In 2010, 'The Foundation Project', now 'THE BOHOL ISLAND PROJECT INC.' was formed among a small group of family and friends to do our bit for the Philippines. Our aim has been to help provide people opportunities to last a lifetime, specifically in overcoming poverty and unemployment.

  • Education

In our own small way, we started on education, one of the few ways to go about giving young disadvantaged people the chance of a better life in the long term. 
Currently we are supporting two young women and a young man through university and a technical school. Our first three sponsored students have all graduated and are now all employed.

  • Housing for the Homeless

A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Island of Bohol in central Philippines on 15 October 2013. A few weeks later, typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall, hit the island too.
We saw the devastation on the island, mainly with the damage caused by the earthquake, and we decided to do what we could to help provide basic housing for the homeless.
It has been out of the news a long time ago and largely forgotten now, but long after these natural disasters, many families are still living in makeshift shelters and life remains a struggle, especially for the elderly and the very young.

  • Skills training and support for sustainable livelihoods & employment

We believe that providing skills through training and actual practical work is one solution to tackling unemployment and poverty in the Philippines. Through our housing project, we are already training in a way some of our unskilled labour force acquire skills in the building trade.
With very limited access to acquire proper trade qualifications, we plan to further utilise this great opportunity to enhance their employment prospects by providing formal training on skills related to this industry.

 

The Bohol Island Project Inc. Management Committee

President - Ruben Mendez          Vice President - Tony Sabio          Secretary - Sol Sabio          Treasurer - Estela Mendez
Committee Members - Mimi Wilson, Joy Quinal, Mahal Sambas, Andrew Mendez, Josefina Alas   

Tony is a Consultant Engineer at Verizon, a communications company.
Sol is an Information Communication Technology Project Manager, Catholic Education Office, Sydney.
Estela works with the Australian Federal Government Public Service.
Mahal is a pharmacist at Mildura Base Hospital, Mildura VIC.
Mimi is a registered nurse at Maitland Hospital, Maitland NSW.
Andrew is owner of TaeKeyboards, Australia.
Joy is a Clinical Research Scientist/ Auditor, Asia-Pacific, CSL Limited, Melbourne VIC.