help out in any way you can. Even a dollar will help. Here is bunso Waynie's email to me:


Hi Kuya kuya Larry, i wrote this letter and i want you to help us because my lola Gloria had a Mental Psychology seem 2006 almost a 2 years and a months from now, it is start a simple cold, then she sick , then my mother decided to comfined it in Hospital because of the high temperature, then the times goes by my lola become a wild. the Doktor said, my lola is already had a mental psychology because of wild atittude. all the animals like carabao and goats of my lolo Graciano will saled it because we need to buyed medicines dicstrous to used everyday and for the hospital bills. first we comfined my lola in emergency Hospital in Bayambang she stayed a 3 weeks and the doktors said that we transfer in hospital in Urdaneta because the medicines needs lolas is completely in hospital in Urdaneta, she stayed a months and the doktor said that the findings is desame findings of hpospital in Bayambang. when we payed the bills my lolas doktor he said that dont stopped to take my lolas medicines and vitamins to become strong but the needs of my lolas we dont have to support it because the crisis of my philippines
Bunso Waynie

Please help Lola Gloria with the medication she needs!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Congrats to Bunso Maria for opening ATE EATS restaurant!

Pictured here is a restaurant in Angeles City that has been dubbed ATE EATS! It is owned and run by Bunso Maria, World Sisters United Director for Magalong Chapter near Angeles. Maria and her family served up an amazing feast while I was there in 2007. I learned that Maria's dad had been a chef in a 5-star hotel in Manila years before. So it made sense for Maria and her family to go into the restaurant business. Maria scouted out a place and I loaned about a thousand US dollars for her to get it started. Maria dubbed the name ATE EATS. It will be what they call "fastfood", but will still be home cooked Filipino, American and Chinese food. If this is successful Maria will be standardizing the menu and we will be franchising this operation to provide jobs for other WSU members there in the Philippines. This is an exciting business adventure - wish us luck!

Glen gets coronary angiogram in Manila!

Here is the entrance to the Philippine Heart Center in Manila. The reknowned facility where Glen went to get his coronary angiogram. We would like to thank all those people that helped to get Glen his coronary angiogram. A special thanks to my fellow coworkers in the engineering department of Digidesign who pitched in to help make this happen. This was an effort that came from both the east and west. It seemed an impossible task to achieve but we did it. Ate Anna, Glen's girlfriend was heroic in raising money from many people in the Philippines.

The Philippine Heart Center is so well known it is a destination for medical tourism, a trend that is on the rise lately because of exorbitant medical costs in the US and industrial countries without health care. One thing that has made Glen's situation much better is that Ate Anna has aggressively sought out all possible Philippine government agencies that provide medical assistance. Phil Health and PSCO. She has also taken this case to political officers and even the press in Manila. The total costs for the angiogram ended up as 60K peso. (around us$1500)

The saga of Glen is pretty amazing. He has spent the last year with a failing liver and kidneys. He cannot expel the toxins in his body and these build up every couple of weeks where his stomach area swells up and he must have surgery to be drained. This whole thing is a painful process that has been going on and on with no end in sight. This angiogram was the next step in resolving this mystery as to how to resolve his medical condition. So far the doctors know that the problem with Glen is his heart is failing and that is causing other organs to fail. The doctors are still trying to understand what to do. I will be posting notes from various doctors on this case as I recieve them. This case is complex and unfortunately the angiogram conclusion is being debated by the various doctors. Some feel an operation will help others disagree.

Please help this continued effort to pay for Glen's medical bills! Send a dollar now!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Blogging for Rusty

Pictured here is Rusty Eugenio at the hospital in Baguio, Philippines getting an x-ray. About a year ago he was at work on a construction job and he hurt his back. He stayed at home the next day and within two days he was bent over horribly and intense pain. He has been completely debilitated by his back injury. This story only gets sadder when you find out Rusty has three small children and is now begging on the streets in severe pain trying desperately to raise money to feed his kids and young wife. When I saw him in 2006 he was in perfect health and was a strong young man full of life. The last time I saw him in he was bent in such a way that I could not believe. You could see clearly how bent his back was and it was obvious that his muscles were contorted by his herniated disc.

Pictured here above is the actual x-rays of Rusty. I'm personally a big fan of chiropractors but as the note below says there is a fracture that is causing this problem here.

Pictured here in these shots below is Rusty standing and showing how bent his back is. After seeing doctors in Baguio the conclusion was that Rusty needs an MRI and most likely an operation. We are trying to raise 14k peso (around us$300) for an MRI. Fortunately Bunso Raine (Rusty's brother) found a government run hospital where there is no fee for doctors only medicine and a fee for the room. But tests like MRI's cost money still cost money.

Please help Rusty! Send a dollar now to pay for his MRI

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Baby Ashley at her Baptism

Pictured is the very cute baby Ashley at her baptism this weekend. She is doing well and thanks to many of you readers she is looking chubby and well fed. Please keep your contributions coming to help baby Ashley as she begins her life with parents who make only two dollars a day in an economy where food costs are on the rise at an alarming rate. We are still working on raising money for formula for baby Ashley. Please send even a dollar to help this baby girl.

Please help us buy formula for baby Ashley!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008

Blogging for baby Valerie

The global food crisis that has caused prices to go up 83% in the last three years has hit the Philippines equally hard. The World Sisters United members are reporting rice is double the price from last year. We are trying hard to give as much help as possible to our members who are struggling in a big way. Baby Valerie (grand daughter of Lola Veronica) needs money for food. Her big sister is World Sisters United Director of our Malasqui chapter. Please give what you can to help feed this child.

Please help to feed Baby Valerie!

This donate link above will take you to paypal where you can pay with your paypal account or use a credit card. Your gift will go directly to our WSU paypal account where it will then go to the recipient via XOOM, Western Union or by direct handoff. These services (including Paypal) charge a fee but there is no other operations fees that takes away from your gift. Our paypal account is managed by our Philippines treasurer Kaye Malibiran. Please note : World Sisters United is not yet a legal 501C3 non-profit - so your gifts are not tax deductable. The good news is that we are close to having the articles of incorporation and IRS forms ready to process. We should be a legal registered non-profit by the end of 2008