Kingdom Message Ministry Foundation

By Br. George Herrig

As we draw to the close of our current mission trip in the Philippines, I would like to write some of the current accomplishments, future changes and challenges before us concerning the KMMF School.

1. We were able to agree to a new 3-year lease on the school building. In addition to what we already have, we were able to secure the first floor of the adjoining building next to our current one. We had the opportunity to walk through it and found that the first floor consists of three rooms: One very large rectangular room and another large room with an additional small room attached. It also consists of a kitchen area and one small toilet area with a shower room next to it. We can easily divide the very large room into two ones which will enable us to have sufficient growth for the next three years. Due to the recent flood, the rooms will need to be entirely cleaned, the walls will be painted to brighten them, and a room divider would possibly be built. We would also need to do some improvements to the wiring, lighting and fans. We were able to procure, under the new lease, the removal of the three vehicles that are currently stored on the premises. This will enable us to clean up the whole front area giving us much needed open space. In addition, the owner is allowing us to use a lot behind the main building for a play area. This land borders a deep ravine in the rear so it will be necessary for us to build a fence around the area (wooden, similar to the front) so that it will be safe for the children. The cost of the new lease is significantly higher, but essential and necessary in order for us to have the space needed during the next 3 years. It is our hope that during that 3-year period we will be able to build a new school on property that has been donated to us for that purpose.
2. With the labors of young Sisters Kristyna and Lucy from the Czech Republic, we were able to do preliminary eye screening for all the children and staff. To our very pleasant surprise, we found that the vast majority of the children have good eyesight. Three of the children, after a more detailed examination, were provided with the required glasses.
3. Interviews were held with most of the staff. Most seemed satisfied with their jobs. The teachers had a common thread when asked about needs, personal improvement and improvement for the school. We addressed each of those issues:

• There is a need for the children to be more orderly, respectful and supervised outside the classroom: We addressed the whole staff that the first priority for this year is to make the children behave in an orderly fashion; in outside activities, play time, walking the halls and in the classrooms. The staff have agreed to make this a priority and promised we will see a greater improvement when we return in the summer. The staff meets once a month to discuss needs and they will be bringing forth suggestions as to what they can do. One suggestion to them is to see if they can get good, quality volunteers from the parents to help supervise the children during break times outside and in the playground area.
• Better cleaning with the school is a must: Changes are being made in the way the school is maintained by the custodian. In the new school year there will be only one full-time janitorial position instead of two alternating positions in order to make a more unified cleaning schedule. There was a time of training of proper cleaning practices and schedules given to staff members so that they may be implemented immediately.
• The teachers need more training seminars to improve their teaching skills: We will look into seeing what is available in this arena and how we might be able to make it available to the teachers. We will also have to look into how we might be able to facilitate this training in the schedules of the teachers so that they might be able to attend such venues.
• Need for world maps and other materials for the walls: We will look to provide the needed charts, maps, and teaching tools.

4. Br. Martin spent time in training Melody, the school’s administrative assistant who is responsible for keeping the books, with Excel as well as reviewing the books and accounting practices. Br. Martin also met with our external bookkeeper, Lorna, and was able to set up a schedule of working days for her in the coming year in order for the books to be reconciled monthly instead of at the end of the year as has been a custom so far.
5. Assessments were made as to summer improvements to the current building, which will include some painting, more fans and more lighting to the school. Also, minor repair is needed to some of the floors and walls.
6. Beginning June, we will have a need for one more full-time teacher for the addition of the fifth grade. Also, two of our current teachers, Rio and Dharine, are expecting babies; one is due in May, the other one in July. Both will have two months maternity leave. We will be hiring a sub-teacher that will fill in for them both for four months total.
7. I also made a personal evaluation on our Principal, Marissa, who has been with us for two years now. I had general input from the teachers concerning her and overall they gave positive feedback. She is diligent in her duties as well as her work with Cherry, the school Administrator. She is very proactive with all the necessary forms that the government requires for licenses and approval for our increased grades. She has done an excellent job in her assembly of a book of documents that are required by the government. My assessment of Marissa is that she is doing a good job, helping us in furthering the development and growth of KMM School.
8. We have included an additional duty for Allan, the school’s Counsellor, in the coming school year. He will conduct more home visits to encourage the parents to help their children who are consistently absent to be more diligent in their attendance. This encouragement will also apply to those students who are not meeting the minimum grade requirements. All of these children will be required to attend the summer school.

In closing there are a couple additional comments:

1. Marissa, the Principal, explained the current thought of the splitting of classes from Kindergarten through the Third Grade. The current need is to split up our classes into two groups for one main reason: “Quality of Education.” Marissa informed me that the teachers teach better in a shortened class with 15 students than to have a full day class with 30 students. It gives more quality time with each student and still fulfills the state requirement for teaching (this being approved each year by the government). The school will continue in that same fashion in the coming school year.
2. In talks with the teachers we found that there are no parent-teacher conferences here in the Philippines. We encouraged them to set up one that is similarly used in the USA. That is, in the middle of each semester two days are set aside so that appointments are made with each child’s parents and the student’s teacher. The teacher can then have one on one with the parents to discuss the child’s development, strengths, weaknesses and encourage the parents to work towards the betterment of the student. The teachers and principal were very interested in the concept and will discuss this option to be possibly used in the coming school year.

In addition to these, we were able to take individual pictures of the children so all the sponsors will receive an updated picture of their child/children in the weeks to come.:-)

Finally, we are very pleased with the growth and development of the school. We continue to see improvements in its overall administration. Our hopes and aims are that the school, its staff and students will continue to grow not only in education but also in the knowledge and glory of God.

Respectfully submitted,
Br. George Herrig

The end of December 2014 brought with it yet another typhoon that affected the Butuan City area. Some of you may remember the typhoon we had to deal with in January 2014 (please follow this link for more details). Typhoon Senyang also seemed to have come with a lot of force but did less damage to the school and school families’ properties. Most of the families had water inside their houses above knee level; a number of people had to evacuate from their homes; national highways were covered with water; vehicles were stranded for over five hours due to the strong force of the water flow; the river also overflowed and flooded the Ampayon area where our school is located. However, we rejoice and praise God that nobody was hurt. We were also grateful that the classes were able to resume shortly afterwards.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for the children and families of Kingdom Message Ministry School.

School After the Typhoon

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School Clean up

Some staff and parents of the sponsored children volunteered to help clean up so that the children could resume classes as soon as possible.

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Tacastacas Family

The Tacastacas family is still having difficulties with their transportation as the bridge connecting their house to the national highway was destroyed by the typhoon. From the sixteen houses in their area only theirs was not destroyed. The family was safe.

Jalbuena Family

The Jalbuena family, whose house was completely destroyed during the typhoon in January 2014, again suffered some damage this time as their area was flooded. We thank God for protecting them and keeping their house standing this time.

2014 has come to an end and here we are again bringing you many greetings from the Philippines. Words cannot express our thankfulness to you all for your wonderful support during this year. Thanks to your prayers and generosity we have been able to teach and feed 140 children who, under other circumstances, would never be able to prosper in such a way. Our prayer is that His blessings and presence would abide in you and in your homes.

Following please find a short message from Sister Cherry, our school administrator:

Look Heavenward

Hebrews 11:16, “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

The old year has passed into eternity with all its burdens and challenges. Now let every thought, every feeling be that of remembrance of God’s ever present love. Let us commence a life of simple childlike trust, not relying upon feelings but upon faith.

A new year is opening unto us. Let it be a happy new year in which we nestle in the sheltering arms of Jesus.

The KMMS family would like to thank you all for your support, love and care for the Filipino people.

Love you all in Christ,

Sister Cherry
KMMS Administrator

Math and Science Program is designed by the Department of Education in the Philippines to strengthen the Math and Science skills of the participating students. The goal of the program is to help students recognize and develop their potential to excel in Math and Science. Our activities this year consisted of choral presentations per grade level related to Math and Science subjects and a quiz bee portion prepared and hosted by Sis. Rio Marie, grade IV teacher. The program was very successful.

By Susan Herrig

Shortly after returning from the Philippines, I had the opportunity to share with my niece Katie Maneman about George’s and my trip. Katie is a second grade teacher at Carver Elementary in Dubuque, Iowa. She is an enthusiastic teacher with a heart for her students looking for opportunities to not only teach them but also make them better individuals in the process. She immediately extended an invitation to George and I to come and talk to her students.

On Friday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m. George and I entered the second grade classroom at Carver Elementary of my niece, Miss Maneman. She, along with Miss Angela Budde and Mrs. Joyce Valentine’s second graders totaled 60 plus smiling children.

We presented a Power Point Presentation showing the children several things we were told that were of interest to them:

• How long does it take to get to the Philippines?
• How many miles is it from Dubuque to the Philippines?
• What kind of food do they eat?
• Where do they live?
• Tell us about the school . . .

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During the presentation, many hands kept going up as their inquisitive minds were being stirred. The girls giggled to know that Filipino little girls like the color ‘pink’ just like them. That Filipino children play ‘tag’ or ‘duck, duck, goose’ only by different names.

They had learned about the flooding in the Philippines. We were able to show them some of the pictures Brother Allan, the school guidance counselor, had sent to us. Not only did we show the pictures of the flood but of the rebuilding of the school and the homes. We shared how excited we were about our new Computer Science Lab. They were very excited as well.

As George and I left that day, we felt so blessed by this experience. The children were so delightful and courteous to us.

However, the story doesn’t stop there. The Carver 2nd Grade Students of Miss Maneman, Miss Budde and Mrs. Valentine decided they wanted to do something to help the KMMS children. They decided to give our KMMS Library a boost by donating boxes and boxes of reading books that arrived this September for our students to enjoy.

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Again, Thank-You from all of us at KMMS to Miss Maneman, Miss Budde, Mrs. Valentine and their wonderful students for their warm welcome to us and their generous support.

The Luba Family

Gezer Luba lives in a single parent family. His mother, Rachel, is currently without a job. They are financially dependent on Gezer’s grandparents. Gezer is a happy little boy. His favorite subjects are English & Science. He enjoys playing with his toy car, studying for school and watching TV. He dreams about being able to complete his studies.

The Goma Family

Jazz Murphy Goma lives with his parents, two brothers and two sisters. His father, Romel, is a blacksmith. His mother, Jenny, is a housewife. Jazz likes math the best of all the school subjects. His favorite food is fried chicken and favorite color is red. When he is at home, he enjoys helping clean the house and fetch water.

The month of August brought us another celebration prescribed by the Filipino law for all public and private schools. This time it was called “BUWAN NG WIKA” or “A Month of National Languages”. Children sang solo songs in order to develop their singing skills and self-confidence. They also recited poems to enhance their public speaking skills and stage performance. Overall, the presentations were a great success!

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Across the Philippines, a recognizable need has developed for the provision of services geared towards the underserved youth population. While the obstacles that must be faced by this demographic can be seen as immeasurable, some of the most pressing issues facing today’s community are the number of families living in poverty and amount of students not completing their education. Each year the statistics become more disheartening, illustrating the dire need for programs that seek to break these cycles and begin reversing these disturbing trends.

Poverty remains a critical social issue in the Philippines that needs to be addressed immediately. The National Statistics Coordination Board released a report in 2013 discussing the poverty rates in the Philippines. The results of the survey showed that 27.9% of Filipinos were living below the poverty line. These results are devastating to the Philippine government because the reports show that despite the officials targeted efforts, poverty levels have remained relatively unchanged from their 2009 levels. According to the World Bank, the number of families living in extreme poverty has dropped in every other developing country in the world, leaving the public to question why the Philippines has not seen the same decline.

In order for a Filipino family of five to no longer be classified as “extremely poor” in 2006, they would have had to earn P1,681 ($39.09) a month. In 2009, the monthly income required had increased to P2,042 ($47.49). The 2012 statistics showed those income requirements more than doubled since 2009. The most recent NSCB report shows that families must earn P5,458 ($126.93) a month to put food on the table every day. If they want to meet non-food needs, such as clothing, they would have to earn P7,821 ($181.89).

With so many families struggling to afford food, clothing, and adequate housing, completing a quality education is a challenge for many Filipino families. Similar to the United States, the Philippines has created an extensive and highly inclusive system of education. The United States continues to influence the modern Philippines’ education program, as many of the country’s teachers and professors have earned their advanced degrees from United States based universities. However, for the struggling Filipino families, the additional expenses incurred in the schooling programs are insurmountable resulting in their children not being able to attend school at all.

Although the Philippine system of education once served as a model for other Southeast Asian countries, in recent years that system has deteriorated at an alarming rate. This is especially true in the more remote and poverty-stricken regions of the country. While Manila, the capital and largest city in the Philippines, reports a primary school completion rate of almost 100 percent, other areas of the country are nowhere near that level. The cities of Mindanao and Eastern Visayas have a primary school completion rate of only 30 percent. Not surprisingly, students who hail from Philippine urban areas tend to score much higher in subjects such as mathematics and science than students in the more rural areas of the country. With a vast majority of the country unsuccessful in their academic pursuits, the cycle of poverty and dependence on others will only continue. ^[1]

Kingdom Message Ministry School, Inc. has been addressing the above needs via the provision of high-quality services to students living on the Mindanao Island. We seek to reverse the negative trends by offering cost-effective, life enhancing opportunities to those in need. Thank you for partnering with us to make a difference in the lives of those whom we serve.

[1] Clark, Nick. “Education in the Philippines” wes.org