Overseas Filipinos are invited and encouraged to participate in nation building and development through engagement of domestic institutions in the Philippines through the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino (LINKAPIL) program. LINKAPIL is a program initiative of the Commission on Filipinos Oversease (CFO) started in 1989 that aims to manage financial support coming from willing Filipinos overseas to enhance local development in the country.
As CFO explains, "LINKAPIL seeks a broader and deeper partnership between overseas Filipinos and Filipinos in the home country based on a common desire to advance the collective good of the Filipino people and to contribute to the realization of national development. Literally “service to fellow Filipinos”, LINKAPIL provides a means for the transfer of various forms of resources from overseas Filipinos to support small scale, high impact projects to address the country’s social and economic development needs.
The LINKAPIL Program was designed to facilitate the transfer of various forms of assistance from Filipinos or other donors overseas to support projects in livelihood development, education, health related activities, and small-scale infrastructure" specifically by:
- supporting the education of Filipino youth through scholarship grants, purchase of educational materials, and construction of classrooms;
- providing livelihood opportunities by financing income generating activities of marginalized sectors or victims of natural calamities;
- fuelling growth through small infrastructure projects such as water wells, latrines and houses; and,
- contributing to healthy communities through feeding programs, conduct of medical missions or donation of medicines, medical supplies and equipments."
Organizations and Filipinos abroad seeking to contribute resources to give pack to his/her local community in the Philippines in particular, or to support the collective initatives by other overseas Filipinos in improving the lives of our underserved but deserving kababayans in the country are urged to consider LINKAPIL as an avenue to help.
