Child United http://childunited.com Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:13:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 One Year Later: Congressional Medal of Honor http://childunited.com/one-year-later-congressional-medal-of-honor/ http://childunited.com/one-year-later-congressional-medal-of-honor/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:11:39 +0000 admin http://childunited.com/?p=1520 March 2012 – It’s been an amazing year for Child United!  Since being recognized by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in March 2011, Child United has helped thousands more in its effort to provide relief items to disaster victims overseas.

The honor was given to its founder, Christine Umayam, last year.  She was one of 20 people in the nation to recieve the recognition for her tireless work to help children and their families.

Umayam says, “It’s literally been a blink of an eye since the recognition.  I do it because I just do.  I hope others will follow their heart just as much as I have.”

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society honors civilians for their work in the community.  Umayam became one of 10 finalists in her category as well as the only person from Washington state to have recieved the recognition.

They wrote, “Christine Umayam was selected from among hundreds of citizen hero nominations. Congressional Medal of Honor recipients selected 20 finalists for the Citizen Service Before Self, including Umayam, who continues offering educational opportunities to children to break the poverty cycle.”

“Citizen Service Before Self Honors are unique, because they are presented to unsung heroes by our nation’s most honored heroes—fewer than 100 living Medal of Honor recipients who comprise the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.  The finalists’ actions epitomize the concept of “service above self” and have been performed “above and beyond” their professional area of responsibility or conduct.”
Umayam was invited to this year’s National Medal of Honor Day in Washington D.C.

Watch the KING5 news report here:

]]> http://childunited.com/one-year-later-congressional-medal-of-honor/feed/ 0 Left With Nothing: The Mangyan People http://childunited.com/left-with-nothing-the-manyan-people/ http://childunited.com/left-with-nothing-the-manyan-people/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:58:13 +0000 admin http://childunited.com/?p=1502 Jan. 2012 – During Child United’s trip to the Philippines last month, we visited the island of Oriental Mindoro. When we were there, we heard stories about the Mangyan people, the last indigenous people discovered in the Philippines.

The people lived in a settlement only 15 minutes from our hotel.  From what hotel workers said, the Mangyan people were driven away from their homes in the mountains and forced to live in a settlement.  They were the poorest people in the area.  The only possessions they have were the clothes on their backs.

 

Knowing this, we traveled to their settlement that morning and bought food and pastries for the people.  We seperated them into small bags and gave them away to the children.

During our visit, we discovered how poor these people really are.  Because they are not from ‘civilized’ societies, they don’t know about cleanliness and they continue to wear the clothes on their back till it falls off.

Here’s what was written about the people, “For centuries, they lived peacefully along the coastal areas of Oriental Mindoro, where they fished for a living. That was until migrants from nearby islands settled on the island. The peace-loving people gave up their land, moved to the mountains, and came down only for food and other necessities.”

“They have since been treated as second class citizens like other indigenous people in the world.  They’ve been exploited, neglected, and discriminated against. The Mangyans have experienced being misjudged as uneducated and uncivilized people. They often struggle with poverty. They survive by farming root crops and fruits, which is the only livelihood they know.”

No matter how these people are percieved by others, I find them to be beautiful beings.  This is how indigenous people live and it was amazing to see.  The Mangyans create beautiful artwork into baskets and jars.  The weaving of one basket can take a week or more to create.  The artwork is sold alongside the settlement and it provides the people a means to eat at times.

I took this picture of a woman holding her baby.  She lived in one of the poorest homes in the area and she was weaving a basket to sell.

What saddened me the most was the poverty.  These people were driven from their homes and forced to live in a settlement.  It reminded me of American history and how the Native Americans were forced from their homes.  It also reminded me of WWII when Japanese Americans were forced to live in settlements during the war.  This is an injustice in many ways and it’s because of how we perceive people.

I truly believe there is no second-class or ’lower-than’ type of people.  There is beauty in all.  Once we see the beauty of people, we start to see similiarities of our own selves within.  This is when true giving can begin.

Child United will start sending boxes of clothes and supplies to the people directly.  If you would like to help, please ‘Contact’ us.  If you would like to send your own box of donated goods, let us know and we’ll provide you with the contact informaton.

]]> http://childunited.com/left-with-nothing-the-manyan-people/feed/ 0 VIDEO: Child United’s relief trip to the Philippines http://childunited.com/video-child-uniteds-relief-trip-to-the-pi/ http://childunited.com/video-child-uniteds-relief-trip-to-the-pi/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:18:35 +0000 admin http://childunited.com/?p=1435 Dec. 29 – Watch this video of Child United’s trip to the Philippines in Dec. 2011. The donations were distributed to hundreds of the poorest families in Pangasinan and Cavite.

The donations consisted of new clothing, toys, shoes and many more items.

Child United would like to thank all its donors and supporters! You’ve made giving worthwhile!

]]> http://childunited.com/video-child-uniteds-relief-trip-to-the-pi/feed/ 0 Better than expected: 120 relief boxes delivered http://childunited.com/better-than-expected-120-relief-boxes-delivered/ http://childunited.com/better-than-expected-120-relief-boxes-delivered/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:40:40 +0000 admin http://childunited.com/?p=1367 Dec. 27, 2011 – Child United and PAYO (Pilipino American Youth Organization based in Tacoma) pulled their resources together and packed 120 boxes for typhoon victims of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City.

The boxes were hand-delivered to Cagayan de Oro International of Washington Saturday. It was shipped for free through Atlas Shipping. The boxes will be delivered to typhoon victims in the coming weeks.

The boxes contained many much needed items including new clothing, towels, toiletries and sheets. School supplies and books were also sent to replenlish many schools that were destroyed in the typhoon.

Child United founder Christine Umayam says, “No matter what it is, these victims need it. I’m just happy to be a part of something great.”

Child United/ PAYO were expected to deliver 50 boxes but was able to donate more than first anticipated.

Special thank you’s to Vallie Pavino, Maria Orth, Larcy Douglas and the kids of PAYO. Child United could not have accomplished the task without its numerous donors. Thank you to all!

If you would still like to donate, Child United is accepting monetary donations through this website. Please click on the ‘Donate Now’ button on the upper right hand corner of the page.

]]> http://childunited.com/better-than-expected-120-relief-boxes-delivered/feed/ 1