124 S 400 East Ste 400, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, USA

In 2001, Amelia Hernandez started a grassroots organization to educate Filipino children from indigent families as a way to help them break the cycle of poverty. She and her husband, Diosdado, collected school supplies and encouraged family and friends to sponsor children to send them to school through the KapatidKita MahalKita Foundation (KKMK Foundation), a certified NGO in the Philippines founded by Fr. Walter Ysaac.

In 2012, Amelia’s daughter, Imelda Hernandez (Erni) Armstrong established Philippines Humanitarian (PH) as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. This was done to reach more donors, thereby increasing the number of students served, and to develop other programs to support the education and well-being of the underserved population of Payatas, a village initially built on the largest open dumpsite in the Philippines.

Since Amelia’s passing in 2014, Philippines Humanitarian continues the important work she started. Erni Armstrong serves as the Chairman of the Board and Cori Sutherland is the organization’s Executive Director. They work directly with Eva Aquino, Program Director of the KKMK Foundation and her staff, who identify children in need and implement PH’s programs. The KKMK Foundation’s main philosophy is to, “share … the experience of being a brother, a sister (and mother) to children of the poorest of the poor,” which coincides with the mission of PH.

Currently, PH’s Student Sponsorship Program supports more than 250 students in Payatas. The organization also provides one-year scholarships to college students and funds a feeding program. Every year, PH has steadily increased its outreach and impact. Their college graduates are proof that education really does disrupt intergenerational poverty, and provides them and their families with the resources and stability they previously lacked. 

Together we have the power to change their world.