Dear Planet - Buy a Book. Change a Life.
- 100% of proceeds from the first 3 months after publication go to Young Focus, supporting education for children in Manila's slums.
- 50% of proceeds continue to be donated after the initial three months, ensuring long-term impact and support.
Ann van Wijgerden - author, but also social entrepreneur and educator
Ann van Wijgerden and her husband Paul first arrived in the Philippines in 1988, driven by a desire to make a difference and equipped with little more than idealism and curiosity. After completing a grassroots healthcare training course, they chose to stay in Manila, gradually shifting their focus to education—believing it to be the most powerful way to break the cycle of poverty.
What began as a small Dutch fundraising initiative with friends eventually grew into Young Focus, a Filipino NGO now supporting over 1,000 young people with access to full education. Ann remains actively involved in the organization’s communications and also teaches English to students in the program.
Many of these children live in Manila’s Smokey Mountain area, where thousands of families survive through the informal garbage industry. Work ranges from scavenging for recyclables to driving bike taxis, with average family incomes as low as $5 USD per day. Due to extreme financial hardship and a lack of educational and social support, many children are unable to finish school—trapping them in the same cycle of poverty their families have faced for generations.
Young Focus, and the Dear Planet campaign that supports it, aims to help change that.
About Young Focus
Young Focus believes that education is the most powerful tool to overcome poverty for children and young adults. Young Focus enrolls children from elementary school age to college into government education, providing them with extra tutorials, life skills training, personal coaching and social support. Children who have dropped out of school, can join our ‘catch-up’ education programs and then enroll (again) in school. Young Focus also has a preschool for 3+4-year-olds. Throughout the child’s education, Young Focus supports the parents by providing teaching and coaching programs.
Buy a Book. Change a Life.
Through poems rooted in personal loss, nature, and global inequality, Ann van Wijgerden reflects on life between the UK, the Netherlands, and the Philippines. The book offers both insight and hope, especially into lives affected by poverty and the Philippine drug war.
In that same spirit, this campaign supports Young Focus, an education-focused NGO in Manila’s poorest communities.
How It Works:
- 100% of royalties from both author and publisher go to Young Focus for the first 3 months after launch (July–Oct 2025).
- After that, 50% of royalties continue to support the cause.
- Royalties are calculated based on net profits—that is, the amount remaining after production, printing, and distribution costs have been deducted from book sales.
Through poetry and purpose, Dear Planet invites readers to reflect—and to act.
Donate directly
Impact Tracker
Launch date: July 18th, 2025
Campaign day count 0/95
Updates on:
- book sales: 31
- estimated net proceeds: 263.5 USD
- donations:
Milestones
- number of months of education: 9
- number of children supported: