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The Hastings Sunrise Rotary Club has committed to provide $2000 to assist BigHoop Charities and their Filipino branch called HELP Foundation (Humanitarian Efforts to Lessen Poverty of Underprivileged Children in the Philippines) a nonprofit, charitable organization committed to bringing hope and opportunity to the people of the Philippines.
Rice has remained the most important food item among the Filipino households. A study has been conducted and results show that rising rice consumption in the Philippines is being fueled by low-income Filipinos and these families are willing to spend more than 40 percent of their income on rice alone. Therefore it is extremely important to keep the price of rice stable and affordable.
One of our main goals at BigHoop Charitable Institution is to help reduce if not eliminate poverty in the community of Talakag through our projects in education, health, livelihood, agriculture, and micro finance. Our micro loan project since its launching in November 2011 has recruited more than 400 low-income mothers who engage in small business enterprise such as snack vending, vegetable/fish/meat vending, sari-sari (in house variety store), etc. On average a family of five members can consume 1 sack (50 kilograms) of rice every month. The average retail price per kilo of a regular milled rice is 38 pesos to 40 pesos or $.86 to $.90 per kilogram. Rice is one of the most affordable food and low-income families are dependent solely on it as their basic source of nutrition which means eating more rice than any other food such as meat, fish, and vegetables.
We wanted to offer our beneficiaries an alternative where they can spend less on rice and save the rest of their income on education, health, housing, and other basic needs. This is a short term loan payable for one month with minimal interest to cover transport and administrative fees. If they avail of this loan they can save as much as 500 pesos or $10 per sack and earn even more if they decided to go retail. As of April 30, 2015 we have more than 40 mothers who showed interest in availing the rice loan. To start with, we are proposing to purchase 50 sacks of rice which cost between 1,700 pesos to 2,000 pesos per sack or $38 to $45.
We are hopeful that this project can go a long way and will continue to help low-income families improve their lives. Since this is an international project, local club members will be involved in securing grant funds, coordinating the distribution of the funds and following up with the HELP Foundation to see the funds in action. A few Hastings Sunrise Rotary members have expressed interest in possibly visiting the Philippines someday.
Addendum to Project Description (added after the project was signed)
Editing the project summary: This grant will be provided to purchase rice and it will not be a loan from our club. Big Hoop Charities will be providing receipts to us showing those purchases. Dale Schultz
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