My friend Jacob "Jake" Quimpo-- a Filipino-American from San Diego, California-- envisions Widows Mite Village, a housing and empowerment through skills development for the Filipino poor. I want to enlighten my readers by presenting the program rationale. The Philippines continues its difficult battle against poverty. In 2006, for instance, poverty incidence in the country worsened despite the relative improvements in the economy with about 3.7 million citizens added in the 23.8 million living below the poverty line. This statistics may not have improved significantly this year. Majority (71%) of the poor is located in the rural areas. According to studies sponsored by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, inequality in the rural areas has been increasing. The rise of inequality in the rural areas can be due to the agriculture sector's inability to increase productivity. These rural constituents need alternative income-generating ideas to rise from the situation.

As population continues to grow and more challenging events (economic crisis, natural disasters) unfold, poverty reduction strategies like what Widow's Mite Village is focusing, have to work double time in bringing the poor out of poverty and in preventing people from falling into poverty in times of economic shocks, life-cycle shocks, and natural disasters. One of the evident manifestations of poverty in the country is the existence of decades-old informal settlers. Although there are squatters in rural areas, inequalities in terms of shelter deprivation is the most evident in urban locations. The Philippines is among the countries in Asia with a large number of urban slum dwellers. Over 5 million Filipinos live in slums in major cities. Between 2000 to 2006, the slum population grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in urban areas and over 8 percent in Metro Manila. Everyday, slum dwellers are confronted with congestion, substandard housing, and physically deteriorated environment that lack good public services (roads, drainage system, garbage disposal, electricity, water). Some slums have been formed in hazardous places-fault lines, unstable slope, and riverways, among others-which are vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. These environmental conditions lead to deepening poverty and rising inequalities through the following ways:

Higher costs of basic services. Slum dwellers pay more for the basic services such as clean water and electricity than residents living in adjacent fully serviced locations. In Metro Manila and Cebu City, they pay 9 to 13 times more for delivered clean water than households in serviced areas (David et al 2000). Greater health risk from urban environments and climate change. Most people in the cities are affected by environmental hazards but the levels of exposure and impact are highest in the slums due to their location, limited infrastructure, and coping strategies. They suffer more from air and water pollution, flooding, and congestion. The health problems due to poor housing have been established in several epide-miological studies (Philippine Institute for Development Studies, 2011). Poor housing environment causes the incidence of gastrointestinal problems, skin ailments, cholera, typhoid, and other infectious diseases. Traffic-related air pollution causes problems in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Weakening of social fabric. A deprived milieu affects mental health that weakens family relationships. A study on squatter communities shows a major incidence of crimes-robbery, theft, drugs, child rape/molestation. Absenteeism in school and work is noted because of lack of sleep due to noise and heat, among other reasons. Women's subjective well-being, as reflected in early marriages and focus on their child-bearing role, is low in the slums. Damage to lives and property due to natural disasters. This has been demonstrated by the recent flooding caused by typhoon Ondoy in 2009. Settlements along Pasig River and Laguna Lake had 200 cm depth of flood which receded in two months. Many households were displaced and moved to evacuation centers or stayed with relatives and friends. Lives have been lost due to drowning and leptospirosis. Many houses were washed out or damaged. An estimated 15,000 families have been relocated (GOP et al, 2010).

A bad environment deprives people of their quality of life. Poor milieus lowers the physical and mental health status of households which adversely affects their productivity, lowers the school performance of children, and increases their inclination to commit crimes and violence, and be vulnerable to climate-induced risks. The informal settlers' environment also implies higher expenses for basic services. Poverty and squatting cannot simply be addressed by traditional programs of the government such as cash transfers. The government will always be inadequate to conquer the social illness has plagued the country for a long time. The private individuals' initiatives such as this program will prove to be a model for others to emulate. Jake, my partner in this program has raised funds from his business endeavors to implement Widow's Mite Village to help address the problem of poverty. Moreover, the octogenarian visionary of this undertaking commits most of the money earned from his books - The Odyssey of the Philippine Blue Seal, and God's Humorous Tales Book 1 and Book 2-available from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. These books are affordable online.