Mike Smith

Mike Smith, Major Gift Officer at Episcopal Relief & Development recently visited two small villages in The Philippines, Butbut Proper and Luccong, to learn about the community members’ way of life (and play with cattle!). Read on as Mike digests his journey to the beautiful country.

In this blog, read about the new Sabang-Bao housing development in the Philippines, almost three years in the making, that is now home to 80 families who have worked, saved and paid for their new community. Past homes were temporary structures that were at the mercy of typhoons, easily destroyed. This is the situation that potentialy would have passed along to their children and their children’s children. But now, there is hope for a more secure future.

Sometimes it’s easy being a father. Being a father in some parts of the world, including many of the countries where Episcopal Relief & Development works, can be a much tougher job. Read more.

Are you ready for an immersive journey through Kenya? That’s what it feels like when listening to Major Gifts Officer Mike Smith share his in depth experience of visiting families, savings groups, health clinics and passion fruit farmers in Kenya.  You have the option to experience this

Each day, Jamie and Sarah Hitel are surrounded by children: three of their own and dozens of others. She’s a teacher and he’s the music director at Christ Church in Greenwich, CT. Maybe it’s all those youngsters that make Jamie and Sarah so approachable, unflappable and 

The room at the top of the stairs is a shared home office. The Reverend Alden Besse is on the left, his wife Barbara on the right. Hers has a computer and file cabinets. She’s the organized one, the one who does e-mail. Alden’s side of the room is awash in post-its, newspaper clippings,