Staff Blog
It is no secret that there was an earthquake in the Philippines on Tuesday. There has been a lot of information shared over facebook, some of it an hour by hour update on our experience. Many people have spoken about the fear, the pain and the sadness they, or others they know, experienced.
I did not comment much about it then, but would like to say more now.
It is a very unnerving feeling to have every surface you are touching rumble and move beneath and around you. There is nothing to grab onto, there is nothing that can steady you. Also, the power shut off at the exact time the quaking began, so there is that shock to the senses. And then there is the noise. There is the rumble of the movement of the earth, some have described it like if a construction site were right outside your home. Then there is the noise of your fragile possessions crashing to the ground and breaking or the stones of your house falling from above. Scary. And it seems to go on for so long. Maybe because from the moment the shaking starts to when it stops you are unceasingly praying for it to end. And then after the shaking stops, you begin to hear the shouts and cries of the people and the dogs. In my neighborhood, the dogs had much to say.
You are really shaky yourself and you feel kind of weak, it takes a while to get your bearings. I had heard from Sandy---she, Marlys and Jenny were okay. I tried to reach Mitch, but there was no answer. I then went outside to check on some of my neighbors---everyone in my compound was safe, Shari and Marcel too, which was wonderful!
I returned home to some disarray and with the strong desire to get up to the shelter. My television had fallen from its stand and laid in pieces, a vase had met a similar demise. I left them as is, moved any other breakable items to a safer place and headed out, unsure what state I would find things in as I drove.
People were everywhere in the streets, there was an accident at the base of the road the shelter is on, so people and vehicles filled the space. I actually saw one of our house fathers there on his motorcycle. He couldn't hear my shouting over the din of everything else. I found out later that his wife, one of our house mothers, was out shopping with some of our older girls when the earthquake happened and he was going to locate them. Terrifying.
I made it up the road easily and quickly. The construction site next to our land even seemed to have made it through the quake alright. I honked once outside our gate, the door opened and I pulled into safety. I immediately saw Mitch's van and saw him walking around---all of us were safe and accounted for.
I was anxious to see how all of the kids were doing, so my heart was racing, but there was also just an overwhelming peace. I could see the kids outside on the grounds, gathered together, many of them crying. They ran and hugged me tightly. I didn't have enough body to go around. I moved around through the groups, checking them, checking for injuries, checking for tears, checking that they were okay. All of our house parents were also safe and accounted for. The house mother and the three girls who had been shopping during the quake had made it back safely---the girls were crying and one of them had lost her slippers in the panic---but they were back!
I stood in the middle of the yard and looked around and the buildings, the windows, the plants, the ground---everything looked as it had the day before---seemingly untouched by the 7.2 magnitude quake that had struck 20 minutes earlier. Praise the Lord!
I have said this many times in my 2+ years at CSC, but since I first stepped foot inside the gate I have felt God's hand on this land, on this ministry, on these kids, on these workers, on us. He always provides, He always protects, He always sustains.
The aftershocks continued the rest of the day, some feeling almost as strong as the earthquake, though they lasted less time. We kept the kids outside for the morning until everything could be checked, but they napped inside in the afternoon. For quite some time that day, every time an aftershock was felt the kids would run to the middle of the playground.
We had no power, so the generator ran all day, a noisy machine, but something we were grateful for. We lost water for a period of time in the afternoon as the continuous running of the generator overwhelmed the water pump. But that problem was solved quickly once it was understood. The nurseries were moved to the living rooms in the homes and all of the children slept downstairs for that night. The aftershocks continued through the night, the next day and the next and I am pretty sure I have felt some yet this morning.
While it remains a bit unnerving and you feel somewhat on edge---yesterday when I heard a loud rumbling noise, I looked for the nearest sturdy object to dive under should the shaking start, and it was really just a low-flying plane---there is no need to fear. God is good, ALL THE TIME! All the time, GOD IS GOOD!
Teachers Learning
Teachers put in years of hard work learning in college to prepare themselves to step into the classroom to teach. There are many attributes which can characterize a good teacher—knowledge, preparation, enthusiasm, connecting with the students, patience, and on and on.
The ability to learn is one of the attributes that can benefit any teacher. There are new curriculums, methods, approaches, and theories. And every year there are new students.
All students are different. Some are similar in the ways they learn and how fast they understand and absorb knowledge. Others have a different pace and others need alternate explanations. A teacher’s ability to learn the best learning style, process, and pace for each student in the class is instrumental in helping the student understand the lesson.
The Children of Hope School teachers are impressive. There is a range of learning styles represented in the student body and the teachers have been working hard at understanding each student.
Here is one example. Wilmar is an active teenager who is still learning the sounds of each letter. His focus is easily broken and he sometimes has a hard time sitting still. However, he is enthusiastic about most things and is great at memorizing melodies and lyrics of songs. His confidence in front of a group of people has helped the adults around Wilmar to realize his learning capabilities and potential.
Wilmar’s class needed to put on a presentation for Buwan ng Wika, just like all the other classes. They chose to do a dance. Wilmar has trouble following set choreography and usually makes up his own moves. How does a teacher handle a student who struggles to follow set steps of dance, but is great in musical settings? Watch to see Teacher Alfie’s solution to help Wilmar’s class put on a good presentation with the participation of all students.
From big performances to basic classroom instructions, the teachers of Children of Hope School are meeting the students each and every day, learning how to guide them.
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Group 1 Girls
Individualized Instruction (II) at CCHS is an intervention that helps students improve their academic skills, especially in reading. But teaching II with Group 1 has been a bit different since it is a group of lively little girls rather than a one-on-one session. They practice their beginning reading skills by reviewing their story selections and high frequency words. After that they choose a book from the classroom mini-library and I read it to them. The girls take turns choosing the book for the day. Recently one of the girls chose the book Why? by Miriam Frost. This book is full of “why” questions, so it’s perfect for building reading comprehension skills.
The conversation while reading the book with
the girls went something like this:
Question: Why is the snow cold and not warm?
Answer: Because it’s ice.
Question: Why do we fall down but not up?
Answer: Because we slide.
Question: Why do bats sleep upside down but not right side up?
Answer: Because the bats don’t have hands to hold. That’s why he sleeps that way.
Question: Why do we stand on our feet but not on our hands?
Answer: Alangan! matumba manta if mag tindog sa atong kamot. (English translation: We will fall down if we use our hands.) This was said in a tone of voice implying, oh come on teacher, you know the answer!
The girls are very cute! My prayer is that they will continue to love and value books as they grow up.
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"BER" Months and Kid Volunteers
“Ber” Months and Kid Volunteers
September, October, November and December are known in the Philippines as the “Ber” months for obvious reasons. When these months arrive, Filipinos begin to get excited. These months herald the arrival of a celebration that most Filipinos love, and that is Christmas. Christmas music is played at times as early as the first few weeks of September.
Like most Filipinos, the children at the shelter are starting to think about Christmas. The kids who had experienced the month-long celebration at the shelter already told the new kids the fun things that happened last year. Some have already asked when the progressive dinner will be and some have started to wonder and ask what Santa will do for fun on Christmas eve.
One fun thing that happens at the shelter during December is the party for outreach kids. This year it will happen on Saturday, December 12. Two or three of the older kids usually help with the party by being on the registration table. When that is done, they help the other older kids by helping give away candies and other sweets while games are going on. Then they help distribute the snacks when it is time for that. Then when it is time for gifts and give-aways to be given, they also assist Santa with the distribution.
Julieto bagging give-aways.
Registration table
Girls having fun after helping the outreach party.
It is fun to see the kids helping other kids in need. And it is always fun when they volunteer themselves to help when help is needed.
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Roles!
Workers at CSC have different roles. Some are childcare leaders, teachers, nurses, house parents, therapists, cooks, guards, and so on. Sometimes though, we go beyond our roles.
Uncle Ondoy is a house father at our Teen Home, but every now and then you see him sewing costumes for the kids’ school presentations.
Marwin is a Physical Therapist. Once in a while he dresses up like he’s Irish and serves Irish food. Therapists work between the shelter and school and they help in some school programs—like United Nations Day.
Roselyn is one of our adult residents at the Teen Home. She is now working at our school as a teaching assistant. Roselyn is also good with braille. She helps Arleen—also one of our adult residents—with transcribing words into braille.
Uncle Edwin is one of our trusted drivers. He knows which roads to take to cut distances. Sometimes you see him being silly on the playground with a toddler.
Everyone knows Joemar. He works at two branches of McDonald’s. Joemar also assists the janitors at school. But beyond that, he is a kind and loving friend to Ginda and Jacob.
And that is how we rock our roles at CSC!
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United Nations Day
Friday was an exciting day at Cebu Children of Hope School! The kids got to travel to Russia, Spain, Albania, Ireland, and England. They presented their passport and had to answer questions in order to enter each country. Once admitted into the country they learned about their culture, famous attractions, did an art activity and sampled a food from that country.
In the afternoon two representatives
from each country dressed in their countries native attire. They were asked to
give a greeting from their country and answer questions in front of the
audience. Select students performed dances from some of the various countries.
At the end of the day the representatives from Russia were crowned Mister and
Miss United Nations 2015. 
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