Hanna's Story

By John Coffey

Hanna grew up in a tent community on the outskirts of Metro Manila. Her family never experienced having running water or electricity in their simple home. Hanna and her siblings were underweight when IT Tender came to their community in 2008 to research their needs and develop programs to address those needs and empower them to overcome their poverty.


At first, Hanna joined the nutrition and hygiene initiatives of IT Tender. She enjoyed healthy meals and developed a great relationship with her new "big sisters" - the IT Tender staff who taught her basic literacy, games and songs at the feeding program.

For $30/month ($1/day), a compassionate donor chose to sponsor Hanna to go to school, providing her with daily transportation to school, lunches, and school supplies. Her family also enjoyed the benefits of regular family camps, livelihood trainings, counseling and mentoring.

In 2017, the community where Hanna lived was demolished for the development of a commercial property. With nowhere else to go, Hanna's family and many others moved into a community built on bamboo stilts over a bay.

Even during these hardships, Hanna continued to go to school and graduated from high school thanks to her sponsor. Her family is incredibly grateful that Hanna was able to graduate with excellent grades, especially since most youth in her area never finish high school.


Hanna enjoys teaching and helping others in need as a volunteer and leader at IT Tender. She is currently studying social work in her first year of university under the scholarship of IT Tender called "Send A Teacher To School". Hanna mentors and encourages other young girls to follow their dreams and complete their education. Her dream is to become a licensed social worker and full-time staff at IT Tender so she can empower other children to overcome their poverty and become agents of change like her.