Mission Reports From Here and Abroad
Just imagine how special an opportunity it would be to visit and hear the circumstances of the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth if they were living on the earth in this century, today. You might find yourself overjoyed with anticipation to be invited to share a special time and place with them. Why isn’t it equally special to take advantage of a unique opportunity to experience a spiritual uplifting in hearing the account of a family who lives in trust and assurance of God’s providential love and care.

Joni and Toti Fuentes, who experienced death many times over, will witness a courageous message and Toti will conclude their talk by sharing his beautiful gift of music.

When in the presence of greatness one must look up. Such is the case when one is in the presence of Toti Fuentes. But who is Toti Fuentes you may ask?

To know this remarkable man, one needs to look back to a time when a little boy of six played the piano while not being able to read the notes due to his having the disability of dyslexia. Because of his talent and persistence, he has achieved what many local musicians his age could only hope for in another lifetime.

“I always believe in my dreams. I dream big. When I was a child, while sitting on the branches of the trees in our backyard, I dreamed of becoming a world-class musician. When I was 14, I visualized myself playing with Sergio Mendes. About 20 years later, that dream was realized in Los Angeles.”

During his teen-age years, Toti felt a calling to enter the priesthood and during the four years he attended the seminary, he met Fr. Michael Semana, also a student seminarian. They became life-long friends and when Fr. Mike decided to begin World of Hope Foundation, Inc., a charitable organization for children and the poor, Toti and he began fund raising together to help in its initial stages. Fr. Mike was known as the “singing priest” to his contemporaries, so the combination of talents jelled to make an effective team. Over the years they produced various musical albums whose net proceeds are dedicated to the poor. Toti has been Fr. Mike’s musical arranger for over 18 years. Toti is a native of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. He is the second eldest of eight siblings. Toti has been happily married for 27 years to the girl of his dreams, an American named Joni Lynn. He is the proud father of three children, Damien 22 years old, Xara deceased and Xavier-15 years old. His two sons are currently studying in Park Ridge, Chicago, Illinois. Both play the piano and the violin.

Toti’s musical career spans many decades. He has been a conductor, arranger, producer and writer and played with some of the
most famous performers in the world. Musicians, such as, Sergio Mendes, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Anita Baker, Smokey Robinson, Jerry Lewis, Andy Williams, The Lettermen, Julia Fordham, and Mariah Carey, to list a few, have all shared the stage with this remarkable musician. Serving as Tony Orlando’s Musical Director and friend for 22 years, his musical career has spanned some thirty years and he continues to perform for audiences around the globe.

Toti will be joined by the music team of World of Hope led by Deacon Brian Klause

Call for your tickets early, 985-851-2500
Venue: Lumen Christi, Schriever, LA. May 23, 2007 8:30 - 11.:30 AM. Daily mass will be available at 12:10 PM.

Mission Reports From Here and Abroad
Catholic Social Services sent World of Hope Foundation a letter telling fabulous stories of the children of hurricane struck families that received assistance with the donation earned from the raffle held at the 9th annual golf tournament. We would like to share some of the five families’ stories with you.

The five different families with ill or handicapped children received bedroom furniture. A single mom with four children was living peacefully in Montegut until the storms of 2005 hit. The family came back home and looked around in horror as they saw all of their belongings full of black smelly mud. After living months in a FEMA trailer, all this family wanted was that their home return to its original condition before the storms. Your donation helped to purchase 4 bed frames, mattresses and box springs and 2 dressers for these children. A young couple lived in Chauvin with two children...a six year old blind child and an 8 month old. Their home was totaled since the roof was damaged in Hurricane Katrina and then 5 feet of water saturated their home for about 2 weeks. Your donation was used to make the special renovations needed for the bedroom of the blind child. Some of the money was also used to purchase Braille toys for the child at Christmas time. As you can see, the comfort of others was the main use of your donations.

Thank you for your concern for them. May God continue to bless your efforts as you reach out to others in various ways throughout the year!

Sincerely,
Jennifer Gaudet, Caseworker


See The Difference! Laoag looks back to August 15, 1991 when WHF opened the Fr. Fred Lamprea Child of Hope Memorial Project. It started with 10 identified third degree malnourished children. As the program progressed, it increased in numbers and now all the members of their families have become beneficiaries. During almost 16 years of its existence a lot of changes have occurred.

At the start our project was lacking in many aspects: physically, socially, mentally and above all spiritually. The people knew that God existed but they didn’t know Him. The program served as a medium to enlighten and deepen their faith which brought a lot of improvements in their lives. They slowly evolved into a new creation; the program gave them HOPE as they began their walk on the right path of life. Their annual report comprised 27 pages.

“We feel overflowing love, care, and security from one another. ‘A family that stays together lives happily ever after.’ To understand the teachings of the Lord, there are activities to enhance their faith in God; like praying the rosary, reading the scriptures and reflections on the word of the Lord, and eating together in fellowship as one family. Each have designated groups; parents, youth (high school and college), and children ages 1 to 12 years old. We provide specific activities for their respective groups. The parents and the youth group have their bible sharing separately. The children’s groups are taught catechism. Here are some of the seminars that were conducted in 2006 to strengthen the families:

May
Media Literacy for Effective Parenting; September: Genetically Modified Organisms: Risk, Implications and Alternatives; October: Alternative Medicines/Herbal Plants and Effective Parenting; October: Effective Parenting, and Fr. Ruiz introduced the parents to making Organic Fertilizer.

To enhance their standard of living the families initiated income generating projects to augment their basic needs. The Staff of Child of Hope started a mini-grocery to help families. During the gatherings tutorial sessions are given to the slow learners to improve their academic abilities.”

Baguio reports that they would like to concentrate on equipping the parents of the sponsored children with needed skills to enable them to have a lucrative livelihood. “In connection with this, we will be inviting resource speakers to help teach them how to go about starting a livelihood project. After an exhaustive interview, we surmised that the parents are interested in the following: a. Piggery; b. Sari Sari Store (small home based stores) c. Knitting; d. Peddling; e. Souvenirs (making and selling). After the above mentioned skills training seminars, the parents will need some financial assistance to be able to start these projects. The council is praying and discerning how to go about providing them with financial assistance.

Our Staff with The Sacred Heart Community Staff share in the grief of Paulo Piyasan’s Family and his sponsor, Jean M. Vandervoort on the recent death of Paulo. This five year old child lived with a heart condition since birth.

The Staff in Samar reported that they traveled to Laoag recently to learn how that program has been so successful in inspiring the whole family to become involved in the sponsorship program; how to begin livelihood projects and grow spiritually. Samar has a logistics problem because their area is rural and spread out. To gather, the families have to walk for miles or ride a boat. Many cannot afford the fee for transportation for a whole family to travel to the BINHI center.

Our Staff with the BINHI Staff also offer condolences to Jay Ann Jaramiller’s Family and her sponsors, Fr. Clarence Waguespack, and Donald and Karen Savoie. Our sadness comes from futility, at the loss of this five year old child who died from bronchial pneumonia, a disease easily curable with proper medication in the U.S. n

The reports above are clear as to where our income goes. Have you ever wondered where our income comes from?
• sponsorship
• individual & corporate donations
• pledges & tithing
• matching grants
• fund-raising activities

Join the La Chapter’s Summer Events
World of Hope Foundation joins the family of Patrick Weeks in mourning the loss of Pat to Leukemia on Good Friday, April 6, 2007. At the time of his death Pat was the President of World of Hope’s California Chapter. He is survived by his wife, Charletta, and three children, Roxanne, Cheryl and Mark and several beloved grandchildren.

Pat will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him, especially the children of the Mexico project who looked forward to his visits