First in a series

Schools in the Philippines may be free, but households in dire poverty often can't afford books, pencils and uniforms for their children, and some even keep their kids out to put them to work.

Yokohama-based PAG-ASA Group Japan, a longtime recipient of The Japan Times Readers' Charity Fund, donates money every year to the Manila-based Educational Research and Development Assistance Foundation, which uses the funds to purchase uniforms, bags, stationery and other school necessities for 40 poor children in Muntinlupa, south of Manila.