With* the Philippines

• Video
• Photos
• Today's Sponsor

California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

Visit Sponsor Website »

As the United Methodists of northern California and northern Nevada we strive to live as disciples of Jesus Christ--as a people who open our doors and hearts to welcome our brothers and sisters, wherever they're from, and who open our minds to bridge the differences that divide us. Our Conference, called the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, is where you will find nearly 80,000 people of faith who are members of diverse cultures, are spread across a diverse geography, and are united in a belief in the One we call Jesus Christ. Our Conference is divided into four districts made up of more than 400 United Methodist Churches and Fellowships.

Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr., resident bishop of the San Francisco Area of The United Methodist Church says, "Seventy percent of the population in the Philippines is poor, and most people are desperately poor. Wealth is concentrated in a few hands and there is major concern that the government is serving the interests of the wealthy few and transnational corporations."

The California-Nevada Annual Conference created a Philippines Solidarity Task Force in 2006, and has sent a delegation there every year since. The Conference believes it is important to "encounter, with the eye of faith, the pains and struggles of our neighbors in the Philippines; to understand the systemic roots of the human rights situation there; to discern how the encounter may increase our understanding of how God is at work in the world, and enrich our idea of church mission and ministry; to uplift the morale of victims and manifest a spirit of partnership and solidarity with those engaged in justice work; and to support and encourage the churches in the Philippines in their steadfast witness."

Project Information

With* the Philippines

Working with the Dumagat indigenous people in the Philippines means understanding the challenges they face. Dumagat children trek long distances on treacherous mountainside paths to go to schools that may or may not have textbooks, supplies, or qualified teachers. In some of the villages, people who fall ill may be sent downriver via inner tube to reach the road that will take them to the nearest clinic. For some 30 years, talk of a dam being built that would flood and displace several Dumagat villages has overshadowed any steps to improve their plight.

The Dumagat people and Harris Memorial College, a Methodist College in the Philippines, have partnered with the General Board of Global Ministries, including UMCOR, to develop a comprehensive program that addresses education, sustainable agriculture, community-based health, and livelihood projects.

One of the first programs to be implemented in the area in collaboration with the Department of Education, an Alternative Learning System will improve Dumagat children’s access to education. Dumagats will be trained as local teachers. Better access to education will be a primary way for the Dumagat people to improve their circumstances and give back to their own communities well into the future.

UMCOR is also working with the Philippines Annual Conference to ensure that conference personnel are prepared to respond in the event of a disaster, especially flooding or destructive typhoons.

In July 2009, UMCOR provided conference personnel and volunteers with early-response training and opened a disaster-response office near the capital, Manila. By September, two devastating typhoons struck the Philippines, and another roared through a year later. The conference was well equipped to assist survivors.

The UMCOR Philippines office also provides a ministry of presence, serves as a communications hub among United Methodist conferences within the Philippines and with the US, and offers an on-site storage facility for material goods and relief supplies.

You can partner with the Dumagat communities in the Philippines by giving to Comprehensive Community Development Project for Dumagat Communities, UMCOR Advance #3021302 and designating your gift for “With* the Philippines.” [Give now]

To work with other communities meeting critical needs in the Philippines and around the world, please give to UMCOR Undesignated, UMCOR Advance #999895. [Give now]

Learn more at www.ministryWITH.org

Quick Facts

• The Ministry With the Poor project in the Philippines focuses on assisting the Dumagat people, an indigenous people who live in the Sierra Madre mountains in the Philippines.

• Global Ministries is partnering with Harris Memorial College in the Philippines to provide holistic programs with the Dumagat people.

• The Laiban Dam Project, which has been in development for 30 years, threatens to put many
Dumagat communities under water. Part of the Ministry With the Poor project includes advocacy on behalf of these communities.

• Access to schools is difficult for Dumagat children, because they live in remote areas with few financial resources. Through Harris Memorial College, an Alternative Learning System is being established to provide ways for children and adults to earn an education without attending traditional schools.

• Access to healthcare is also difficult for Dumagat communities. Community-health training, along with medicinal herb gardens, will provide communities with increased knowledge about health, and supplement their traditional health practices.

• Establishing community farms and livestock will help provide Dumagat people with livelihoods outside of the mining industry, which destroys their land and has minimal pay.

• UMCOR Philippines, located outside of Manila, provides disaster-response training and assistance throughout this disaster-prone archipelago.

• Training in Disaster Risk Reduction is a new focus for UMCOR Philippines, in which communities map out their local hazards and resources, and form plans to mitigate any future disasters.