Ten Foundations: Changing Lives in the Philippines

Ten Foundations is a non-profit organisation which gives hope and opportunity to struggling citizens in Balayan, Batangas, Philippines. It is a purpose-driven charity organisation founded by Ian Campbell in 2012 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Campbell aims to empower women living in extreme poverty in the Philippines by helping them break free from the relentless cycle of poverty - where limited access to education, stable income, and health care prevents families from improving their circumstances across generations.

Breaking the cycle of poverty 

Through the livelihood programme, women are taught the skills and given the tools to transform their own lives - by being able to design and produce extremely high-quality school bags/backpacks to be sold throughout the UK and Ireland instore and online. 

The knock-on effect of this is that they are now able to provide their families with food, healthcare, home, and improvements. Most importantly, they can send their children to school every day - this aids the escape from the extreme poverty cycle that they have been born into.

The organisation currently employs over 70 paid staff in the Philippines which consist of research and development, designers, bag makers, marketing, quality control, and a management team to oversee the project.

Helping from the UK and Ireland 

Ten Foundations in Belfast manages the sales process for the bags in two stores, as well as in school roadshow. Along with selling the bags, Ten Foundations stores sell homeware, furniture, jewellery, adult and children's clothes, and vintage clothes. 

One big core value of Ten Foundations in Belfast is the fact that none of the staff are paid - they are all volunteers with the same goal to help people in need. 

Ten Foundations staff are comprised of volunteers from schools looking for experience and to give back, working people who help out in their spare time, and retirees.

The vision 

According to Ian Campbell, "At Ten Foundations, we want to give people the gift of hope. Hope for the future, for themselves, and their families - long term hopes and dreams through empowering women and giving them the tools and skills to improve their own lives. This will allow them to be able to improve their homes, have decent food every day, medical insurance, and most of all, to be able to send their kids to school every day. Helping the people we work with in the Philippines, I see people, women especially, who have never had a chance in their lives. Many are over 40 years of age that have had a miserable life of struggle and hardship. For the first time in their lives they can see a light at the end of a long dark tunnel - for the first time in their lives, there is someone there who cares about them."

The dream

Being the founder of Ten Foundations, a deep desire to help the poor and disadvantaged is what drives Ian Campbell to fulfill his dream through determination, persistence, and hard work every single day of his life. Despite all the challenges and setbacks he has to face, Ian Campbell stated, "My dream, my vision is to have many livelihood centres all over the Philippines, helping and training many more people to lift themselves and their families out of the dreadful cycle of extreme poverty they have been born into.

We have a great template in place that can easily be replicated anywhere in the Philippines, we know how to recruit those in need, how to train them, we know how to make high quality school bags/backpacks and how to sell them in the UK and Ireland. We have, in the Philippines, a dedicated and resourceful team ready and willing to help Ten Foundations in the next phase of its expansion.

Our school bags/backpacks have become a huge part of the Ten Foundations' story. I want to build a brand that is synonymous with fair trade, with integrity, sustainability, and honesty. A brand that people can trust, I want that brand to be the first choice of school kids everywhere for their school bag, as well as being the first choice someone has for a backpack. I want people to know that they really can change lives through a simple thing such as a school bag/backpack. I want to give hope and make dreams come true!"

Balayan Village means "Bayanihan" Village

Balayan Village is truly a healing place located in the heart of Batangas. 

Ian Campbell shared, "Nestled among sugar cane and surrounded by the sounds of village life - it isn't just a place to stay- it's a place to recover, rest, and reconnect with yourself and the world around you. 

A couple of years ago, a young boy arrived in Balayan Village in the middle of the night. He had walked miles to reach us, lost and in pain, both physically and emotionally. Arlene (the manager) and the team welcomed him with love, food, and gentle understanding. The next afternoon, as I stood beside Arlene, watching some children play basketball, one boy ran past me, full of life smiling, and leapt high to score a basket. I looked at Arlene in disbelief and asked her, 'Is that the boy from last night?' She smiled and said, 'Yes, Papa Ian, it's a healing place.' That moment stayed with me ever since. It captures what 'Bayanihan' village truly is - a community where compassion heals, where kindness restores, and where visitors often say they feel a calm energy the moment they arrive. 

Each of our native bamboo 'kubos' is hand- built by local craftsmen and cared for by the mothers in our livelihood program. When you stay here, you're not only giving yourself the gift of rest, you're also helping others rebuild their lives through TEN Foundations.

Come and experience the peace that lives here. Come for the sunshine, stay for the healing."

Give a little, change a life

Every support reaches further than any supporter would know. Every donation, big or small, helps Ten Foundations to continue bridging worlds through education, opportunity, and hope. Any support goes directly to the heart of its mission: "Empowering families in the Philippines through our livelihood and scholarship programmes, funded by people like you."

Any donation to Ten Foundations can be made on its website (Tenfoundations.org). Your support will change lives.

Ten Foundations' signature school bags and backpacks

Each bag carries "pag-asa" (hope), "lakas" (strength), and "aruga" (care) - each bag is handcrafted with purpose by skilled artisans in the Philippines. Indeed, they are symbols of the hope, strength, and care shared between the women who make them and the children and adults who carry them.

The school bags and backpacks are proudly made by real women with real stories - making them a Filipina-made brand - created by strong and hardworking mothers in Balayan, Batangas. This brand is built on skill, identity, and pride. It's a purchase with a purpose - this makes a real impact. 

A sincere and poignant invitation from Ten Foundations to Filipinos within all Filipino communities in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other countries in Europe is to feel proud to carry the bags which represent pride, identity, heritage, progress, and empowerment.

The bags are available for purchase online on the Ten Foundations website (Tenfoundations.org), as well as from the two Ten Foundations stores in Belfast - Castle Court store's address: Castle Court Shopping Centre, Royal Avenue, Belfast, UK and Lisburn Road store's address: 355 Lisburn Road, Belfast, UK BT9 7EP.