What is LCW?

• LCW is Little Children of the World, Inc.
• LCW is governed by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board
• LCW is centered around a unique model: H.E.L.P. which stands for Health and Housing, Education, Livelihood, and Peace
• "Jericho Street Echoes" (quarterly newsletter) and "S.S.Sponsorship" (occasional bulletin)
• History of LCW
• Accountability
• Dumaguete and the communities
• Little Children of the Philippines (LCP) in Dumaguete, Philippines
• Retreat and Conference Center (Etowah, Tennessee)
• Little Children of the World program in Leyte, Philippines

LCW is an international and interdenominational Christian agency dedicated to helping develop caring communities for children at risk. Established in 1987, it seeks to address the plight of street children and those who are victims of extreme poverty in developing countries. Little Children of the Philippines (LCP), a subsidiary of LCW, was established in 1989 in Dumaguete City on the island of Negros. LCP has grown significantly in the number of people serviced and the comprehensive nature of its programs. As of July, 2002 another LCW project was launched in the Philippines, in Ingan on the island of Leyte, and administered by a Filipino-American living in Vancouver, Washington.

These at-risk children often go unnoticed except by those who use them for economic gain or exploitation. An estimated 150 million worldwide, according to UNICEF, they are forced by circumstance to spend much of their childhood on the streets, vending or begging, and they are vulnerable to all kinds of abuse.

The more fortunate families in Dumaguete live at the LCP Bloomington Farm Housing project or in Habitat for Humanity housing. Otherwise, most of the families live in nipa huts and must fetch their water from a neighborhood pump. Others live in squatter areas where they built shelters of scrap wood and thatch. Raw sewage often runs between the houses, and prostitution and gambling are common. The children of misfortune who grow up under these conditions have much less chance of survival than children in developed countries, due to limited government resources and few non-government organizations. Furthermore, children who survive often suffer permanent damage to their health.

As indicated above, LCP is a branch corporation of LCW. Over 3,000 people in 14 communities on Negros island participate in and benefit from the LCP project. They are supported by child sponsors from 40 states and 8 countries around the world. The following distinctive features make this program unique: (1) family centered, (2) community based, (3) participatory (i.e. managed largely by the beneficiaries), (4) comprehensive (covering the basic needs of the children). LCW has two boards: a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board.

As a result of its comprehensive program LCW anticipates that in the future hundreds of today's sponsored children will have emerged from poverty to establish strong, self-supporting families with Christian values and become contributing members of their society.

"Let the children come to me and do not stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."
- Jesus (Matthew 19:14)