We began one year at Christmas when I suggested that instead of exchanging gifts, we could allocate the money we would have spent (perhaps donate some more as we didn`t buy each other expensive presents) and give it to a Distance Support project I had heard about.

We both worked and were still at home with our parents, so all we were earning was for our future, to be able to buy a house, furniture, wedding expenses, etc. but we felt enormously lucky, and we wanted to share a small part of our money with someone who had not had the same opportunities as us.

We have kept up our contribution to the present day and over the years we have learned much about the realities of poverty through the photos and update letters of the Bukas Palad project in the Philippines. Moreover, for a few years a very dear friend of ours lived in the Philippines, so we felt we “knew” that land even more.

There was the typhoon in 2009 so in addition to Distance Support, we took part in fundraising for the affected population. Our friend sent us photos by email and told us of the immediate necessities, through him we were able to help a girl who lived with her family in precarious conditions, especially regarding their house. We were struck by the fact that when she went to the Bukas Palad Centre she received an education and at least one meal, but that the rest of her family were living in poverty; this did not leave us in peace and through our friend we were able to give them extra help with which to buy household linen, a carpet that served as a floor, and they were able to improve the house a bit, etc.

Over the years, we have been entrusted with various students who have attended the Bukas Palad centre, and we have known their family stories, precariousness and academic successes of each one. The last girl has finished her studies and is now working so we have been assigned a new girl. Among the many we were able to help, we were struck by the story of a girl who told us that her father was a truck driver (like my husband) and that her mother after a long period of illness had had complications and died of kidney problems.

We now feel connected to the Bukas Palad project as if we had contributed to its birth and growth. It is not just a Distance Support Project; it is now a bond with that land.

We would like to thank you for everything you have done as an association in recent years and for giving us the opportunity to participate in a wonderful project!

Italy – Fabiola and Albano