On every given day, there are about 2,000 kids somewhere in the Philippines taking a serving of Mingo, the nutritious complementary instant food made rice, mongo and malunggay produced by NVC.   But this certainly is not enough, Among the basic sectors, children accounted for the largest number of the country’s poor population according to basic sector poverty statistics from the National Statistical Coordination Board in 2009. The study shows that among the 9 basic sectors, children (35.1%) have the 3rd highest poverty incidence in the Philippines, next to farmers (36.7%) and fishermen (41.4%).   Children accounted for the largest number of the country’s poor population. The magnitude of poor children as of 2009 was 12,414,811 – more than half of the country’s total magnitude of poor (23,142,481) for that year.     One of our greatest joys comes from putting smiles on children’s faces (and their mothers’ too) after a good Mingo Meal. Somehow their eyes shine brighter and their gait sprints faster.   This affirms a statement made by the World Health Organization that malnourished children lack energy, and as a result, become less curious, playful and communicate less with people around them.  

How you can help

NVC hopes to make more Mingo Meals available to all poor Filipino children. It costs as little as Php4.00 (less than US$1) to donate one sachet of Mingo, which provides a child with 80 extra calories (composed of vitamins, minerals, fat, carbohydrates, and protein) for the day. If you’re interested in making a donation, please visit our online donation page.