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Dearest Friends and Ministry Partners, Warmest greetings!

hen I look back over the year just past, I am amazed with what God allowed us to see in 2011: several clear glimpses of the fulfillment of CCTs vision of Christ-centered faith communities where Jesus Christ is honored and worshiped and where people live with dignity and sufficiency in accordance with Gods plan for a just, humane, and caring society.
The start of each year for CCT is like a Goshen experience. In Exodus, Goshen was the first way-point in Israels journey from Egypt. Like them, there is always that urge for us to rest on our laurels, to stay in our own comfort zones and to be apprehensive of new challenges.

And once again, after two decades, all of us at CCT have learned that making that first step in faith can in fact empower us not only to begin this lifelong journey but also see to its completion. Through the Lords help, we were able to quickly connect with the most number of poverty-stricken members of our society. We continued our work of evangelism, well-planned Bible study sessions, discipleship meetings, teaching of community heads and church planting on a persistent level using microfinance as our platform for wholistic transformation. Following our long-term plans, we have offered micro loans to micro-entrepreneurs while offering them educational support for their children. In partnership with International Care Ministries, sugarcane plantation workers in Negros now have alternative sources of income on a sustainable basis. Our service has been extended to include 130, 000 micro-entrepreneurs, 1,082 street families, 702 sugarcane and landless agricultural workers, 1,960 informal service workers composed of male household heads and jobless youth related by blood or marriage to our community partners, and 453 members of the Blaan indigenous community. Among community-servant leaders, 283 are now actively participating in CCT-led microfinance endeavors. The 5,443 leaders whom they mentored are now discipling their own trainees. With such commitment, the ministry was able to establish 5,237 fellowship or Bible study groups and have seen life changes in 97% of the participants. In more detail, here are the highlights of our accomplishments for the year, which Gods grace and your help made possible.

Ministry to streetDWellers. Glimpses of

our vision were clearly revealed in the Kaibigan Ministry where God ushered us to new heights of service to street dwelling families. In August last year about 205 men who could have been out on the street doing drugs, or eyeing a wallet or cell phone to grab from some unsuspecting pedestrian, or going through restaurant trash bins, or just walking around aimlessly were certified by the governments Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as globally competitive in skills like carpentry, electrical maintenance, painting, and plumbing. This certification opens them doors for paid or selfemployment. Their skills were honed while helping build the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center and the Training and Development Center (TDI) in Magdalena, Laguna. While working at these sites they received counseling and constant spiritual guidance; we saw them become

new creations in Christ, gradually developing a stronger inner core of self-worth, and gaining a sense of purpose and hope for themselves and their families. Now they are members of their own cooperative, the Kaibigang Maaasahan Multi-purpose Cooperative, the first of its kind in the Philippines. (Kaibigang Maaasahan means dependable friend.) Most of them are still employed at the Tagaytay retreat center or are helping build new facilities for the Visions of Hope Christian School in Laguna. They are definitely on the way out of abject poverty. Our vision is also starting to be realized in the Kaibigan community now taking shape in Nueva Ecija, a province north of Manila. Over the past few years the Lord allowed us to purchase parcels of land in Cabanatuan City to be developed into a subdivision where street dwelling families can be relocated. Twelve former street dwelling couples live there today, having been trained in agriculture,

5F Joshua Center, 1428 Taft Avenue, Ermita, 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone:(632) 524-1835, (632) 524-1819 Telefax:(632) 524-1810 loc. 11 www.cct.org.ph ho@cct.org.ph

aquaculture, poultry farming and goat raising. Their livelihood projects have been proven to be sustainable. The families are moving toward becoming a community of believers with Jesus as their head, families who are being trained to be faithful stewards of Gods blessings. We envision the Kaibigan Village to be a model for future major initiatives to provide homes for the homelessa Christ-centered, entrepreneurial, selfreliant, self-sustaining, and renewable energy-driven community. The Kaibigan Village was the first community stop of Ride for Light 2011, a 6,600-kilometer motorcycle adventure ride across the entire Philippine archipelago. Three men on powerful motorcycles kicked off their adventure at the Rizal Park in Manila on April 16 with a donation of 20 portable solar home lighting systems some of which now light up the homes of A couple who used to live on the Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. our resettled kaibigans. The men (Philippe Saubier, Ibba Rasul Bernardo, and Antonio Villanueva) are with Solar Energy Foundation. They traveled to 39 other communities in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao and raised funds and awareness for the foundations advocacy of electrifying remote villages with solar energy. The team also visited the Blaan community assisted by CCT in Malungon, Sarangani province in Mindanao as part of its 19-day tour. In the same way, our joint venture with Ride for Light allows us to grant our villages with affordable lighting systems which will enhance their productivity, education and family time in the same manner that the fire by night provided the Israelites security and warmth in the

streets of Manila now has a home they can call their own at the Kaibigan Village in

darkest and coldest nights of their voyage.

Ministry to ChilDren anD youth.

Residential Schools for Children Born on the Streets. Children of former and current street dwelling families attend two residential schools in the province of Laguna. There they are provided with Christian education, spiritual direction, and a stable, structured environment that will help them successfully move from a troubled background of street dwelling to life in mainstream society. Girls and boys below the age of 10 live at the Rose of Sharon House of Friendship compound where the Visions of Hope Christian School is steadily rising. (We began building the school in August; when finished, the school will have a chapel, a twostory academic building, a three-story dormitory building, a cafeteria, a sixlane swimming pool, and will be able to accommodate 400 children from the streets. A major breakthrough in 2011 was the schools registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, giving it a legal personality. We thank God for His favor while staff worked on getting endorsement from the Department of Education and completing other government requirements.)

Boys beyond 10 years are enrolled at the Magdalena campus of our Training and Development Institute where they catch up on grade school and high school credits through the Former street children perform a special number for guests at the Rose of Sharon House of Friendship boarding school in Laguna. Alternative Learning System. They
5F Joshua Center, 1428 Taft Avenue, Ermita, 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone:(632) 524-1835, (632) 524-1819 Telefax:(632) 524-1810 loc. 11 www.cct.org.ph ho@cct.org.ph

have also been trained in sports that the average Filipino child can only dream of swimming and soccer. Some of these children had dabbled in drugs, alcohol, and even sex. In fact virtually all of the children came to us with entrenched behavioral problems. In 2011 God allowed us to see how precious lives like theirs can be rescued and turned around. Non-Residential Pre-schools. Children from the poorest of the poor families in communities where we work had a chance to receive excellent pre-school education without cost to them through the 27 pre-schools CCT maintains. The children are taught Kindergarten subjects in support of the Department of Educations K+12 (kindergarten plus 12 grade levels) program using curricula from the Institute for Foundational Learning and from the School of Tomorrow. In several of these pre-schools, a feeding program is held in partnership with the Bethesda Ministry, through Dr. Donald Soriano and his team, which donates vitamins and rice. By the end of 2015 we hope to have established a pre-school in all the 135 communities where we work.

addition to pre-school education, services that include Alternative Learning System classes for those who wish to work for a grade school or high school equivalency certificate; free basic medical check-ups, advice and information; a savings program; and skills training. God has blessed us with a number of staff who are Blaan themselves, who understand the culture, speak the language, and know firsthand what it means to be looked down upon by non-indigenous peers. Their working with CCT opens ways for easier delivery of services that will foster dignity and sufficiency in the Blaan community.

Ministry to inForMal serviCe Workers.

Ministry to the Blaan. Glimpses of the fulfillment of our vision were also clearly seen in the work the Lord has allowed us to do among the Blaans, an indigenous peoples group who call Sarangani Province their home. They are known for their intricate beadwork and for their craftsmanship with copper and brass. Like many other tribal groups, the Blaans are often unreached by the most basic of government services such as healthcare and education. Adults are largely illiterate and only a few of todays Blaan youth finish high school.
CCT ministry to this group began with a basic literacy program for children a few years ago. In December last year we dedicated to the Lord a community center that has begun to give the Blaans, in

A huge percentage of the Philippine informal labor force is male pedicab drivers, store helpers, assistants in the micro-enterprises run by their wives. A lot more men are jobless or have jobs only seasonally. Through our technical-vocational courses on our TDI campus in Magdalena, Laguna, several unemployed young men increased their chances of employment. During the campus first commencement exercise, 33 young men graduated from a one-year program with competencies learned in electrical installation and maintenance, masonry, rough carpentry, and plumbing. Eighty-three others were recognized for completing three, six, or nine months of training in those same areas. A new course was added toward the end of the year heavy equipment operation which six men completed Let me acknowledge the assistance given by one of our corporate partners, Universal Motors Corporation (local assembler and distributor of Nissan vehicles) for the certificates of scholarship awarded to 20 out-of-school youth. In January of last year, CCT was tapped to work with the Department of Trade and Industry and with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in a project that trained unemployed or underemployed men in masonry, painting, plumbing, and carpentry work. Their experience and training enabled them to receive competency certification from TESDA. The project was dubbed SIPAG, the Filipino root word for industry. More than 350 men (including the street dwellers mentioned earlier) received certification. As of August 2011, a number of 273 men had found jobs. The staff of Covenant Community Service Cooperative are now seeking out companies where the graduates can be employed.

Ministry to MiCroentrePreneurs. More than 68,000

micro-entrepreneurs availed of CCTs growing number of microfinance products and services regular business loans (P4, 000 P50, 000), savings deposits, growth enterprise loans (P51, 000 P750, 000), housing loans, mentoring, and business development advice.

A Blaan child beams after receiving a medal for academic excellence, an opportunity her grandmother never had. Staff from a new CCT unit, Business Development Services, put together a one-day event in Also in photo is Pastor Mel Techo of General Santos City. 5F Joshua Center, 1428 Taft Avenue, Ermita, 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone:(632) 524-1835, (632) 524-1819 Telefax:(632) 524-1810 loc. 11 www.cct.org.ph ho@cct.org.ph

PartnershiP

We began to more actively engage Christian business people, professionals, churches, Christian nongovernment organizations, and other institutions in the wholistic transformation of poor communities. Through linkages and opening of opportunities for service or volunteering we hope to see like-minded people more involved in advancing the Kingdom of God among the poor in this country.

DeveloPMent.

CCT is one of four big volunteer partners of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the holding of its conditional cash transfer program. Already on its third year in the Philippines, the program is patterned after successful conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America. As the centerpiece program of the government on poverty reduction, it targeted covering 2.3 million of the countrys poorest households by the end of 2011 through the provision of cash grants for health and education needs. Our partnership with DSWD helps us fulfill our vision and at the same A micro-entrepreneur (center) who displayed products at the CCT 1st Partners Day exhibit receives an award time helps government provide meaningful services from Kerwin Tan (left), program coordinator for the Business Mentoring Ministry and Alice Pineda, head of the to the poorest of the poor.
Business Development Services team.

November where 126 micro-entrepreneurs from Luzon displayed their products and attended lectures on such topics as branding and package design. One of our micro-entrepreneurs from Mindanao, Andresa Javines, who sells pre-cut tuna packaging material, was named by Mindanao Maunlad awardee in the 2011 Micro-entrepreneur of the Year Awards program supported by Citibank Foundation. She was one of eight winners chosen from a field of 140 micro-entrepreneurs nominated by microfinance institutions from all over the country. For the first time, she traveled by plane to Manila to receive her prize of P100, 000! Praise God for these opportunities for our community partners to grow their businesses. Another blessing for partners in the community, particularly those in Caloocan City is a new water station opened in September. The water station provides high quality yet affordable drinking water to the residents of Barangay 88, as well as an additional source of income for potential water dealers and delivery workers. The station was built in partnership with Waterhope, a social enterprise which provides affordable safe drinking water to communities where access to this basic human need is challenged. CCT manages two other Waterhope stations, one in Pasay City, and another in Quezon City.

neW PrograMs. We launched two new programs in 2011. First, we began to offer student loans in partnership with Vittana, a Washington-based organization. The loans are available to vocational education students and college juniors and seniors. We hope this program will help change figures that say that only less than 18% of Filipino youth who enter college make it to graduation day.
Second, we began to implement a savings and credit association (SCA) program in partnership with Hope International. The program targets rural and urban poor who do not qualify for CCTs microfinance services. One hundred thirty-four savings circles have been formed so far; we have SCAs composed of pre-school students, older children and young people, and adults. Like CCTs microfinance clients they also meet once a week for Bible study. A 2007 survey by Citibank revealed that only 10 percent of Filipinos make an effort to save money. Many of the reasons for this are culture-related. I am excited about the potential the savings program has of changing the Filipino mentality toward this very important habit of saving.

staFF DeveloPMent. We have continued to hone the

ChurCh Planting Ministry. We saw glimpses of the fulfillment of our vision during each Sunday worship service held at the 39 churches planted in the communities during the year, in all the new believers who made a public confession of their faith in Christ by undergoing water baptism, and in the lay people and members of the communities themselves who helped organize each church and shepherd more new believers.

competencies of our staff. Two of them received masters degrees from two of the top educational institutions in the Philippines the Asian Institute of Management and Ateneo de Manila University. Seven are completing degree requirements at the Philippine Christian University, and six others who lack undergraduate degree units are enrolled in an equivalency program for a BS in Microfinance. This is a prerequisite to their receiving masters degrees in microfinance for which they have already completed academic requirements. We saw the staff becoming more intimate with God, and more informed about and appreciative of their Filipino heritage. Beginning

5F Joshua Center, 1428 Taft Avenue, Ermita, 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone:(632) 524-1835, (632) 524-1819 Telefax:(632) 524-1810 loc. 11 www.cct.org.ph ho@cct.org.ph

in September we held a series of Life Ministry retreats attended by all full-time staff. These gatherings allowed them to see themselves as being part of Gods overall plan of redemption. I hope and pray that they also sparked a deeper passion for God and more intense love for the Philippines and for the Filipino poor.

A high point in 2011 was when we formally dedicated the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center to the Lord. The retreat center is a testimony to Gods faithfulness and the generosity of His people who donated finances and construction material, and lent heavy equipment, making the building of the place possible without CCTs having to borrow any funds. Since it opened in May it has been the venue for activities such as community partner retreats and staff planning meetings. Our micro-entrepreneurs held a very well attended product exhibit there in November. In its first seven months it received nearly 7,000 overnight-staying and day-tour visitors from CCT, other Christian organizations, local churches, and schoolseven while work on the landscaping and buildings continued in full swing.

FinanCial PerForManCe. The year 2011 had

been a very good year for the different ministries under the CCT Group umbrella. Total consolidated assets for 2011 increased by 16.40% from PHP 720,400,000 in 2010 to PHP 838.5 M in 2011. The increase in consolidated assets is attributed to the construction of the CCT Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center and the purchase of land in Kalikid, Nueva Ecija, for the street dwellers. As far as revenue is concerned, total consolidated revenue for 2011 also saw an increase of 30.25%, from PHP 223.7 M in 2010 to PHP 291.4 M in 2011. Grants and donations increased by 63.52% in 2011, from PHP 104.5 M in 2010 to PHP 171 M in 2011 driven by grants and donations received for the construction of the CCT Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center. In 2011 net operating surplus and receipts over disbursements increased by 76.79% in 2011, from PHP 68.8 M in 2010 to PHP 121.6 M in 2011.

FirMing uP our PresenCe. During the year, we engaged in two activities to promote our work: internet presence, and the creation of a new logo for the CCT Group of Ministries.
Internet Presence. We established an internet presence by way of several blogs in 2011. A little earlier, in December 2010 I myself started a blog (peopleblessingpeople.tumblr.com) where I share personal reflections.

assets anD FaCilities. CCT made a number of capital investments in 2011 to support its targets and programs. Foremost New Logo. The CCT Group of Ministries began using a new, sleeker, among these are investments in community centers including a new more vibrant logo in 2011. The green background represents building made almost entirely of bamboo in Malungon, Sarangani transformation, renewal and spiritual growth. The two Cs direct the Province, and the completion of a three-story building in Cainta, eye to the cross symbolizing Jesus Christ in Whom is love, hope and Rizal. Other branch offices were also renovated, expanded, or reconciliation with God. transferred to a bigger location. Nineteen branch offices, most of them simply offering our basic microfinance services in the past, started to offer free kindergarten classes, basic medical check-ups sharing our hoPes anD lessons. CCT welcomed more foreign guests in 2011 than in any year before that. and advice, and training in various livelihood skills to The Malungon Community Center in Sarangani province. It houses a pre-school, clinic, worship/training hall, and microfinance offices. the poorest of the poor in 2011.
God let us see the feasibility of the convergence of all CCT services and programs in one place in the communities where it operates. Experiences with these transitions have shown us how to go about converting all the rest of the 114 branch offices into community centers in the next four years, a major thrust of the CCT Group. Capital investment was also made with the purchase of a 4.1 hectare piece of land for an annex to the Training and Development Institute in Magdalena, Laguna, and for the construction of new facilities mentioned earlier for the CCT-Visions of Hope Christian School in Bay, Laguna.
5F Joshua Center, 1428 Taft Avenue, Ermita, 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone:(632) 524-1835, (632) 524-1819 Telefax:(632) 524-1810 loc. 11 www.cct.org.ph ho@cct.org.ph

Two of the five dormitory buildings at the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center. Each of the buildings has a function room at ground level.

We received leaders, staff, and volunteers from Cross International, Hope International, Five Talents, Opportunity International, Peer Servants, Woord en Daad, endPoverty.org, and Christian Service Society. Young people from Nanoom Presbyterian Church in South Korea and Filipino-Australians from Punchbowl Baptist Church in Sydney visited to see how the Holy Spirit is at work here. Volunteers or fellows from Hope, Kiva, and Vittana worked alongside our staff for months, setting up new programs or improving old ones. Several individuals came, offering help in various ways such as holding lectures for the staff, bringing books and treats for the boarding school children, or bringing friends interested in learning how they can help serve the poor in the Philippines.

them to the Lord. We have found that many of the staff are unable to fully minister to the spiritually needy because they are hurting too. Having come from broken homes or painful background they are in need themselves of emotional and spiritual support. We hope to address this need in 2012. Other challenges were natural calamities - Typhoon Pedring which hit Manila in September, flooding 1,300 CCT-assisted families out of their houses, and Typhoon Sendong which triggered flashfloods in Cagayan de Oro, damaging the houses of 352 community partners and seven members of the staff. Thank God for the immediate help in cash and kind that CCTs many friends and supporters sent.

wise and prayerful direction and guidance provided by our board members to ensure that the various ministries operate efficiently and that programs are carried out effectively. I also thank God for the involvement of our corporate members and other Christian businessmen and professionals by being advisers to our community partners through the business mentoring program. Thirty five mentors, volunteers with strong business backgrounds, continued to give time and know-how to help CCT partners become better entrepreneurs. They visited the homes and businesses of community partners, coaching 68 mentees in groups and 15 mentees one-onone, covering ten CCT areas.

BoarD governanCe anD CorPorate Despite these challenges, all throughout the year Gods presence was MeMBer involveMent. I thank God for the evident and blessings flowed beyond my most fervent prayers. As
we have emphasized many times before: when lives are aligned to gods purposes, when programs are implemented according to his will, when activities are dictated by the holy spirit, blessings will flow. Thank you for being among those blessings! To God be all the Glory!

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16
Serving with you,

Challenges anD goDs PurPoses. The

most pressing challenge we faced in 2011 was in the microfinance program. As you probably know, the work of our microfinance front-liners goes way beyond giving out loans. It involves listening to, encouraging, befriending and praying for the women and men who receive the loans because these are just instruments for winning

ruth s. Callanta

PresiDent, CCt grouP oF Ministries

5F Joshua Center, 1428 Taft Avenue, Ermita, 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone:(632) 524-1835, (632) 524-1819 Telefax:(632) 524-1810 loc. 11 www.cct.org.ph ho@cct.org.ph

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