COUNTRIES
Philippines
The Philippines is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,600 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Philippines’s location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator, makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world’s greatest biodiversity. An additional 12 million Filipinos live overseas, comprising one of the world’s largest diasporas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands
COUNTRY FACTS:
- Capital: Manila
- Population: 110.8 million
- Language: Filipino, English
- Major Dialects: Bicolano, Cebuano, Ilocano, Ilonggo, Kapampangan, Pangasinese, Tagalog, and Waray
- In 2005, the Philippines was declared as the “center of marine biodiversity” within the world’s Coral Triangle because of the many species found in one area.
Our History in Philippines
In 1978, FH began working in the Philippines to help Vietnamese refugees who were fleeing from the Vietnam War. Since then, FH has focused efforts on long-term development work in remote and indigenous communities with a focus on food security and livelihoods, education, health and resilience against the consequences of climate change, infectious diseases, and other disasters.
![kids on boat in the philippines](https://fh.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Ffhmain.imgix.net%2F2016%2F12%2F19313.jpg%3Fauto%3Dcompress%252Cformat%26ixlib%3Dphp-3.3.1%26s%3D864fd99308ae5e3a52ca1b8100c39a57?auto=compress%2Cformat&fm=jpg&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=50&w=700&s=50bb3c6f60f5c7524e89cd365e392d24)
Stories From Philippines
![Many sponsors dream of visiting their sponsored child; for most, it remains just that—a dream. But for the Hall family, that dream became a beautiful reality as they traveled to the Philippines to visit their sponsored child, Adrian. The journey was less about crossing a geographical divide and more about bridging a deeply emotional one, uniting their worlds through the power of empathy and connection. Their story highlights how profoundly your prayers and Child Sponsorship impacts the lives of children and their families. Traveling to a remote village in the Philippines to meet Adrian The Hall Family (Jeanae, Jeremy, and their children) started sponsoring a young boy named Adrian in 2018 when he was 10. Today, Adrian is 16 and lives in the remote Bigte community, three hours northeast of Manila in the Philippines.](https://fhmain.imgix.net/2024/07/PHOTO-2024-04-25-15-13-37-2.jpg?auto=compress&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&h=500&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=500&wpsize=menu-image&s=20ebb55c3d54fb965a9b84feb052338e)
From Letters to Hugs: The Hall Family’s First Visit with Adrian After 6 Years of Sponsorship
Many sponsors dream of visiting their sponsored child; for most, it remains just that—a dream. But for the Hall family, that dream became a beautiful reality as they traveled to the Philippines to visit their sponsored child, Adrian. The journey was less about crossing a geographical divide and more about
![Philippines_BicolAP_Miracle-Life-Church-International-programs-with-FHP_Josefina-Q-Ricafort-WEB](https://www.fh.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Philippines_BicolAP_Miracle-Life-Church-International-programs-with-FHP_Josefina-Q-Ricafort-WEB-500x500.jpg)
Loving God, Serving Others
Josefina is a married mother of two children. The family lives in the Malasugui community in the Philippines. Not long ago, she was extremely introverted with no relationships outside of her home, where she lives with her husband, John, and two teenage children. “Although I lived in Malasugui for six