Last year, you built them a concrete house to protect from the deadly typhoons and to rise out of inhumane poverty. This year, can you help my friend Josie and and her husband Fernando provide for themselves?

For so many of the global poor, there is a cycle of dependency built around foreign aid and donations, and a lack of income, tools and capital to fund initiatives that would move them toward self-sufficiency.

This year, during Holy Week, would you consider helping my friends Josie and Fernando break free of dependency and support their efforts to earn a livelihood on their own?

Josie has a business plan to add a little store to sell non-perishable goods and medicinal herbs, and Fernando could purchase a second-hand 'tricycle' (aka 'Philippine taxi') that would enable him to earn a living in his area. Both would be self-employed and released from dependency upon rare job opportunities, or from needing ongoing donations from others.

It is so little for us, but for them, it will enable them to earn a modest income to sustain themselves for the years to come. Please help.