Staff Blog
CSC continued its forray into relief work with a second trip to typhoon ravaged Leyte. Carmelita Baya, CSC's Senior Social Worker, and our skilled driver Edwin, together with two volunteers, brought construction materials and food boxes to ten families in Western Leyte on January 4-6. All of these families had experienced significant damage, even total destruction of their houses as a result of the super typhoon that hit Leyte and Northern Cebu in December.
This relief effort was the result of the concern and generosity of CSC's supporters who donated money for the alleviation of the suffering of typhoon victims. CSC did not solicit funds for this, but our great people gave anyway, having heard about the destruction and the many people suffering. We chose to help families that we already knew, mostly the birth families of former residents and the families of our workers. The first Leyte trip was in December, when food boxes were distributed. On that trip Carmelita gathered information on the housing situation of the families we know and that data was the basis of our planning and budgeting for helping with const
ruction materials.
Through the negotiations of Jerry Salgo, CSC's Maintenance and Transportation Director, whose mom lives in Leyte, we were able to rent a large truck in Cebu City for a fair price. This truck was loaded on Friday, January 3, with wood, corrogated roofing sheets, cement, plywood sheets, nails and tools. On Saturday, the truck and one CSC vehicle, were driven onto a ship and at 9:00 p.m. they set off for Hilongos, Leyte. The next two days were spent in driving and delivering the goods. Each family received a box with food, a half sack of rice (50 pounds), and an assortment of building supplies. The building materials were enough to build a small home, or repair their h
ouse if it wasn't totally destroyed.
Carmelita reported that the families were thrilled to receive these goods. Several were incredulous that CSC remembered them and came through with badly needed supplies. It was a shipment of hope as much as anything else, and Carmelita wants to be sure that I pass along thanks to all who gave. Our workers whose families were included in the distribution are also very thankful to CSC and our generous supporters for responding to this need in a practical way.
(All photos taken by Carmelita Baya and Edwin Martinez.)
The Sun
Every day at Cebu Children of Hope School (CCHS) we start our day with something called Morning Meeting. This is a "soft landing" time for our children which enables them to calm their bodies, practice social skills, and prepare for a great day of learning. Part of every Morning Meeting is a time for kids to share. Sometimes the question is about what they did over the weekend, sometimes the question is related to the day's lessons.
Teacher Chery and Teacher Mae lead the Morning Meeting for Level A1, our four energetic kindergarteners. Here is a conversation they recently had in their classroom, with the question relating to the day's science lesson.
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Teacher Mae asked, "Where do you think the sun will go during the night?"
Student 1: The sun goes under the sea at night because it goes under the line (he means the horizon).
Student 2: The sun is on the ground teacher.
Student 3: Hmmmmmm... the sun will go to bed and sleep.
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Even with their young minds, these children have great ideas that even surprise us adults at times. Each child at CCHS is surrounded by great teachers who have dedicated their lives to help enlighten and empower their students so they can understand everything from where the sun goes at night to understanding how the God who made the sun loves them unconditionally. Thank you for supporting the work that is happening every day at CCHS!
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Pag Ibig Award
Recently CSC received an award from the Pag-IBIG Fund, the Philippine government financial agency that is handling the mortgages for our 60 employees who are receiving Habitat for Humanity homes. The award recognizes the role of CSC in this project on behalf of our employees, who are all automatically members of Pag-Ibig.
This award is a testimony to the work of Paul Reasoner, who raised funds to help alieviate the financial burden for our workers and make their mortgages more affordable for them. We are an organization that values our employees and we have been concerned that they have decent housing. Many have lived in sub-standard houses prior to this project, and would not have had even the hope of having their own house and lot without the cooperative efforts of CSC, Pag-IBIG Fund and Habitat for Humanity. This award reflects that concern of CSC, and the partnership of the agencies who are all dedicated to getting deserving people into safe and affordable housing.
Pastor Fred Verdeflor, who is the husband of our CSC nurse Arlyn and President of the CSC Happy Homes homeowners association, went to Manila to accept the award on behalf of CSC.
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Life Cycles
All living things undergo different stages during their life. Some living things start as a seed, pollen, or spore. Other organisms such as animals start as a live young or an egg that sometimes needs to undergo the process of metamorphosis which completely changes their appearance.
In my Level B2 science class the students were able to witness the process of metamorphosis. We started in the caterpillar stage where the students saw how many leaves the caterpillar consumed. After several weeks it became a pupa. The students were very eager to look at the changes every day though it stunk when they opened the lid of the box. The day finally arrived when the caterpillar became a moth! We all went outside and set the moth free. The students were so excited to be a part of this process!
The whole activity took a lot of time and dedication but the result was very fulfilling. The students were able to learn not just how metamorphosis works but also about patience, perseverance, and having a love for nature.
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2018 Highlights
CSC Higlights of 2018
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Christmas 2018
Click to see pics of the different activities at CSC this Christmas. Our generous donors allow us to give lots of fun times to the children. God bless you all.
Junel's Box 2018 - Inayawan, Cebu City
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