Kim Blasco, from the Filipino Children’s Fund, dropped us a note to ask that we post some information about the group. We don’t know about them but Kim says they have applied for registration with the Charity Commission and are recognised by the Philippine Embassy in London.

"Created in September 2007, the Filipino Children’s Fund (UK) is a Charitable Organisation, which has applied for registration with the Charity Commission and is recognised by the Philippines Embassy in London.

Our objectives are very specific:
• To make sure that every destitute child in 14 villages in the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon has all he/she needs to attend school and to benefit from his/her attendance. These children need clothing, uniforms, footwear, school materials, books, etc., so that, despite their difficult beginnings in life, they can develop their innate capabilities.
• To provide text-books for school work and to create a library in each school within the area of our work. Although basic education is free in the Philippines, students have to pay for school materials and uniforms and a large number of families cannot afford them. Text-books are lent to pupils at the beginning of the year and have to be returned at the end, so that they can be passed on to the next batch of students the following year.
• To introduce school children to information technology by providing each school with at least one computer. The schools we visited did not have even a manual type-writer.
• To find ways of helping children with physical deformities and, in particular, children with cleft lip/palate and cataracts, by providing them with the operations they require. Often, these children are forced not to attend school, because of the bullying they are subject to. The incidence of oral cleft in the Philippines is estimated at one in every 500 live births. With an average of two million live births a year in the country, 4,000 new cleft cases are added annually.
• With the growth of our organisation, to extend our assistance to other children of the Luzon Island and to other islands of the Philippines

In order to achieve our objectives, we need help from anyone in the UK who can assist us to provide these destitute children and their families with a little ray of hope.

All our work is done by volunteers who give their time and effort without any payment and distribute the help provided by people in the UK using their own vehicles. Until now, the only cost of distribution for the Fund is the cost of petrol. We are planning to set up a stall in the market in Santa Rosa, Laguna, where our base is, to sell some of the items given to us in the UK and so cover the cost of petrol and running costs."

If you’re interested in finding out more, you should contact the Filipino Children’s Fund directly:118/120 Frinton Road
Holland on Sea, Essex, CO15 5UR
Tel/Fax: 01255 813051
Email: [email protected]

Please note that Phil-UK aren’t associated with the Filipino Children’s Fund in any way. Kim just contacted us through our website. Please do your own research before contributing to any organisation. I’ve asked Tess Lazaro from the Embassy to verify and am still waiting to hear from her.