Home for the 100th Sheep
Home for the 1001th Sheep is a ministry to slum children in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines. The Mission was begun several years ago by Edna and Kaloi Ranario. The Ranarios, Philipino themselves, gave up paying jobs in Hong Kong to return to their home country to begin this faith venture.
The Philippine government has recently acknowledged a crisis in education. Classes are overcrowded, 60 or so to a class, student failure rate is high, corruption is rampant. The Ranarios' goal was to begin a free Montessori-based Christian preschool; if youngsters could begin their education in the public school system already knowing how to read and do basic arithmetic, they would have a chance of succeeding.
The first school started in 2001 with Ranarios and two young relatives. The school was merely one small, dark, dirt floor room and they invited the poorest of the poor to send their children. Today they have opened a seventh little school in yet another nearby neighbourhood. They have about 20 teachers who began as parents volunteering and have been trained. The ministry enriches the lives of the children and their parents.
Edna and Kaloi are involved in obtaining food and medical care for adults and children alike, creating support groups for mothers, and parent/child activities as well as offering livelihood training sessions for adults.
Home for the 100th Sheep relies on donations to operate. All the teachers laughingly consider themselves volunteers because reimbursement is erratic. Whatever the ministry receives is shared equally among them. Many of these teachers have come to faith in Christ through their connection with HHS.
Please remember in your prayers this unassuming ministry which is bringing light to a very dark corner of the Philippines.
Contact
Kim Paulo
bims_w@hotmail.com or 250 886-7197