Update from BHW Philippines Partnership Facilitator 

Current Student Profiles  

Currently BHW is involved in the sponsorship of six students. 

1) Johnnery Jr Aspera began studies in 2015 and will complete his studies in mechatronics in 2024. His studies have been interrupted by illness and covid. 

2) Mark Joshua Mandano began a Bachelor of Secondary Education with an English major in 2018. It is a 4-year course and he is due to finish in September 2022. 

3) Mark Jeo Dacullo began studies in 2019. He is studying a Bachelor of Secondary Education with a major in Mathematics. He is in year 2 but because of Covid he will not complete his studies until 2024. 

4) Ruvelaine Hamis Eneria began a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Marketing Management in 2019. It is a 4-year course and will be completed in 2022. 

5) Camila Almirez began a 2-year course in 2019, but will not complete her Bachelor of Public Adminstration until 2024 due to rescheduling of her course. 

6) Daniel Magpayo is in the final year of studies for a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He finishes in 2023 having missed one paper. 

Personal Stories

At present we are receiving profiles from time to time. Here are two and as others come in over the next few weeks they will be added.

Daniel Magpayo  

Dear Friends,
Hi, my name is Ron Daniel Magpayo. I want to thank you for your generosity so I may be able to pursue my passion at Bulacan State University.

I’m still a 4th-year student, well I should be a graduating student by now, but I had some problems with one of my subjects. I've decided to drop my Research one so I can focus on my other major subjects because if I drop the other subjects instead of the Research one, I might not be able to take two subjects next semester because it was a pre-requisite. Other than that, my other subjects are okay and have no problems. I’ve been dealing with this problem since November last year and just told my parents in April, of course, they are sad because of what happened, but they still support me no matter what.

So, this year I will be enrolling in my Research one in August, and hopefully, I can finish so I can graduate next year. Again, thank you for your generosity and your kind heart because you have been a huge help to me and my family, stay safe and God bless.

Camila Almirez 

A blessed day to all of you, my friends. I hope that all of you are in good health including your family and friends. I just want to share with you what happened in my life in the last months until now. Last month my family decided to go to my father’s hometown in Quezon, Pollilo Island. Their house was near to the white sand beach. We stayed there for two weeks, and we fished for shrimps and fish called Lapulapu and some crabs. We ate their signature dish called sinantolan or ginataang santal. It’s a Filipino dish with minced cotton fruit (also known as fantol). It’s cooked in coconut cream and meat like ground pork, shrimp or little crabs can be added. It’s good and delicious to combine it with warm rice and fried fish Lapulapu, yummy.

Their Province was so peaceful. The wifi was limited and difficult to find a network signal. It’s the perfect place to unwind and relax, to enjoy the beach and the view of the sunset and the sea. There’s a lot of people living there. Their job is harvesting coconuts and selling them to other Provinces. It’s hard work and the life there is different to the people in the city. But they are content with what they have. It is important to them to eat 3 times a day.

One time I asked the children questions. I asked if they had eaten a Jolibee or other fast-food restaurant or if the go to the mall. They replied, “we know about Jolibee, we saw it on TV but we have never eaten there or gone to a mall.” We just go to the beach and swim every day and go to the mountain to help their parents. They help to plant bananas and vegetables to sell in the market to have money for electric bills and water. Even if it’s hard to live there we choose to stay because of a genuine happiness that we feel with the people and the place.

Now I am busy with schoolwork as there is a lot of reporting. Activities are given to me by our professors to complete our final requirements because the last week of July is our finals. We do our school activities through online class. There is no news about face-to-face classes resuming for our school, hopefully next year there will be face-to-face classes again. It is so hard to work with classmates and professors online but we have no choice.

Apart from my studies I also take care of my siblings. I go to their schools to get their modules and teach them when they don’t know the answers and I accompanied my youngest brother to his graduation practice because he is going on to secondary school next year. My parents are both at work, I also cook our meals every day because when they come home, they need to eat and rest because they have been working very hard. That’s why I help them with the little things I can do. That’s all for now my friends. God bless.

Current Issues and Challenges

Covid has affected the progress of several students. This will extend the time required to complete their degrees. 

Prayer and Praise Points

Pray that these young people will all be successful in completing their studies and that they will be able to get employment at a time when it is quite difficult.