About Us

Our Founder

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Forty one years ago, in the tumultuous ‘60's, I joined the Peace Corps. I taught science at the Bukidnon Normal School in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, organized summer day camps for kids, and like many other volunteers, courted and married a Filipina teacher. What I thought was a "two year deal" has turned into a lifelong love affair with the Philippines. When asking my future wife's parents for her hand in marriage, they gave me the approval on the condition that I take on the responsibility of educating her siblings. Little did I know that she had 10 younger brothers and sisters! We accomplished that mission many years ago and now we have nurses, agriculturists, politicians, businessmen, and ministers in the family. All they needed was the "opportunity".

After "retiring" in 2005, my wife and I decided to spend the majority of our time in the Philippines providing "opportunities" to our larger family, the Filipino people. We started the H.E.L.P. Foundation - Humanitarian Efforts to Lessen Poverty in underprivileged children of the Philippines (recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit). Initially, our efforts were focused on feeding programs for malnourished children but we quickly learned that feeding alone is not the answer. We also learned that it is vital to develop partnerships and alliances with the local government and reputable Philippine foundations. Currently, we partner with the Medical Ambassadors of the Philippines, Pagtambayong Foundation, Lighthouse Center for Children, Overseas Missionary Fellowship, Punlad Buhay Multipurpose Cooperative, and the Bethany Christian Home for Children. We have transitioned from simple feeding programs to a comprehensive approach that encompasses literacy, livelihood, health, nutrition, and sanitation. We have projects in the Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City, on Caubian Island near Cebu, and in 9 barangays/puroks in Bukidnon. Each project is a joint effort among the local government, a Philippine charitable foundation and HELP Foundation.

Our projects and include:

• Sponsorship of 150 elementary, 8 high school, and 2 college students. The sponsors come from 14 different states.
• Daily feeding program for 500 malnourished children in four villages.
• Formed a cooperative in the Payatas dumpsite that provided 40 families with 2 piglets each. The pigs are fattened on recycled organic garbage.
• Started livelihood projects in 7 villages through microcredit which include broom making, baskets, hand crafted greeting cards, native jewelry, mats, sewing, solid waste collection, goats, fish pens, and seaweed farming.
• Built the "Lloyd & Carol Brown Development Center" on Caubian Island which functions as our feeding center, community work center, and mini-pharmacy.
• Sponsor medical missions to remote areas with volunteer Filipino doctors and nurses.
• Organized a government approved Botica sa isla (mini-pharmacy) on Caubian Island.
• Built and operate two preschools-one in the Payatas, the other in the Muslim village of Purok Dos, Kalilangan, Bukidnon. 130 preschoolers attend.
• Constructed 2 community water tanks (150,000 liters) and 60 individual water tanks (416 liters) on Caubian Island. Since there is no potable water source, we are using "rain water harvesting".
• Constructed a community "comfort room" in Purok Dos that is used by 36 families.
• Provide major funding support to the Bethany Christian Home for Children (orphanage).

Our budget for 2008 is $108,000. Every dollar donated goes to a project in the Philippines. I pay all of my personal expenses and the administrative costs to run the foundation. This makes it extremely attractive to our 600+ donors. Several Philippines RPCV's are regular donors: Michael Charles '65-'68, Dr. Ron Edgerton '65-‘67, Clayta (Spear) Campbell '66-'68, Arlene Goldberg '66-'68, Steven Dienstfrey ‘65'-67, and Margaret (Brennan) Keating '67-'69. David Arnoldy, Ukraine '03-'05 spends 2 months a year in the Philippines assisting the foundation with engineering projects.

If anyone is interested in more information about our work, please email me help2philippinechildren@yahoo.com. I will close with two excerpts from letters that children have sent their sponsors in the states and these precious innocent words make it all worthwhile!

"You have given me hope. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to go to school. My mother scavenges and there are 4 children in the family. You see, my father is dead and I think of you as my father from far away."

"My father lost his job as a construction worker and now we earn a living by going to the dumpsite and gathering many things like bottles, papers, plastics and sometimes my father finds noodles, pasta, fruits or breads, biscuits and soup that the rich people throw in the garbage. My mother washes them and we eat them. Or sometimes he finds soap and we use it. Our life is very miserable here in the Philippines. I would not be able to attend school without your help."

Keith Hooper

Founder, HELP Foundation