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Sponsored children: 12 of 15
Sponsor a Child in Tinambac, Philippines: Education in the Heart of Bicol
Full sponsorship
See all sponsorshipsIn the rural municipality of Tinambac, in the Bicol region of the Philippines, children grow up amid severe poverty, unstable incomes, and the constant threat of typhoons. Your sponsorship can keep one of these children in school and open the door to a different future.
Where do these children live?
Sister Zaida Villareal comes from Tinambac, in the Bicol region, within the province of Camarines Sur. A religious missionary, she has been involved with a Children of the Mekong programme in Bais, Negros Oriental, since 2022.
Keen to help disadvantaged children in her hometown continue their education, she spoke to her local community about Children of the Mekong’s child sponsorship programme, and explained how it could be used to support families in Tinambac and help them improve their circumstances.
The families who could benefit live in a context of severe rural poverty. Most come from large households, and the main sources of income are generally linked to farming or fishing. But these incomes are often unstable, affected by factors such as the weather and fluctuating market prices. It is common for one parent to migrate to the capital in search of better-paid work.
Who runs the programme on the ground?
Ate Abbygail has been a full-time teacher at the DepEd CamSur school for nearly six years. She is actively involved in the education of primary school children and, alongside her work at the school, also teaches children at the church.
She has lived in Tinambac since birth and knows the young people she has brought into her programme very well.
Ate Abbygail was recommended by her aunt, Sister Zaida, who introduced her to the Children of the Mekong programme and intends to support her as she takes up her post. She will also have the support of her mother, who serves as Barangay Captain — a role of significant social and professional standing within the community.
Thanks to her professional experience and her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, she is fully proficient in IT and owns a computer. She is skilled in using Excel, which will allow her to manage the administrative side of her role as programme manager effectively. She is on a permanent contract at the school and has no plans to move away.
What does the programme offer today?
The programme begins with the individual sponsorship of 10 young people. This educational sponsorship is used to support the children’s schooling and to provide help to their families.
Families here often live in houses built from non-durable or recycled materials, partly because of how frequently typhoons strike. This poverty leads to family breakdown, sexual abuse, alcoholism, a lack of access to healthcare, and early pregnancies that force young girls to drop out of school.
The Tinambac programme will be of real help to these families, who receive no other support despite the region’s poverty. This is an area of Bicol where Children of the Mekong does not yet have any programmes. Launching it here will support motivated children so they can study in suitable conditions, and ensure that the cost of schooling is no longer a barrier to their education.
How does child sponsorship work?
Your sponsored child is part of a programme: a group of sponsored children from the same area. The programme is run by a programme manager — a local volunteer, often Filipino, responsible for its day-to-day running, including monitoring the young people, distributing sponsorship funds, and organising meetings. The programme manager works closely with the Bambou overseas volunteer, who coordinates around twenty different programmes. And at the foundation of it all is the sponsor, who provides financial and moral support to their sponsored child. This whole human chain is the key to the success of our work on the ground — every link matters.
Who are the sponsored children?
All driven by a desire to succeed and to lift their families out of poverty, the children in the Tinambac programme are selected in collaboration with the local team, according to several criteria. Poverty is the most important, assessed through indicators such as family income, the parents’ occupations, and the condition of the home. Children of the Mekong also considers the child’s family situation (whether parents are separated or deceased, the number of dependent children, and so on), as well as the motivation of both the child and their family to pursue their studies.
Whether they hope to become a teacher, an engineer, or a social worker, each sponsored student commits to seeing their studies through to the end of their course. In turn, Children of the Mekong commits to supporting them financially and in their personal development, helping them grow into men and women of strong character.
How are sponsorship funds used?
Your sponsorship is essential and helps to cover your sponsored child’s educational needs. It is used to pay for enrolment fees, school supplies, projects, books, uniforms, shoes, and transport where needed. It can also help other children in need who do not yet have a sponsor, or support a family with basic needs such as extra food or medicine. Education is at the heart of our work, and the children’s success also depends on their peace of mind.
In the Philippines, primary school fees are negligible, so sponsored children benefit above all from the educational support the programme provides: monthly meetings, games, tutorials, and educational activities. At secondary school and sixth form, young people must prepare presentations and need more expensive materials. Once they reach higher education, sponsorship alone is often not enough. For this reason, sponsorship funds are pooled within each programme to ensure a balanced distribution across the different educational levels — allowing us to support our sponsored children all the way through to higher education.
How can you sponsor a child in Tinambac?
By sponsoring one of these children, you give them a childhood and access to one of their most fundamental rights: the right to an education. By going to school each day, they broaden their horizons, develop their analytical and critical-thinking skills, grow in confidence, and gain the chance to fulfil their ambitions.
Your help is essential, and the child entrusted to you is deeply grateful for your support.
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