About FLAG

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Educate, Enrich and Empower underprivileged girls in the Philippines
Showing posts with label Our F.L.A.G family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our F.L.A.G family. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

lost innocence

When you pray to God every day to protect your family.  
You leave it with Him to do just that. 
Somehow, evil and wickedness will find its way to bring darkness. 
It happened. Evil came, as did darkness. 
One of our girl’s lost her innocence. She is only 9 years old.
Nine.
 
to protect her identity


She was offered $2.00 by her predator to keep quiet.

To not say a word. To tell no one.

$2.00

Thankfully, she didn’t listen. She came forward and shared this awful story with her mother. And in that spirit, today, I share this awful story with all of you.

Because we won’t accept hush money either. And this story needs to be heard. 




FACT. For every 3 Filipino children, one child will experience abuse. 
 
 
 

Not us. It will never happen to one of our girls.

But it did.
  All of us are deeply affected and disturbed by what happened. 
As are all of the staff and families of F.L.A.G.
Personally, I feel helpless. angry. confused. saddened.  How could this have happened?
 
Please help us heal.
Pray for her and her family.
 
And if you feel the need to help further, donate $2.00 to F.L.A.G.
 
 all monies collected will go directly to her family.
 
The $2.00 in offered hush money need not be remembered as that. 

 
Please know, there is no obligation whatsoever but for those who have asked, your small change CAN make a difference.
 
"Be the CHANGE you want to see in the world"
- Mahatma Gandhi



i love your thoughts and comments, to protect her and her family, please refrain

from using any names. Thank you!
 

With love and blessings,
 
 
 
Monica
 
Thank you Susan for helping me write this story.
 


Monday, July 30, 2012

one step ahead..


we are always hoping she will come around.. come out of her shell.

quite as a mouse.. will not speak unless spoken to.

she can barely read when we first met her.

Erika on the far left 2010

smiling in photos is rare for Erika ( had a hard time looking for a pic with her)

there's something about her eyes.. wanting to tell us something.

Erika ( 3rd girl from the left) 2011

she proved us wrong..

Her school moved her to Grade 2 level

she was to repeat Grade 1

no one can stop her now..



Congratulations Erika! We are very proud!

Thank you to teacher Rose, Pastor Rey and staff  for their

continuing guidance and support.





Thank you for stopping by,




Hugs,



Monica







Sunday, June 17, 2012

fathers' promise

this Father's day is dedicated to all the fathers of FLAG


they made a promise to their girls to give them an education they never had


here they are helping to build our first library

working with flipflops

no fancy tools or protection - this is how it is back home







to all our supporters, YOU are making this happen!

although they will never meet you, I know they are grateful for all

the support you have given their daughters.

they are forever thankful!



Thank you for stopping by,



Hugs,


Monica






Monday, June 4, 2012

back to school


do you still remember your  first day of school?


did you ever cry? ( I didn't, I was soo happy)


i miss the smell of brand new school stuff.


notebooks, erasers, new bag.

we practice to write our names ( never too early to start)



love the different colors - Thank you to our sponsors!


we cover them with plastic


our new white board - Thanks to all our sponsors!!

i know she had fun.. waiting for mommy to tell her how much fun she had!

Our heartfelt thanks to our supporters!



Thank you for stopping by!





Hugs,

Monica 



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I remember what we did last summer ..

Summer in the Philippines starts in March and also our  Graduation Month.

We are doing our countdown towards Graduation Day in March.  I can't wait to see them and hear their stories since the last time I was there.  I have been asking myself what would they want for graduation and for Summer Break.



This is what our F.L.A.G girls did last summer !


Irysh fell asleep on our way there. They don't know where we are going it was  SURPRISE!

POOL PARTY! - none of the kids have ever seen a swimming pool!




No one can swim, so they were just in the smaller pool ( supposed to be the hot tub)
We have a big surprise for them when we go home, I can't wait to see their faces when they see where we are going next ! Stay Tuned!


Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil
Visit us www.flagphil.com






Monday, January 2, 2012

2012 - new beginnings

 
When a new year begins, Jon and I are very excited because the countdown begins when we get to see our F.L.A.G family once again.  We lost some girls and we gained more.  All 23 of them.  I am especially excited to meet our new girls, talk to the the moms who started their own businesses. 

Our teacher, our director, teaching assistant and our chef - they are the pillars of our school who look after these girls all year round.  I admire them for being humble, unselfish and dedicated. 
Without them, our school will not function on a daily basis.  The success of F.L.A.G is because of them. 


What we hope for 2012 is to have more girls to support and educate.  In 2012, we will begin focusing on fundraising and raising more awareness for our cause.  100% of all your donations are for the operations of our school, teachers and food.  Today, 100% of those costs are funded by my husband and I.  We will never change a thing.  


Rey  - our director

Rochelle ( left ) teaching assistant, Rose ( middle) our teacher, Sister Dory ( right) our chef


Thank you for stopping by,

The F.L.A.G team
Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil
LIKE us on facebook.com/flagphilippines



Monday, December 26, 2011

Another chance to make it better

As 2011 draws to a close, like you I reflect on what has happened this past year.  One thing I know that I can't stop asking myself is " what is my real purpose in life". I celebrated my 40th birthday this year, it was wonderful! Now what????


Still trying to figure this out... What my husband and I know for sure is we will never stop helping others.  Our charity is very small ( for now ) but our hearts are big.  Just look at the girls' faces when they opened the presents from friends and family who unselfishly thought of others during the holiday season.









For all of our followers, donors, friends and family, we thank you for your continuing support.  We look forward to another chance to give hope, faith and love to the underprivileged girls of the Philippines. 




Thank you for stopping by,

 Hugs,

 The F.L.A.G team

Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

LIKE us on Facebook.com/flagphilippines

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Because I am a girl ...

Because I am an advocate for all girls' causes , I have joined several movements that focuses on girl's rights.  One of them is Because I am Girl- Canada., http://blog.becauseiamagirl.ca.  This is how I started writing my blog. Asking questions such as - what am I passionate about? What is my purpose in life? how can I change the world in my own little way?

Don't get me wrong, I do read your fashion, tips, family and all the fun stuff. So keep em coming! Because I am speaking to moms out there who has daughters, who are sisters, grandmothers, I know this is the right audience and platform for me.


Making this change is not easy.  It was a huge lifestyle shift to the right direction. I have never been sure in my whole life.  I grew up in the ugly streets of Manila, we had nothing but the basics. I was once part of the statistics below:

1. Over 500 million adolescent girls and young women live in the developing world.

2. 21% of girls age 15 to 19 around the world are already married.

3. Almost 50% of girls between 15 and 19 years old believe that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances.

4. 100,000 girls are child soldiers.

5. Each extra year of education increases a girl’s income by 10 to 20% and means she is more likely to have a smaller, healthier family and to start to break the cycle of poverty in which so many communities are trapped.

6. Girls’ literacy rates are 13% less than boys worldwide.

7. 15% of girls worldwide can’t read and write.

8. In Sub-saharan Africa, 33% of girls between 15 and 24 years old can’t read and write!

9. Only 88% of school aged girls are enrolled in primary school – and only 77% actually attend on a regular basis.

10. Only 60% of all secondary school aged girls are enrolled at school.

11. A sixth of the world’s young people live on less than $2 a day, including 12 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa who live on less than $1 a day.

12. 27% of girls living in the least developed countries are involved in child labour.

13. Young women who are economically empowered in decent, secure work or successful small businesses, and who enjoy equal rights to property and land ownership, are better equipped to create a solid future for themselves, their families and communities.

14. An economically independent young woman has more power in the home to make decisions that affect the health and education of family members.

15. If girls could start successful business or get good jobs with decent pay, both countries and households would experience economic growth.

16. A girl is much more likely to go to school if she lives in a city – in developing countries school attendance for girls from 10 to 14 is 18% higher in urban than in rural areas, and 37% higher for young women between 15 and 19.

17. Girls who live in cities are less likely to be married at an early age – for example, in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, 50% of young women in rural areas are married by the time they are 18, which is about twice the rate of young women in cities.

18. There are at least 100 million street children globally – approximately 30% of those are girls.

19. Half of all new HIV infections occur in people aged 15 to 24 – girls represent the majority of new infections in this group

20. 20% of women who are now 20-24 gave birth before age 18.

21. Girls have a longer life expectancy than boys – we live almost 10% longer as a group.

22. Girls are the mothers of the next generation. Give a girl the skills and opportunities she needs in life and as a woman she will pass them on to her children.



Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team
Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil
Visit us www.flagphil.com




Friday, August 19, 2011

We can't help everyone, but we can help Clarisse


Someone once said, "We can't everyone, but we can definitely help someone".  That someone is one of our girls, her name is Clarisse. Please click on the link and you can join Clarisse and her mom on their way home after school.  This is where they live together with dad and 3 other siblings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jn_IfdZ85Q.( copy and paste the link )

What you have witnessed is one room with 2 adults and 4 children living in that tiny space.  It is heartbreaking to see the type of conditions they are in however this is common in most places in the Philippines.  With both parents uneducated and unemployed, they are unable to send their older children to school. We want to stop that cycle of poverty starting with Clarisse. I'm sure every little girl has a dream of a pretty dress, doll maybe a new hairclip. Our dream for Clarisse is finish her education and one day she can fulfill her dream.

If you would like to know how to help, you can visit our website www.flagphil.com or email me monica.vera@flagphil.com


You can definitely help someone.


Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

LIKE us www.facebook.com/flagphilippines

Monday, June 6, 2011

New BFF's

Some of our girls from FLAG students welcoming 2 new students ( 2 from the left and far right) sorry folks, our director forgot to add their names. I promise I will post their profile soon. I was too excited and had to post it!!!


I know they are going to be great someday!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Meet Ms.Rose

Rose ( on the right) is our teacher at F.L.A.G

She is an inspiration to us and we are grateful we found her. Rose teaches the girls in the morning and another job in a private school in the Philippines. Eventhough she knows, she can earn more money somewhere else ( she earns about $230 a month teaching in both schools) she decided to stay with us. The girls fell in love with her and who wouldn't.  She is dedicated to her profession, loving and more importantly she teaches the word of God to the girls.

Ms.Rose, you are a blessing to us. We can't wait to start this school year !!



Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

Monday, May 23, 2011

Getting ready for school!!

I can't believe we survived our first year of F.L.A.G. We thank all our friends, family and even strangers for all their thoughtful comments and encouragement.

June 6 is back to school for our girls in Manila. Let's look back June 2010, when we started.

This is Jessel during her uniform fitting last year with our teacher Ms. Rose
She  was 10 when she came to our school because she has never attended any school since.  After one year with FLAG, she is ready to enter Grade 1 at the regular public school. We will miss her but we will be following her journey everday.
Finishing touches


Our volunteers


The girls excited to come to school so they went just to see how it feels like to sit down in a classroom for the very FIRST TIME!


Thank you for stopping by and hope to see you soon!
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team
LIKE US at  www.facebook.com/flagphilippines





Friday, May 20, 2011

What are you doing this summer??

Hello followers,


Are you excited about summer? We all are. Time for gardening, flipflops and just sunshine. I'm sure your kids will go to camp, road trips and camping. The list is endless for all things summer. Our kids from FLAG are spending summer in school.  Yes, school! Most girls will be either begging on the streets or simply loitering the dangerous and unforgiving streets of Manila. We know that they are safe and well taken care of.


She loves to read!  They all do!
.
Study group. love they are all wearing pink :)

For complete view of all our photos and events, you can also like our facebook page www.facebook.com/flagphilippines

Thank you for stopping by  and hope to see you soon!

Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

Sunday, May 8, 2011

One mom's gift to another..

Happy Mother's day to all the F.L.A.G moms back home in the Philippines! Perhaps one day you will have the chance to read this. We are so lucky to have met all of you and your daughters. My husband and I will do the best we can to continue the dreams you have for them.  Every mother wants their children to have a better life than their own. With your continuing prayers and support, your daughters will have the chance to be educated and have a better life.  Through education, the cycle of poverty will end and they will be the best they can be. For as long as you have faith and you believe in the cause, F.L.A.G will succeed.

From one mother to another, Happy Mother's day from Monica, Jon, Patrick and Jordan

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Home is where the heart is..where is home??



It has been a week since we are back from our Philippine trip. It is hard to go back to the swing of things when our thoughts are with the girls back home. Though it is more bitter than sweet, we had a blast and I am so excited to share all the good news with you. Here's a sneak peek!

More updates coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Bought the girls new shoes

All 15 girls got new shoes to use for their graduation and for the next school year. Sometimes we take small things for granted.


This is the first time all of them got new shoes

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

Monday, March 28, 2011

Parents Helping the school

These are the girls'  parents cleaning the day before the graduation

Everyone has to pitch in

It would be nice to have my boys come and help one day

All the furniture looked brand new after they cleaned it.






Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

I think Monica wants to stay here with the girls

Monica watching them dance

Angel, Monica and Lyrics.  SMILE Angel!!!!
Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

They might be small but they are big at heart!!

Jon's spends as much time he can with them during our visit

Leslie ( on his right) she is spunky one! He is like Santa !



Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team

Friday, March 25, 2011

STUDENTS ALWAYS LAUGHING

It seems that every time I visit the school, they always have a big smile on their face. I always think there's something on my face that makes them laugh. There is one shy girl that doesn't interact as much as the others. She is always smiling but doesn't talk much to others much. We will get to the bottom of that.

The girls health is good but we will need to have them checked thoroughly because the free service here for check up is not very good, they only check blood pressure, eyes, all the very basic things but they don't extract blood for testing so we don't know if they have any type of illness that cannot be diagnosed by the basic check up. We hope that we can find a doctor here that would do that work for us as a volunteer service.

They are in desperate need of a dentist, their teeth needs work from my visual assessment. They brush their teeth at least twice a day. They were taught to take care of it and we provide them with the necessary tools to do so. I am hoping to connect with a local dentist to help us with treatment and check ups.

The girls are very happy and looking forward to see Monica. There's no school on Monday, but we will be at the school because the parents are coming over to clean the school. They help with the cleaning and making sure the facilities are in good condition. I love the fact they do come and help and that they are committed to their children's future.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team