Nanay Bibo - A women run eatery and training space

Dear friend,

Wishing you wellness wherever you are. Matching the seasonal transition from Spring to Summer, the seeds that have been planted are blooming, and we’re excited to share the progress. You’re a big part of the positive progress towards nutrition and maternal empowerment. Hope you feel just as joyful as we are receiving this news!

Since April we’ve focused on offering monthly maternal empowerment sessions providing valuable and relatable topics with special guests, and outfitting the new community kitchen in San Benito - a livelihood and training opportunity for mothers.

Here are a few highlights since April 2025:

• Over 50 mothers have participated in our weekly and monthly workshops
  
  
• Over 60 supplemental meals have been served
  
  
• Last Spring we continued to focus on mental health, and led a discussion and survey about the mothers’ health, happiness levels, skills, interests and income. Although it was a small size, it provided a snapshot of the mothers’ motivations and challenges. Many are mainly happy. The husbands typically earn income for the family, averaging approximately $86 to $175 USD per month. Most women are keen to work using the skills they have (ie. cleaning, cooking, laundry, retail.) From this data and ongoing interactions we’ve decided to provide a community kitchen internship before opening the karinderya to the public. This will give more moms an opportunity to learn and explore their interests and expand their skills, which will help them as they set out to find work. Additionally, it equips more women with the knowledge of serving their community in times of disaster. We will also be diving deeper into livelihood opportunities in the Fall, with a multi-stakeholder meeting.
  
  
• In the month of May we celebrated mothers with “Pangandoy sa usa ka inahan” (Mother’s Dream) art therapy sessions in central San Benito and barangay Nuevo Campo, a harder to access, inland barangay. The sessions both brought light and joy to the moms' dreams, and created safe spaces for these inspiring women. Led by Dr. Philline Salvador, mothers were guided through a relaxing meditation and reflection, and were invited to express their feelings and dreams through art. A nutritious meal was served and accompanied with a short presentation on the health benefits of their meal.
  
  
• In June we invited Ilaja, a local agricultural organization, who led an interactive discussion and activity on starting a home garden, a valuable initiative in creating food security. The session wrapped up with a healthy meal for the moms.
  
  
• In July, Nutrition Month, we collaborated with the San Benito rural health unit’s Nutrition Month event, and helped promote healthy eating. We provided a presentation about the importance of eating diverse nutrients during pregnancy and served a healthy meal.
  
  
• The community kitchen space renovation began in June, and was in use by July. 

Looking ahead:

Initially we were going to open the karinderya space immediately, but we’ve decided to offer a community kitchen internship to mothers in San Benito first. Upon completion, interested mothers can apply to work in the public serving karinderya. This opens up the learning and skills building opportunity to more mothers, gives our team a chance to build a working relationship with them, and allows the mothers and Kolekbibo to roll out opening the public-facing small business in an intentional, well-planned, well-prepared way. Learning takes time, and we don’t want to rush the process. Also ahead, August is Breast-feeding awareness month. We plan on inspiring mothers across the Philippines with our local program. Stay tuned!

Why this work is so important:

Serving a highly under-nourished area of the Philippines, our Maternal Empowerment Program addresses malnutrition, particularly heightened after Typhoon Odette, focusing on the critical first 1,000 days in an infant’s life. This phase underscores the vulnerability of pregnant and lactating women in Siargao, a high risk group we aim to support. By providing nutrients, education, livelihood and support in cooperation with key partnerships, the program improves the health and wellness of these women, their children, families and communities in San Benito. 

Thank you for believing in the value of mothers, helping us build healthier families, and the power of community. We wouldn’t be where we are today, and have the big visions for the future, without your care and support.