by Jodi L. Cataldo

Gifts to Advance #3020792 help provide food and education to homeless families in the Philippines. Image by: Matt Morgan Source: Advance

July 24, 2009

Twenty-five dollars, a bi-weekly gift through the General Board of Global Ministries' staff payroll deduction, was all it took to make a difference in the lives of 25 street children in the Philippines. (At the time of this writing, $25.00 converts to 1,201.35 Philippine pesos.)

The staff member giving the $25 bi-weekly gift wanted to do something to help alleviate the poverty in her native country of the Philippines. This desire moved her to set aside part of her paycheck to help. She decided to designate her gift for the "Pag-aruga" program.

Pag-aruga literally means "to care" in the Filipino language of Tagalog. Aptly named "Pag-aruga," the program--run by The United Methodist Church of the Philippines at the Asuncion A. Perez Memorial Center in Manila--reaches out to street families and their needy children.

The street families are homeless, sleeping in doorways, under trees, or any other shelter they can find, and mostly survive by begging.

Pag-aruga provides lunch a few days a week, skills training, healthcare, children's and youth ministry, a women's empowerment program, disaster response training, and schooling assistance.

This program also works in partnership with the Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation, Inc. (KKFI)—another Methodist social agency in the Philippines—to send ten street children to board at the Gilead Center in Pulilan, Bulacan, where they are able to continue their formal education away from the street. One of the street children has now graduated—an accomplishment not usually possible for street children due to lack of funds for transportation, uniforms, and school supplies.

Pag-aruga also helps many other street children in Manila who are enrolled in public school by providing a 100 peso/month allowance for their transportation and other costs. Twenty-five street children are now getting an education and learning skills to prepare for a better tomorrow. Why? Because someone cares.

Ways to Support this Ministry

You can support this ministry by sharing gifts through The Advance or by designated giving through your local church:

# 3020792 — Pag-aruga: Program for Street Children

Hallelujah Moments
Celebrations of United Methodist mission from
the Mission Education program area of the
General Board of Global Ministries
http://gbgm-umc.org/me/

Worship Bridge
The song “Hindi ko maisip / Far beyond our mind’s grasp” (Global Praise 3, #50/51) is a lovely communion song from the Philippines. Stanzas one, two, and three could be sung prior to the distribution of the elements as part of the invitation. You will want to sing stanza four to complete the hymn after everyone has been served. While the congregation may want to sing the entire hymn, a choir or a soloist could also sing the stanzas of the hymn. Another way to engage the congregation is to teach the last four measures of each stanza to the congregation prior to the service. Invite them to join in the singing of those four measures as directed by the soloist/songleader. It may be that after hearing the first three stanzas the congregation will want to sing stanza four with the choir/soloist. Churches with presentation capabilities could add a slide/video presentation involving pictures of a variety of breads, grapes, and pictures of “feast” tables from around the world. Consider adding pictures of ministries of service that your church is engaged in as a part of showing how your “lives are altars glowing” with God’s spirit in stanza four. Another option to consider is to ask your dance ministry to "dance in" the elements as you sing the first three stanzas. Global Praise 3 and all Global Praise resources are available from Cokesbury Music Service (1-877-877-8764 or email: cms@cokesbury.com), from Cokesbury (1-800-672-1789 or www.cokesbury.com), or your local dealer.

	See Also... Topic: Children |  Family |  Poverty |  Women |  Focus on Ministry with the Poor |  Geographic Region: Philippines |  Source: Mission Education
	Print this page Email this article

View Listing of Missionaries Currently Working in: Philippines

Date posted: Jul 22, 2009