ABOUT US
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Original Board of Trustees	Current Board of Trustees	Quick Links:
President Dr. Greg Tingson Engr. Narciso San Miguel Mrs. Ales Ezeigbo Prof. Lenny Porras Ms. Joji Locsin	Mr. Lawrence Ledesma – Chairman Leah N. Aguirre – V-Chairman - Executive Director Mr. Adolfo Gilpo – Secretary Mr. Rafael Catalan Jr. – Treasurer Atty Ronnie Causapin – Auditor Pastor Jireh Poras – Member Eng. Narciso San Miguel - Member Pastor Gil Fernandez – Member Ms. Josephine Locsin – Member	KATUWANG RESOURCE CENTER INCORPORATED: OBJECTIVES VISION MISSION

BRIEF MILESTONES

The unending problem of poverty is relentlessly painful and cruel. There is a great need to do something that will not only solve this problem but also to prevent it from spreading further. Katuwang (a Filipino word which means “helpmate”) is a Christian institution that is motivated by love. It focuses on the urgency of the need to help people in poverty while practicing Biblical truths and principles in addressing the root cause of poverty. It is a common notion that helping the poor can be addressed simply by occasional medical missions, projects, gift giving, and relief operations. These are worthy efforts to address immediate and temporal needs. But poverty as a giant issue may require more than seasonal efforts. Programs (instead of projects) should be sustainable and systematically laid-out that will address the issue from its roots.

Katuwang aims to assist the people who are willing to help themselves work against poverty. At the core of Katuwang's principle lies a strong passion to help the poor. Katuwang believes what is written in Acts 4: 32-35 “All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had.... There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need” and Deuteronomy 15: 7-8 "But if there are any poor people in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need." (Bible excerpts are from the New Living Translation, emphasis mine)

Katuwang believes that poverty can be solved in a systematic and sustainable way, slowly but surely through a simple step-by-step process of providing opportunities for the poor to help themselves and teach them a simple way of preventing it from coming back.

• June 18, 2001 , Securities and Exchange Commission issued Katuwang Resource Center , Incorporated its Certificate of Registration. Katuwang means “Helpmate” and has its roots from the board's vision of seeing people being helped in a realistic and effective way through Microfinance.

•  After securing the legal papers needed, preliminary operation activities were done in the months of June and July 2001. The areas of Barangay 22 and 8 were the initial target areas. Katuwang's first office was located at No. 6 8 th street , Bacolod City.

•  July 2001, Katuwang Resource Center, Inc. took off with several launching activities including: a ministry presentation in the Bacolod City Prayer Breakfast Fellowship ( July 18, 2001 ).

•  August 2001 marked the beginning of Katuwang's operation. With around 150,000 pesos available funds, Katuwang's staff of three ( Iver Y. Petran , Rolando R. Roque and Shella Mel Guimapang ) started visiting communities and inviting people who would like to avail of its financial services. The initial months were met with hesitation by some of the prospective clients.

•  Just less than a month of operation, the first members of Katuwang from barangay 22 was devastated by a fire that gutted down over 200 houses, mostly owned by the members in the area. With a clear sense that this was the purpose of their presence in the area, Katuwang disbursed earlier than scheduled to the people who needed a “helpmate”. Because of this, the sincerity of Katuwang was tried, in the furnace so to speak, and found to be true. This led to their entry in other communities who welcomed them with open arms.

•  Struggling in the months that followed, Katuwang Resource Center, Inc. was determined to move on. After six months on the initial operation, there are already 388 members in micro-finance program having a total of Php 940, 200.00 value of livelihood financed and a members' savings balance of Php 192,043.000.

•  In mid 2004, the world economic crisis affected the operations in terms of lack of funding source at the same time challenged the viability of the applied microfinance methodology. Towards the end of November 2004, Katuwang sadly folded up its operations closing with an outreach less than a hundred clients. The newly installed Chairman for 2005 - 2007, Rafael C. Catalan, Jr. together with the Executive Director of the old methodology, sought assistance for an operations evaluation by Mr. Gerry Anit sponsored by OIKO Credit.

•  Results of the operations evaluation and assessment motioned the Board of Trustees led by Chairman Rafael Catalan to take on a bold action plan to pursue the organization's mission and vision. Katuwang, thru OIKO Credit was extended funding and technology transfer of microfinance methodology by its network, now "big brother" of Katuwang across the sea, the Taytay Sa Kauswagan, Inc in Iloilo to fuel its new operations.

•  In June 2006, Katuwang stepping on its 6th year was renewed and rejuvenated, without an executive director, rolled up its sleeves to reach a target of 1000 clients in 4 months ... and succeeded after a branch in Silay City was established to serve clients in the outskirts and mountain areas of EB Magalona, Victorias and Manapla.

•  Lawrence Ledesma became Katuwang's Chairman of the Board in June 2007. Bringing in social development expertise as a provincial planner, his term was parallel to the opening of the Bago branch serving Bago City, Pulupandan, Murcia, Granada and Pontevedra. The Silay Branch was then moved to Bacolod City for better operations logistics and then in June 2008, with increasing portfolio and sustainability, Katuwang opened another branch in Victorias City with outreach as far as Sagay City. As of May 2009, approximately 3 years from the folding up era, the total outreach of Katuwang has risen from 1,000 to 10,350 clients, translated to about 50,000 individuals who were given opportunities to move out of poverty with accessible and low cost assistance for livelihood, developmental savings and sustainable services that leads to holistic transformation and self reliance.

• Represented by Chairman Lawrence Ledesma, Vice Chair Leah Aguirre, Secretary Adolfo Gilpo and Treasurer Rafael Catalan, Katuwang was inducted as Alliance of Philippine Partners in Enterprise Development, Inc (APPEND)'s newest member at Grand Caprice, in Cagayan De Oro, Misamis Oriental during APPEND's 19th Leadership Camp, on May 29, 2009 where surprisingly, out of over 500 beautiful lady delegates, Katuwang's Vice President Leah Aguirre was chosen as the only and most beautiful "Star of the Night" during the Awards Night.