MEDIA RELEASE

The mission of Consuelo Foundation is to prevent and treat abuse, neglect and exploitation of children, women and families.

For 25 years, the foundation has worked to develop relationships with community based organizations who can best reach the beneficiary population in the Philippines and Hawaii.

Although it is a U.S.-based foundation, it has 26 employed staff in the Manila office who have an excellent reputation of collaborating in the community to build responsive prevention and intervention systems with credible NGO’s and local government units.

There is indeed a role for the foundation to assist in the current humanitarian disaster. It has been reported 40 percent of the affected population is under the age of 18, meaning nearly 250,000 children are impacted by the emergency, with long term ramifications on family stability, mental and emotional well being, protection from abuse and physical health concerns.

To date, the foundation has been involved in providing direct assistance to victims in Samar and refugees in Manila from Tacloban, Leyte. Increasingly, it has been asked by individuals and organizations to help channel funding and resources to the region from its position as a private, nonprofit, operating foundation.

The strategy consists of 20 percent emergency assistance and 80 percent recovery and rehabilitation in the areas that are least served in the provinces of Leyte and Eastern Samar.

In addition to these two provinces, help is also needed for other severely affected areas that do not receive much news coverage.

A crucial aspect of the foundation’s effort will be psychosocial trauma recovery with children and families. Consuelo management and staff will conduct field assessments and regular project visits, inspection and monitoring.

Consuelo Foundation will match donations, dollar for dollar, up to $2 million to channel directly through trusted partners in the devastated regions.

Send in tax-deductible donations to the FilCom Center at: http://filcom.org/donate-to-relief-efforts/

No administrative fees will be charged and all donated funds will be channeled to Consuelo Foundation.

For more information, call Consuelo Foundation at (808) 532-3939.