Staff Blog
I was rummaging through old files the other day and came across a file titled "CSC Kids' Work." Inside I found a set of poems written by four CSC "kids" from the school year 2006-2007. The four guys had each written a poem using the same format of a poem they had read in their reading material. The title of their poems was the same, If You're Not From CSC..., but the content was original for each of the guys. At the time the poems were written, the boys were actually young teenagers. Since that time, three of the guys have been adopted and they have graduated from high school. Julieto was one of the poem writers and the last of them to graduate from high school just last Friday in Cebu. Jules, as he is affectionately called, has gotten other press time recently, but after coming across those poems, I could not pass up the opportunity to share his education story with you. His story illustrates the miracle that takes place when some of the CSC kids graduate from high school.
Julieto came to CSC when he was 10 years old. He had never been to school, so he started off at the beginning of the learning continuum with letter recognition. He attended Children of Hope School through the 2006-2007 school year and he was in fifth grade by that time. He was also in his mid-teens and a bit tired of being in elementary school as a teenager. He felt he needed to move on. We cautioned him about not finishing elementary education, but he wanted to try something else. So with help from some people at CSC, Jules got a job on the construction crew building the new Duterte home. He loved the job and worked for a year and a half on the project. By that time, Julieto had thought long and hard about his future and he decided he wanted to go to high school. Well, he needed to finish elementary school first, so he returned to our school as an older teenager! That in itself took a lot of courage. After his final year at CCHS, Julieto started high school. Four years later, he is a new high school graduate with plans for his future!
What an incredible journey it has been. Lots of people have been in on Jules' journey, encouraging, tutoring, advocating for him, but he is the one who has stuck with it. Pretty miraculous! Congratulations to Julieto and the other current and former CSC "kids" who are graduating from high schol this year.
If you're Not from CSC...
By Julieto Sido
If you're not from CSC
You don't know Christmas
You just can't know Christmas.
Christmas is the best time for me.
I can dance, sing, and be happy as can be
With lots of gifts from foster friends and Santa Claus
And many parties in the house.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know Christmas.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know discipline
You just can't know discipline.
In CSC we have rules to obey.
They are made to help us grow OKEY.
If we don't obey the staff will get sad
Because they don't want us to be bad.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know discipline.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know sports
You just can't know sports.
Sports is our way to have fun
We jump, we throw, and run.
Basketball, baseball, and soccer.
We play with one another.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know sports.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know kindness.
You just can't know kindness.
Kindness for me is to share and care.
That's what we do here.
Children share with each other
And the staff and house parents care for one another.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know kindness.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know ME.
You just can't know ME.
You have not experienced what I had
The fun, the laughter, the good, and the bad.
The kindness, the love, and the discipline I had here
Will stay with me even when I go somewhere.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know ME.
Teacher Amanda
Yesterday we celebrated Teacher Amanda's
22nd birthday. Amanda graduated from college this May and arrived in Cebu the
beginning of June. Just in time to start the school year at Cebu Children
of Hope School. Amanda has adjusted well to life in Cebu and is a great
addition to our school. She has a contagious positive attitude about everything
and is a wonderful teacher and team member. We are thankful to have
her at our school this year.
As we were celebrating her birthday last night, I couldn't help but think about how our stories are some in the same. Seventeen years ago I arrived in Cebu after graduating from college the month before. The school was opening for the first time and teachers were coming together from the U.S. and Cebu to start Children of Hope School. I was young and excited to be in Cebu.
What was a one year commitment for me has turned into 16 additional years and counting. Days full of blessings and learning and growing experiences. Daily seeing God's hand at work in my life and the ministry of CSC. Not to mention marrying my husband from Cebu and the joy of having our first child together. God has blessed me in ways I never could have imagined at the age of 22.
Thank God for Amanda today as you think of her in your prayers. Pray God would give her wisdom and strength for the year ahead of her. Pray He would guide her steps for the future He has for her.
Thanks Amanda for sharing this year of your life with us at CSC. You are a wonderful addition to our team!
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Thanks Grace!
Last August, Grace arrived at CSC having committed to giving a year of her life to this ministry---whatever that might entail! And she did just that! Grace has spent the last year creating and implementing a daily educational experience for our toddlers, she has spent time teaching and encouraging our children's musical interests by facilitating individual voice and piano lessons. Grace also built relationships with our kids by just being on the playground with them having fun. Additionally, she has been a great help to the Child Development department in keeping good records on the infants and toddlers she oversaw.
Below you will find some pictures of how Grace spent her time at CSC.
To you, Grace, CSC thanks you for your service. You have left a mark on this ministry in more ways than one. You have a place in the kids' hearts because of your investment in their interests and your time spent helping them hone their talent. And for our youngest residents, you have helped them learn and have taught them that learning is fun!
Please keep Grace in your prayers as she embarks on her next journey!
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Meet the HR team
I'm Marcel, the guy on the right! I am happy to be back in Cebu after spending the past year in the States with my wife and her family. It was great to meet so many of you while we were there. Upon returning to Cebu I have joined the Human Resource Team at CSC. We are working together to make improvements for all of the workers and processes for the organization. I am excited to be a part of CSC and work alongside Joel and Peter!
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Friendship Knows No Boundary
Friend. Pal. Buddy. Comrade. Everyone has one or maybe more. It is a need in human life. As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.” One can’t go through life alone.
The recent CSC banquet’s theme was: Friends. CSC, in its entirety, has many friends all over the world. Different connections, but connected nonetheless. CSC is standing because of its many friends supporting, loving, and praying.
Inside the four walls of CSC, friendship starts. The kids come from different backgrounds, but it is amazing how quickly they form a bond; a bond they keep forever. Distance is never an issue between friends. Whether it is 10,000 miles or a couple of staircases away, they find a way to exchange a few words and be in touch in each other’s lives.
At CSC, when you get sick and if it is contagious, you are put in isolation. Now, the word isolation seems scary because you are separated from your friends. However, most of the kids like to be in “iso” because they get to watch movies all day long, which is the only entertaining thing you can do when you get sick.
Being sick and being in “iso”
did not stop these two friends from having a little chat. The girl on top is sick while the girl on the
bottom is well. There are no visiting
hours in the infirmary, but that did not mean she could not visit her friend. They found a way. And to top it all, she was not scared that she
might get sore eyes from the friend she was visiting.
That’s how friends are.
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Erna!
Erna is helping out at Cebu Children
of Hope School for a couple of months. She is assisting in preschool
while Teacher Junelyn is on maternity leave and helping out in a number of
classes in the afternoons.
Erna lived at CSC years ago. She and her sister were adopted by a family in the United States in 1999.
It's great to have Erna back with us at CSC for a couple of months. Thanks for sharing your gifts and talents with the kids at CSC Erna!
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