Scottish Filipino Charity

A couple of the Scottish Filipino Charity’s aims are: to help and support people back in the Philippines who are victims of natural disaster or in great need of financial assistance.  This 2010, the SFC helped provide the much needed financial assistance for a Filipino child’s medical operation.

About Justine and his medical condition:

Mr Reynante & Mrs Marites Papagayo was blessed  with four kids.  The family lives in Pidigan, Abra in the Philippines.  Reynante is working as a security guard earning Three Thousand Pesos (PHP 3,000) a month. Marites is unemployed, concentrating to look after the kids.  One of Reynante and Maritess children is Justine Karl.  Justine had been diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease since birth.  Justine needed help to undergo a major operation.  A temporary solution was made to save Justine’s life.  The hospital had taken out a part of his large intestines in order to pass his stool.  The doctor had advised the family to take Justine to the City hospital to be operated. And so they did, unfortunately, the family of Justine can’t afford at all what is involved in the operation.  So they had no choice but to take home Justine with his large intestine out wrapped in a plastic bag.

Justine has not been attending nursery school due to his condition.  He has not been able to live a normal life like the rest of the kids do.  He has to sleep every night in a cloth hammock for safety reasons.

Operation:

This May 2010, Justine has undergone the operation and it has been successful. Justine now lives a normal life. Our chairman (Rey Filipina) was in the Philippines in May 2010. Rey visited Justine in Abra.  Check out the gallery.

WARNING: Some readers may find one of the images distressing.

Further information about the project will be provided in due course.

The Scottish Filipino Charity held a BBQ at Dalkeith Country Park to celebrate the Philippine Independence Day.  There were lots of games and prizes for kids and adults alike.  The sun shone beautifully and the community enjoyed themselves during the day. A big THANK YOU to all who participated and who helped make the celebration fantastic.

In addition to the £968.58 collected during the street collection:

• Nolan Fernandez raised £264 (Special thanks to RIE orthopaedic wards and to Greenfield Park Care Home).
• Also thanks to Angela Stocks and Inverkeithing Parish Church for raising £67.30.
• Elvie Alcoseba raised £230 and Freda Allan’s father in law raised £20.

Thank you for your continued support.

Congratulations to our vice chairperson Anna Publico-Ong for being elected as Speaker of the Ethnic Minority Civic Congress (EMCC).  The vote was held at the 10th EMCC meeting (4 Nov 2009)  in the Scottish Parliament building in Holyrood, Edinburgh. As EMCC Speaker, Anna will provide overall leadership of the EMCC and facilitate debates and manage the entire business of the EMCC.

The EMCC is a representative, democratic and structured platform designed to facilitate civic engagement and participation and promote a collective, coordinated and ordered voice for the ethnic minority population of Scotland regardless of background, religion, age, disability, education, gender or sexual orientation. The Scottish Filipino Charity is a member of the EMCC.

Anna delivering her speech at the 10th EMCC meeting.

The total amount the charity collected for the Philippine Flood Disaster Fund are as follows:

Street Collection (16-17 October 2009): £968.58

Street Collection (16-17 October 2009) Miscellaneous Currencies:

• 13 Euros
• 50 Australian Cents
• 50 Pence (Isle of Man)
• 10 Cents South African Rand
• 1 Cent USA

A very big THANK YOU to all those who participated during the street collections around Edinburgh’s City Centre last  Friday and Saturday (16-17 October 2009).

Our volunteers last Friday and Saturday were:

David, Reina, Johnny, Niki, Aida, Adrian, Tess, Freda, Jenny, Elvie, Chris, Marley, Karyl, Anna, Peach, Bong, David Jr., Kat and Andrew

A special THANK YOU to Heather, Megan, Nicholas and Glenn who were our best collectors (Yay!).

THANK YOU to Elvie for collecting on behalf of the charity and The Elephant House for sponsoring the buckets and t-shirts and providing tea/coffee/soup for the volunteers.

Do check out the photos of the street collection in our gallery.

The Philippines suffered terrible flooding in the past week, causing hundreds of deaths and displacing many tens of thousands of people.

The Scottish Filipino Charity today (1 October 2009) donated £1,000.00 from its funds to the Philippine Red Cross.

We are also looking for volunteers for street collections at Edinburgh City Centre on the following dates and times:

Friday,   16 October 2009 (Time to be confirmed)
Saturday, 17 October 2009 (Time to be confirmed)

Let us all help in any way we can to make the suffering in the Philippines at this time a little easier for the people most greatly affected by this disaster.

Please give your time volunteering or help with a small donation via Scottish Filipino Charity Justgiving Donation page.

Feel free to contact David on 07912 308404 for more info.

(Additional info on Justgiving: Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way as the Scottish Filipino Charity gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.  Every pound will count, no matter how little or how much – every bit is appreciated.)