Started in 2003 by the Philippine Band of Mercy, the Family Program is open only to parents of children who suffered from cleft lip/palate. The initial loan is P3,000, which is increased in P2,000 increments every time the borrower repays his/her previous loan. The maximum loan is P10,000, which is renewable as long as the borrower’s livelihood project produces results.
"In a way, it has become another bond between PBM and our children/beneficiaries and their families," said president Jesus Perez Cardenas. "In the past, after the children were successfully operated on, there was no way for us to track how they were doing with their lives. The few who came back showed us how much they had improved personally but not in terms of their family’s living conditions."
The loan requirements are stringent. Aside from having a child with a cleft lip/palate, the borrower must be declared indigent by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. A feasibility review is then made of the intended livelihood project. Before the loans are released, borrowers are also required to attend PBM-organized seminars on values formation, husband-wife communications, parental handling of a disabled child, and livelihood training for income augmentation. A regular quarterly assembly is held for all members during which they are given additional information about new opportunities for livelihood activities.
Beneficiaries include Alfredo and Nora Misajon, who began selling lechon by the kilo and paksiw to neighboring canteens and have now acquired a second-hand taxi for deliveries; and Bernardita Cruz, an ice candy vendor who borrowed money to reopen her sari-sari store. Aside from repaying her loan, Cruz was able to pay for her daughter’s dental braces.
"Our mandate is clear but our resources are finite," said Cardenas. "To stretch our resources, we network with hospitals, where the cranio-facial operations are done at subsidized rates, and with doctors, who donate their expertise. We provide the medicines."
PBM’s working capital comes in part from 70% of the annual interest generated by a P40 million perpetual endowment fund, which is invested in long-term securities, and in part from rental income from a one-hectare properly being leased to commercial establishments along East Ave. in Quezon City.
"By 2012, we plan to put up the country’s first cranio-facial center patterned after international standards. By then, we also should have helped more families of children with cleft lip/palate improve their quality of life," said Cardenas. – RGDelaCruz