Center Ignites a Mother’s Hope for Her Son’s Future

Rowena and her son, Rafael, receive rice at his Hope Center.

Rowena is part of the Dumagat tribe that lives in Norzagaray, Bulacan, in the Philippines. She and her husband raise pigs, make bamboo barbecue sticks, and sell ornamental plants as their livelihood.

They earn a meager income of the equivalent of $55 a month.

Although they are hardworking people, Rowena once believed that they would never be able to give their two children a bright future because of their poverty.

But when a OneChild Hope Center opened in their community in 2021, Rowena began to see that her son would indeed have a chance for a better life after he was registered there.

“One of our tribal leaders told us that there is somebody [from Mountainside Church of the Nazarene] registering kids [in the program],” she recalls.

“He said that they will help in my child’s education. I got interested because I was thinking of my kid’s future.”

And so, Rowena decided to register her son, Rafael, in the OneChild program at the Blessed Kids Hope Center.

Rowena is grateful for all of the benefits her son Rafael receives at his Hope Center.

For more than a year now, Rafael has been enjoying the Saturday Hope Center activities like Bible reading, playing with his friends, and eating nutritious food.

“I am always excited going to the Hope Center,” he says. And Rowena is relieved that her son will be able to eat healthful food during center activities.

“It is a big help for me as a parent,” Rowena says. “During Saturdays, I no longer worry that he will get hungry because they are being fed at the Hope Center.”

Rowena is thankful that Rafael is receiving many benefits in the program such as rice, eggs, vitamins, school supplies, and Christmas gifts.

In addition to these material blessings, Rafael also enjoys tutoring, medical and dental checkups, and participating in other celebrations in the Hope Center.

So far, the activity he enjoyed the most was their first-year anniversary celebration held at an indoor playground at a mall.

It was his first time going to this kind of place where he and other registered kids enjoyed jumping on a trampoline, playing in a big ball pit, sliding on a big inflatable slide, and just playing with all the toys.

Rafael and other kids romp at an indoor play center.

“I was super happy,” Rafael says. The kids also enjoyed their Happy Meals at McDonald’s after all the fun at the playground.

This exciting opportunity wouldn’t have been possible without OneChild’s sponsors, donors, and partners.

OneChild knows that partnership is also a powerful way to help more kids, and Blessed Kids Hope Center and the Dumagat tribe are grateful for their partnership with outsourcing company Boldr, which has provided monetary support through OneChild for an entire year.

It was a life-changing experience for all the kids and their families. And we are grateful for their continued support to have an impact on the children’s lives.

“I thank the sponsors because now I have high hopes that my child will be able to finish school,” says Rowena.

Sponsor a child at OneChild and help ignite hope for a child’s future.