A small group of Dutch nationals who have visited various islands in the Philippines so fell in love with Marinduque that they engaged in annual visits to this island for some ten years now. A member of the group who is married to a Filipina eventually decided, with encouragement from the local town authorities, to develop a hillside property in Gasan and make it their second home.
The stark difference between the privileged life that they enjoy in their country and the local poverty situation has not escaped the group. For this reason they have, in various ways, undertaken small projects to provide medical assistance, school supplies for children and nutrition projects in coordination with the municipal government under the leadership of Mayor Vicky Lao-Lim.
To make their involvement in uplifting the lives of those in need more permanent and official, the group recently established Hearts for the Philippines foundation in Holland specifically for the Marinduque project, and primarily for Gasan. They hope that in this small way they can also help break the vicious cycle of poverty that engulfs a big number of local inhabitants, by bringing about some structural changes through the small-scale projects that they have started.
Very recently, the Hearts for the Philippines group together with local representatives visited all the day-care centers in Gasan to personally deliver educational toys and learning tools for children. They also delivered medical supplies to the municipal health center, provided walking aids for the elderly, clothes to the needy and a computer unit for Marinduque’s Philippine National Red Cross office. The foundation’s name was apparently inspired by Marinduque’s tagline as the 'Heart of the Philippines'.
Photos courtesy of Hearts for the Philippines
