Chair Kay Mackay and Trustee Fred Little have travelled to Manila this month to see how the children are progressing.

Maybe you saw Kay’s posts on our Facebook page. It is always such a thrill to meet the thriving children, all enjoying their school lessons.

Going out into the community and hearing from the families of the Grapevine children is vital. These families are sponsored so that the children have the money to travel to their local schools and have the necessary things needed when they get there. It is always so humbling to hear how grateful the parents are for the opportunities that their children now have. There is a special joy when the children proudly show off the medals that they have won at school for their studies. Seeing such success against the backdrop of their basic, fragile homes of scrap materials beside the dumpsite is such a contrast. Here, it is so obvious how your sponsorship is such a big beacon of hope for a better future.

In a constantly changing world there is also a lot of hard work to plan for the future and to make sure that every peso is wisely spent. Sharing thoughts with the staff and our local Filipino charity partners ASCF is a serious matter. The generous contributions of you our donors are never ever taken for granted and every effort is made to maximise the impact.

Thank you for your continued support!