Staff Blog
“Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn’t make you who you are. It is the rest of your story. Who you choose to be.” --Soothsayer, Kung Fu Panda 2
“I didn’t see my mother nor my father. I haven’t met them. No picture. No memories. I’ve been raised by strangers.”
“If only my father was gentle to my mother. They could have stayed together and we might not be here.”
“My mother left me. She even never said goodbye. I don’t know the reason.”
“The couple who fostered me and gave me home have shattered the very idea of home.”
Beginning. Once upon a time.
These are the stories of the beginnings of some of the older residents in CSC. Flipping the pages of their lives into the past would take a lot of courage and relationship. Some chose to seal those pages; while others are open about their once-upon-a-times. In counseling, children often share about their days, their dreams, as well as their past. For a child to paint these stories allows us to help them craft their life story.
“Life story is essential in developing one’s personality, values, and meaning. It’s the integration of reconstructed past and imagined future to provide life with some degree of unity and purpose.” --McAdams & McLean, Narrative Identity, 2013
Although this process may resurface the phantoms of the past, it helps the older resident embrace his/her whole story. By embracing his/her painful once-upon-a-time, it paves the way to acceptance and forgiveness. For some older residents, it was a privilege to hear them express how they acknowledge that no matter how painful their past was, it happened, it happened, it happened. It happened and they saw the collateral beauty of that pain. They are here. They are here with people who love them; who cares for them; who believes in them; who brought back the cape of their childhood; who gives them wings to soar the new horizon.
As our older residents navigate the new waters of independent living, they are more open to building bridges to their past. For some, they have birth families that they can return to; while others are starting to put together the pieces of their beginning. Their new journey is a navigation of mirth and melancholy; hopes and despair; and success and failures. They are now in the process of writing the new chapter, or perhaps, the sequel of their stories. Seeing the collateral beauty, they now have the power to restructure their future and have the power to direct their own narrative— narrative of an iridescent hope.
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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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