Philippines Blogs

The HOPE Study Tour is called UNION, an acronym for Understanding Needs In Other Nations, and the tours include project site visits that are designed to help participants "learn about problems faced by people living in poverty in developing countries and to understand their needs.

The indigenous peoples of the Philippines have been marginalized and discriminated against because of their minority status. As a result, they have lost pride in their culture and have stopped using their own language.

Many indigenous peoples of the Philippines follow traditional farming practices but most do not hold titles to their land. As a result, they face problems such as malnutrition, high incidence of diseases and mortality due to limited access to natural resources and the influx of migrant farmers that have pushed them into poverty. HOPE International Development Agency has been supporting the Pamulaan Center since 2010.

The Pamulaan Center was established as a place for indigenous peoples to regain their pride, protect their own cultures, and acquire the knowledge and skills to coexist with modern society.

I have always believed that education is much more meaningful if it can contribute to solving the many ills creeping in our societies. That belief has been strengthened by my education at the Pamulaan Center for Indigenous People’s Education - University of Southeastern Philippines, an educational institution dedicated to the indigenous peoples in the Philippines.

The world evolves and new cultures form, others vanish. Some grow stronger, some fight for their existence, and many learn to adapt with the changes taking place to survive and prosper. Unfortunately, poverty often is a factor in why some cultures and societies vanish.

Mothers: the life givers, nurturers, and sources of unconditional love - it is the same across the world. Meet some of the amazing Mums that we meet in the field here!

More than 50 per cent of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the world are likely to die out within a few generations, and 96 per cent of these languages are spoken by a mere 4 per cent of the world’s population. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given pride of place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.

Take a few minutes to enjoy these heartfelt messages of thanks from our friends in HOPE Project Areas.