Staff Blog
When we take in children at CSC we become important advocates for them. We advocate for them in government offices, courtrooms and with social workers and others who have the power to decide whether they will be given the chance to be adopted. We attend meetings, write letters and affadavits and travel all around the Philippines in support of the children under our care. Our social workers, in handling the case management for them, are equal parts lawyers, counselors, writers and interveners. They work with the birth families, solicit support and cooperation from officials in the communities where they live, gather information, file birth registrations, write social case studies and letters, and attend many, many meetings.
We recently hired two new workers for our social work department. Neither Catherine nor Mardie came to us with exerience in our type of cases. Very few agencies do pre-adoptive case management, so there has been much for them to learn about the legal and procedural requirements in preparing our children's papers for legal adoption. Luckily, we have two veteran social workers, Carmelita and Chris, who have many years of experience advocating for CSC children. Carmelita is soon to retire so it becomes very important for CSC that she spend time mentoring our young and inexperienced social workers in the "tricks of the trade."
The head of our Social Work Department is Klaris, who is also new to CSC, though she has lots of experience as a social worker. She is learning very fast, and does much of the editing of case studies, serves as the liaison with government offices and assigns cases to our social workers.
Please pray for our Social Work team as they advocate for our children in many different ways and settings. They are on the front lines of service to our children and represent all of us with the people who have a lot of influence over their lives. They need perseverance, insight, tact, commitment, patience and lots of compassion for the needs of our precious kids.
Hands that Serve
We have about 76 child care workers who do day-to-day stuff at the shelter. Most of you who have been to CSC might be aware of this. But for everyone else’s information, we have laundry washers, cooks, cleaners and, of course, the rest of the Aunties—as we call them—who watch over the children at the shelter.
Most of them don’t have a college degree, some never got the chance to finish grade school; but they take pride and joy in working at CSC. They teach the kids household chores, sometimes you see them in the playground playing with the kids and often times, they teach the little ones how to pray. They treat the kids at the shelter like their own.
For some of the aunties, being an educator is a gift. Singing nursery rhymes, dancing and learning how to count are some of their tasks that just come out naturally. Below is a short video of two aunties and some toddlers reading the story of Jonah and the Big Fish.
Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness in providing CSC with very willing hands. Please pray for all of our workers at the shelter as they continue caring for and teaching the kids.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | Shelter News |
Stacks of Books
The Reading Challenge is finishing up tomorrow! The children have been reading, a lot. Many of them leave school will a stack of books in their hands. The total number of pages read is staggering. Keep reading!
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
Sore Eyes
Sore eyes has hit CSC! As this blog is being written, seven babies and toddlers and one school age child have sore eyes. Sore eyes is very common in the Philippines. In the US, it is called pink eye. It affects all ages and usually spreads from one eye to the other very quickly. One’s eyes become swollen, turn pink, and are very itchy and painful. It can be miserable for anyone who has it, especially the babies and toddlers. Please pray for all the kids who currently have sore eyes and that it would not spread to others throughout the houses.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | Shelter News |
Friendships
Everybody needs friends.
For our CSC children, making a new friend is often the most important part of their adjusting to life at the Shelter.
Someone to run with……. Play with…..talk to…….laugh .……study .…..eat… and pray with.
CSC friends teach new kids the ropes, are partners in mischief and sources of understanding, comfort and encouragement. And not only that, they are a lot of fun to hang out with.
Our children come from backgrounds of poverty, neglect and loss. Who better to understand them than a friend who has experienced the same things before coming to live at CSC.
The memories of these friendships could last for a lifetime.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | Staff Reflections |
Mabuhay ang Wikang Filipino!
Last Friday, August 28, was a happy day for everyone at CCHS. It was the Buwan ng Wika Celebration, an all-day event focusing on Filipino language. All the students as well as the teachers really had fun.
The Filipino games played in the morning gave every student a chance to participate and every team showed good teamwork. The older kids helped the preschoolers even by carrying the little kids to get the tasks accomplished. It was an amazing sight to see all members of each team working as one.
The afternoon activity was short, but sweet. All the students’ presentations were really great! Each presentation displayed the children’s and teachers’ great efforts.
Mabuhay ang Wikang Filipino!
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
