Coconut Day
Objectives
• To learn about the Philippines – how does it compare to England?
• To learn about the lives of Filipino children and draw comparisons
with the lives of English children
• To learn about a developing economy
• To learn about the life of a street child in the Philippines
• To raise awareness of the work of Mercy in Action
• To raise money for children and families living in poverty in the
Philippines
Mercy in Action – An Introduction
Mercy in Action is a charity that works with street children and
people living in poverty in the Philippines
Mercy in Action...
• Sponsors over 400 children to attend school
• Has two children’s homes
• Runs a Drop in Centre for street children
• Builds houses for families in need
• Provides over 70,000 hot meals every year for children
living in poverty
• Has charity shops in the UK to raise money
• Sends containers of food and clothing over to the
Philippines every year
The Philippines
Where is the Philippines?
The capital city is called Manila
The Philippines is located
here, in Asia
Mercy in Action work here,
in a city called Cebu
Facts about the Philippines
• The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands
• The unit of currency is the peso
• A person from the Philippines is called a Filipino
• The Philippines was ruled by Spain for hundreds of years.
Then America took control. During World War Two, Japan
invaded. The Philippines eventually became independent in
1945
• The daily income for 45% of the country is less than £1.50 a
day
The landscape in the Philippines varies a lot. Here are
a few examples.
A lot of people that Mercy in Action work with live
in places that look like this.
The Philippines compared to the UK
Area (sq. Miles)
Population
Average weekly
income
for construction
worker
No. cars
Paved roads
Length of coastline
Highest mountain
The Philippines
115,831
99 million
600 pesos (£10 per
week)
UK
93,788
63 million
£300-£400 per week
Less than 6 million
20,000 miles
22,549 miles
Mount Apo: 2954
metres
Over 32 million
250,000 miles
7,723 miles
Ben Nevis: 1344
metres
The climate in the Philippines compared to UK
Average temp in
coldest/hottest
months
Average annual
rainfall
The Philippines
21-32 °C
The UK
4-17 °C
1,000mm in the valleys
1200mm
5,000mm in the mountains
Some more facts about the Philippines
• There are over 170 languages in the Philippines
• The favourite sports are basketball and volleyball
• The Philippines is one of the most populated countries in the world
with around 99 million people
• More than 90% of the population are Christians, with about 80%
belonging to the Catholic Church.
The Philippines is one of the top 10 countries in the
world in terms of biodiversity.
Did you know ...?
• Rice is the primary staple food of the Philippines.
• The Philippine Eagle, also known as the Monkey Eating Eagle, is the
national bird. It has brown and white coloured plumage, and a shaggy
crest
• Bamboo is grown in the Philippines and has many uses, including house
building in rural areas
The Coconut
• Filipinos call the coconut palm the ‘Tree of Life’ because they use every
part of it.
• The Philippines is the largest producer of coconuts in the world,
producing almost 20 million tonnes of coconuts per year.
• The coconut industry is worth £500 million per year in the Philippines.
• Coconut palms are often grown near the coast.
One of the first nursery rhymes that Filipino children
learn is about the coconut:
‘The coconut nut is a giant nut; if you eat too much you get very fat’
Coconut Facts
• The coconut is not a nut; it is a ‘drupe.’
• A coconut palm grows up to 30 meters tall and can yield between 3075 coconuts per year
• A full sized coconut weighs about 1.4 kg (about the same as 1.5 bags
of sugar)
• It is often claimed that a person is more likely to be killed by a falling
coconut than a shark.
• In the Philippines, coconuts are harvested by workers who climb the
trees using notches cut into the trunk.
What are the different parts of a coconut used for?
1. Coir
2. Leaves
3. Husk and shell
4. The flesh
True or False Quiz
There are more than
7,000 islands that make
up the Philippines
The Philippines was
once a Spanish colony
The Atlantic Ocean is
situated around the
islands
The population of the
Philippines is lower
than that of Britain
English is an official
language in the
Philippines
The Philippines has the
highest birth rate in
Asia
Art and Geography Activity
Design a Flag
The flag of the Philippines
The flag of Great Britain.
The Union Jack.
Art and Design Activity
Make or design a Shelter
Many of the homeless children in the Philippines have to make their own
shelters from materials that they find. This could be corrugated iron, sticks,
plastic, cardboard boxes. wood and leaves.
Can you make a shelter
from recycled materials?
Is it strong and waterproof?
How would you feel if you
had to live there?
Art and Design Activity
How to make a plastic bag kite
Kite making and kite flying are part of Filipino culture and tradition. Many
families in the Philippines are not able to afford toys for their children so
the children make their own toys, often from materials they have found.
One of the most common materials to be found is plastic bags. Children
love making and flying plastic bag kites.
Music and Movement Activity
Learn a traditional Filipino Dance and Song
Filipinos love music and dancing. Their traditional dances are heavily
influenced by the years they were governed by Spain. Every district has its
own folk dance and festivals and local shows always include these folk
dances.
Literacy and PSHE Activity
Write a story about a day in the life of a street child
Read Kitty and Paul’s stories.
Try and put yourself into the position of a street child in Cebu and write
about your day.
Compare the differences between your life in the UK and the life of a street
child in the Philippines.
This is Kitty
This is Paul
They are both sponsored by
Mercy in Action to attend
school
We hope you have enjoyed Coconut Day and that you have learnt a lot
about:
• The Philippines
• Poverty
• The differences between life in England and in the Philippines
• How we can help those less fortunate than ourselves
• The work of Mercy in Action