LDS Charities, Purple Centers Foundation Forge Another Partnership to Help Students

For Purple Center Foundation (PCF), children and out-of-school youth living in dumpsites deserve an opportunity to get an education and fulfill their potential. For LDS Charities (LDSC), caring for the poor and the needy is an application of the teaching of Jesus Christ. 

Through a second Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), LDSC will donate rice and medicines to PCF. This will allow the non-profit organization to provide access to healthy food, medical services and wellness programs to students from economically-challenged households in Tondo, Manila, Bulacan, and Baguio, thus helping them grow up into healthy, positive adulthood.

“The type of work we do is not instantaneous,” explained Ms. Iris Gokeelao, President of Purple Centers Foundation. “It’s not like we build a latrine today and start using it tomorrow.”

“Our work is always measured in decades. If a child is given support by first grade, we are hoping that when they reach age 22 or 23, they will have already finished or graduated from college. If they don’t want to go to college after high school, hopefully, they will go to a vocational school and find a job to help support their family. Our program is a very long-term investment.”

The continued partnership with LDS Charities will benefit 900 children who are under the foundation’s education program. These are not only elementary students but also out-of-school youth who are under the Alternative Learning System (ALS).

Gokeelao explained that the children they serve are living in dumpsite communities. “A large percentage of these kids are out-of-school youth and we want to give them the opportunity to go back to school, learn more, and get their certificates.”

“It’s always about the certificate because with a certificate more doors will be opened for them,” she said.

During the MOA signing on 19 July 2018, Gokeelao related how the donations from LDSC have opened doors for more opportunities to help children.

“Because of the help of LDS Charities, children and their families will benefit through the medicine you provide, and the rice that you give. We have been able to partner with other schools…where we not only feed our beneficiaries but also the children in those particular school.”

“All these have been made possible through the generosity of LDS Charities, and for that, we are very grateful,” she said.

LDS Charities is the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It sponsors relief operations and development projects in 179 countries, including the Philippines, continually without regard to race, nationality and religious affiliation. LDSC operates based on the principle of community support, self-reliance, personal responsibility and sustainability.