Staff Blog
I sat in a referral meeting the other day. We have these meetings to discuss children for potential admittance. Often in these meetings the list of children in need is greater than what our homes can house. The list is long because poverty is destructive; it untangles families when there are more mouths to feed than there is food to give. The list is long because of poverty, violence, abuse, neglect, drugs, sickness, and death. All of our children come to CSC for one or several of these reasons.
Our top priority was to discuss a 6-week-old baby boy very much in need of loving care and proper nourishment, some things he had not had much of yet. He was so tiny, not even four pounds yet. He had spent these first weeks of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit fighting off sepsis and trying his best to grow but not receiving enough nourishment to do so. His young mother had her own struggles, battling mental health issues and cognitive delays; she was also doing her best to be a good mom but was unable to do what was needed.
Here he is. He is such a small little guy, barely able to keep his eyes open most of the time.
Our decision to admit this child or not might seem
like a no-brainer. He needs good care;
he needs the kind of care that can be provided at CSC. But he is so young, only six weeks old. Doctors have met him, observed him, and run
tests to try to figure out what is keeping him from growing and
developing. Because of his age, there is
little they can know for sure. The
unknowns regarding his future are many.
Of course, the same could be said about every child admitted to CSC and that would be true. But with a child who has had such a rough start to life, permanent damage could have already been done. The type of permanent damage that could prevent him from being adopted. And that is what it inevitably comes down to. CSC is a temporary place for children to come to for stability, healing and growth before continuing all of that in their forever family. We need to admit children that will be adopted so there is space for others to come after.
Big decisions. And they are not made lightly. We seek and pray for God’s wisdom regarding which children we admit. We take all of the information given to us by the social workers, our medical team, physical therapists and doctors in the community and cover it in prayer. Individually and collectively. These decisions are made easier when we spend time in the referral meetings talking about how so many times before, staff members have had these same conversations, sharing valid concerns about taking in a certain child with unknown needs. And we have been blessed to see God's hand at work, healing children in miraculous ways.
One such story stands out to me. A little 7-month-old girl was referred to us, weak and malnourished and her limbs were so floppy. They lacked muscle tone for such a while that doctors suspected she might never walk. Fast forward 2.5 years and we have a rambunctious and mischevious little girl on our hands. And oh how she RUNS! And next week a family is arriving to take her home! She is a testament to God sitting with us in those meetings and honoring CSC's commitment to venture into the unknown. She is a living and breathing example that God heaps blessings on those who walk in faith!
I am so happy to report that the little guy above recently had a major test, the results of which we were expecting to be poor, but which were normal. We are already seeing God's hand at work in his life. We felt confident and happy to make him the newest member of the Eicher Home! :)
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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