Staff Blog

The lunch hour was winding down and the kids started trickling into school.  I was talking with Uncle Jerry near the entrance and giving “high fives” to the kids as they walked by us.  They went to change out of their shoes for their slippers before lining up for class.

One of the newer kids came up to me before joining her classmates in line.  She stretched out her arms and gave me a hug.  I asked her what class she was starting her afternoon in. She said Filipino class with Teacher Cora was her first class.  She asked what I was going to do in the afternoon.  I told her I was going to do work on my computer.  When it was time to line up, she released her hug, gave me a smile, and we said, “see you this afternoon in school” to each other.

Now I sit at my computer, thinking of the things she is learning in class.  One hug from a kid can power a person through a whole week of computer work.

The past few months we, the therapists at CSC, have been grooming Jacob into an inspirational speaker. Our main goal is to spread disability awareness to people around the city of Cebu and, through Jacob, inspire them to try to approach life positively, praising and worshiping God.

A great way to kick-off Jacob’s speaking career was within the walls of CSC at Children of Hope School on June 19. We invited the kids, CSC workers, staff and visitors. Everybody was excited for the day to arrive.

Our speaker, Jacob, got more and more excited as the day approached. He was nicely dressed in a polo shirt and tie, and was probably not expecting a huge number of people in the audience. Joemar, Jacob’s trusted roommate, opened up in prayer.  Auntie Sandy introduced our inspirational speaker, and what an introduction it was!

In his speech, Jacob talked about his home, CSC, the people around him and how they influence him. He also shared about living with cerebral palsy and how he has dealt with his disability every single day. He reminded the audience to be happy and content in whatever state and condition we are in; God made us perfect and will use us to bless others. Jacob showed a video of what a typical day for him is like from sun up to sun down and he gave a video tour of his room and home.

Last week was Jacob’s first speaking engagement outside CSC. Evangelical Theological College of the Philippines or ETCP, with its dean Pastor Lowell Tallo, was very generous to have Jacob speak to their students. They all gave Jacob a warm welcome and asked a lot of questions.

Jacob left ETCP, happy, inspired and blessed, looking forward to his next opportunity to meet and share with others.

Check out the videos below: A Day in the Life of Jacob and Jacob's Speech

Level B2 (grade 3) has 8 students.  During my first day at Cebu Children of Hope School, I was really fascinated with the students that I have. In my 2 years of teaching at other schools, I had more than 30 students in my classes.  I am lucky that I am now at CCHS.

One day last week, one of my students touched me so much. He asked for help because he didn’t know how to answer a question. To be fair to the other students, I told him to read the question again and analyze it.  However, he insisted so I explained the question to him and at the same time I tried to get to know him a bit more.  We talked about where he had come from and a bit about his family.  Suddenly he started crying.  His classmates told him to stop crying, but it didn’t work.  I talked with him some more and asked him, “Did you cry because of your family or did you cry because you could not answer the question?” He did not answer and instead he bowed his head.  I asked him again, “Is it about your family?” He nodded.  Then he looked up and smiled at me and said, “I’m okay teacher and thank you for helping me.”

-Clayd Verzales, Level B Teacher

Level A class has one girl and six boys and that lone girl is a sweety.  She always wears a beautiful smile every day. But one day during the first week of school, her smile turned to a frown and she eventually shed some tears. The reason she was crying was because she got tired of writing her name! The class kept on encouraging her to do it, but it didn’t help. She was then brought outside the room to calm down. After a few minutes, she was back with her beautiful smile again.

The kids like games, sports, activities and visitors.  Right before school started, a visitor shared his love of basketball with the kids.

Every morning for a week, the driveway was full of bouncing balls and kids learning new skills in basketball.  Dribbling, passing, shooting, and rebounding were the focus, of course.

Basketball is not a new game at all in the Philippines, but all kids need to start learning at some point.  This past week was the time for some of the CSC kids to learn a bit.

Some terms that are used in basketball vary from one side of the Pacific Ocean to the other.  In the US, a made shot which hits only the net, not touching the rim or backboard, is called a “swish.”  In the Philippines, that shot is called “ringless.”

Different cultures’ coming together always opens doors to learning new things, from new terms to different approaches to a game.

Check out the video of the basketball fun.