According to the latest Asian Development Bank, Basic Statistics 2021, the average purchasing power parity per day is $1.90 and 16.7% of population in the Philippines are living below the National Poverty Line. Tondo, a district in Manila, is one of the most densely populated places in the Philippines with over 80,000 people living per 1 square kilometer. 3.4 million children are malnourished with
over 300,000 underweight all under the age of 5 years old. 1 in 10 Filipinos between the ages of 6 to 24 have not attended formal school because the parents have to choose whether to feed their children or send them to school. This is a common dilemma families face in impoverished areas because there is not enough food to get by on a daily basis. Rachel Tetreault, Co-Founder of the organization, was born in Manila and spent the first 10 years of her life living in Tondo. In 1996, she emigrated from the Philippines to the United States with her parents and siblings in search for a better life. Determined to achieve the American Dream, Rachel persevered through difficult times by working hard and leveraging education to successfully climb the corporate ladder. In 2012, Rachel and Rick traveled to the Philippines so that Rick could see where Rachel spent the first ten years of her childhood. Meeting Rachel’s extended family and the residents of Tondo left a profound and lasting impression on him. After the trip, the two agreed that one day they were going to help as many kids and struggling families in Tondo as they could so that maybe they could make their own luck someday. Before every big, scary, exciting and new opportunity, instead of saying Good Luck! to one another, Rick and Rachel tell each other to Make Luck! The subtle difference carries with it a special mindset and purpose-driven disposition. The Co-Founders decided to call the organization The Make Luck Foundation as a way of affirming that they are going to make their goal of helping impoverished families in Tondo Manila Philippines a reality. The Make Luck Foundation will be supported by the co-founders through their personal funding. In addition, the foundation will develop and implement initiatives throughout the year and raise incremental funding through donations, corporate and personal sponsorships. The Make Luck Foundation will also solicit volunteers for their time both domestically and internationally.
