Twelve years ago, during a visit to the Philippines, Gilbert and Eunice embarked on small projects to help the people they found struggling to make ends meet in the small communities in Calamba, Laguna Province, a town located one hour south of Manila.

Most breadwinners in these barrios or Barangays, as they are now called, were fishermen who depended on Laguna de Bay, Luzon Island’s biggest lake, for their means of livelihood. But the rapid proliferation of big fish pens in and around the lake, led to its gradual degradation. The fishermen lost the only means of livelihood they knew. The women had to find alternative means of supporting their families. And since most of them never had the educational preparation to work in good-paying jobs, the prospect was bleak. Some ended up doing household chores like washing clothes for the moneyed residents around the area, or peddling vegetables and fish around the community, which hardly ever earned them anything more than three meager meals a day. The children were left with no hope for a brighter future since there was not enough money in the family for their education.

Understanding the fact that a good education is the only means these people can better their lives, Gilbert and Eunice adopted education as their main priority. They believed that education is going to uplift the youth, which by extension, will benefit family life in the community. Over the years, they have developed cooperative relationships with the public school system in Laguna, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and several barangays in the area.

A High School and College Scholarship Program was launched to help talented youth. While elementary school is free, high school in the Philippines charge tuition plus books, uniforms and school supplies. The estimated $100.00 a year cost is prohibitive for the poor families and orphans raised by relatives. Using the rental income from the modest low cost cottages that Gilbert and Eunice put up in Calamba, they sponsored 24 needy high school students from Grades 9-12. The benefit to the community of this project is now seen in the way these scholars have volunteered and now lead an after school tutoring program in the United Church of Christ in Barangay Sucol, one of the Barangay beneficiaries of the project.

In 1998, they donated ten (10) sewing machines to Tiyani High School to start a Technical Training Program. Graduates from high school who could not afford college would be able to develop marketable skills besides basic reading and writing. This program continues.

In 1999, as the Philippine High School system incorporated computer learning into their curriculum, Gilbert and Eunice donated three (3) computer systems to the high school and barangay to begin teaching computer skills. This program continues.

As the high school scholars graduate, the program aims each year to provide full college scholarships to the two (2) graduates with the highest grades and community involvement. A committee of teachers, UCCP deacons and elders, and a retired high school principal compose the group which selects the final candidates. The program presently supports five (5) college scholars, with two (2) candidates projected for the spring of 2004. The program’s goal is to support 4-5 candidates with full four (4) college scholarships every year.

In 1999, two Barangay’s requested book donations so their neighborhood centers could house libraries for students and the community. Through book donations from the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown, San Francisco (where Gilbert and Eunice serve as elder and deacon), Friends of the Libraries and other donors, the couple has been sending Balikbayan boxes full of books 2-3 times a year to each Barangay. Two other Barangays have requested for help since then and shipments to them begun last year. The UCCP-New Church Development in Sucol which sponsor the after school tutoring program, also has a library now. All libraries received encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries, children’s books, as well as books on a variety of subjects. The Presbyterian Church in Chinatown, San Francisco, has helped fund the shipping costs for the last 3 years.

A Women Empowerment through Collectives Program was launched to help women organize into livelihood cooperatives so they can harness existing skills in dressmaking and the like and learn new skills to improve their chances of earning more to support their families. After the Asian economic downturn in 1997, employment has been a big concern. Since 1999, Gilbert and Eunice have made three (3) grants to the Sucol Women Collective. Donations of $ 300.00-$500.00 were used as capital to buy materials for handicraft making, and the profits shared among the members. Besides hoping to support this and other neighborhood collectives in the future, Gilbert and Eunice hope to connect these organizations to funding sources here in the US.

One of the traditions that developed during these years is the Yearly Christmas Toy Drive. For the last 16 years, Eunice and later Gilbert and then the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown have donated toys for the UCCP Neighborhood Children’s Christmas Party. Christmas in the Philippines usually means festive food and family gatherings but very few Christmas toys for the children. In 1987, 35 children benefited. In 2003, toys and candies were shipped and distributed to more than 200 children, as more needy children attend each year.

The above mentioned projects were supported by Eunice and Gilbert as private citizens for the past 12 years, with generous support from friends, church, co-workers and business associates.

Pipit Fund Emerges. On July 16, 2003, Pipit Fund was incorporated into a non-profit organization to systematically plan, raise funds and coordinate all the many projects and mission that have grown over the years.

There is a large untapped resource in the Filipino-American community and in those sensitive to the underdeveloped world’s living conditions. Living in the United States, what seems to be a little money here goes a long way when spent on projects in the Philippines.

Pipit Fund hopes more people will join, share and support its vision, mission and projects.