Staff Blog

Before Typhoon Rai (called Odette in the Philippines) made its landfall in Cebu, City, preparations such as cutting the big branches of the trees and safely piling them in the front yard were already made to minimize risks and hazards in the facility. The residents and houseparents prepared the plastic drums to store water, secured the appliances and furniture in the living room, and ensured the safety of Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home for the upcoming Typhoon.

On December 16th, 2021, Typhoon Odette made landfall in Cebu, City. The staff and residents evacuated for safety and emergency purposes as the wind rose and the typhoon became stronger. The residents felt scared and nervous, as it was the strongest typhoon they have experienced so far. Nonetheless, everyone was calmly praying and reminding one another of the presence and goodness of God despite the calamity. By 11:00 PM, the typhoon had already slightly weakened.

Typhoon Odette left a lot of places devastated with broken homes, downed trees, and loss of electricity, signal, and water supply for days. Fortunately, Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home had a generator that provided the ability to pump water and electricity for light and charging. Some of the trees in Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home also tumbled down, and the debris, iron sheets, and woods were scattered inside the facility. There are also minimal damages in the ceiling of the living room, the roof in the washroom, and broken flower pots. The door separating the facility and CSC Office was also destroyed by the typhoon. The Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home residents took 3-4 days to clean and clear the storm debris. No staff or resident was hurt or injured during the typhoon.

The Typhoon also caused stress and anxiety to the Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home houseparents and residents, especially worrying about the safety and security of their families, relatives, and friends. Consequently, Stress Debriefing Activity was conducted for Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home residents to reduce their stress and help them recover from the overwhelming situation. Through this activity, they recognized their feelings, worries, and stress from the typhoon. The residents also shared their coping mechanisms when dealing with difficult situations. Some of the coping strategies mentioned were reading the Bible, making arts and fictional stories, meditation, watching television, listening to radio/ music, cleaning, planting, and more. Furthermore, the activity ended with breathing exercises to calm and relax their body and mind. Currently, the Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home and the residents are now back to their normal daily activities.

It seems that there is just one crisis after another and we have heard of the desires of the residents to be finally free or "unstuck". In the midst of recovery from the Typhoon and Covid-19 pandemic, the Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home Program continues to look forward to helping its residents take steps to build their future.
Please pray with us as we think of strategies that are safe, yet relevant and meet the needs of the residents who desire to look forward to the day that they can be reintegrated back into the community.

The front yard of Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home facility, during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette
Residents help clear the tree branches and other storm debris in the front yard and parking area.

Resident helped remove the branches of the tree on the facility's roof.

Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home Living Area after Typhoon Odette

The current condition of the washroom after Typhoon Odette.

Stress Debriefing Activity to Teen/Young Adult Transitional Home residents on December 21, 2021.

Happy New Year to you all! I wish you all the best in the year ahead. Let me take a minute to reflect on the year 2021 from a CSC perspective—the blessings and the struggles. In the midst of all that is going on in the world today, worry and anxiety could very well consume our thoughts, even at CSC. For all the things that might or might not happen, we rest in confidence that God has a plan for our TODAY and has good things in store for the coming year.

2021 began with the global pandemic still in full swing and the lockdown at CSC in place for nine months. The year ended with super-typhoon Rai making landfall on the islands of the Central Visayas, Cebu at the eye of the storm, leaving a devasting path of destruction. Typhoon recovery is happening slowly just as the next coronavirus variant is beginning to have a negative impact again as well. HOPE is present, though, knowing that our CSC children and staff remained safe and provided for during the storm and afterward, and all are in good health! Our CSC Field Director, Roberto Atienza, shared this week how CSC is a beacon of light in the darkness, offering hope, clean water, a place to "hang out" and charge electronics, providing encouragement to all those who come to us.

2021 was also a year to celebrate milestones! Birthdays of children, a couple of adoption placements to loving families, work anniversaries of faithful employees, and a new strategic initiative launched! We're excited for all that 2022 will hold and look forward with optimism and HOPE.

In closing, let me share some verses that I hope will be received as an encouragement to us all:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

Grace and Peace in 2022,

Kirby

Just before Christmas, super-typhoon Rai hit the Philippines. It was the strongest typhoon to hit the area in 2021, killing more than 350 people and displacing thousands more. The city of Cebu was hit pretty hard. We sustained a significant amount of damage at CSC, including broken doors on the infirmary and the Duterte home, flooding on the main level of Duterte, and our guard shack was destroyed. Multiple trees fell on the Cherne home, on the gate, and all over the property. Debris from other nearby buildings landed on our property as well. Thankfully, our employees and children inside the shelter were safe!

We still do not have power at CSC. They are estimating power will be restored to most of the city by mid-January. We are using generators sparingly to maintain operations.

We are fixing damage at CSC, but we are not collecting funds for typhoon relief outside the shelter at this time. We budget each year for storm damage. This was obviously more than we anticipated, but we are so thankful to our faithful supporters, who have helped us cover these costs.

As we end 2021, we are grateful for so much. We are ending the year strong financially and have enough resources to meet all of our needs. We were in lockdown for the entire year and despite having COVID inside the shelter, we had no major cases. God is steadfast through all the ups and downs.

Thank you for your prayers, financial support and advocacy as we work to care for children in need in Cebu City, Philippines. We are grateful for you!

The counseling department has been proactive in equipping the child care workers, helping them to be emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy, so they can provide the best care for our children. During this pandemic, the importance of mental health, has always been emphasized. Thus, activities among locked-in childcare workers, whom we simply called aunties, were done. Sessions of aunties and kids together were also held so that workers will gain a better understanding of the child they cared for.

This activity strengthens the relationship of the residents and workers through mindfulness games. Residents are encouraged to talk about their feelings to their aunties in their daily routines and the workers to understand the children's expression, character, behavior, recognize what children can do, be better listeners and have a better approach in dealing with each child.

Residents are given time to bond with their choice of aunties and have time to know each other. Counseling is also extending time to workers for their spiritual nurturing through sharing and prayer, understanding their work, and how they face day to day challenges especially while away from their families.

In morning devotions before breakfast and Sunday night after dinner; encouraging them to share their thoughts and ideas of being grateful to God. An illustration was shown about a glass of water. Each one was asked to express what they are thankful or grateful for then the glass will be poured of a little water until everyone has shared and the glass was filled with water. It is just like a thank you tank, once filled it can supply the community or people who needs it. God loves to send down blessings if we are also grateful and thankful to Him. We also express it through songs and Bible verses.

The fourth quarter of the school year was about to start and we decided to move up some students who were academically progressing to a new grade level. I was delighted, excited, and yet a little bit nervous thinking that I would have a new student who is intelligent, gifted, and of course, well-loved by everyone both in school and in the shelter.

The first few weeks were filled with many things to adapt to, and I prayed that the new student would not be too overwhelmed by the change. Slowly, with the help of the responsive classroom approach we implemented, it supports the student to have an easy transition to a new environment.

In our school, we usually do our morning routines such as greetings, group sharing activities, reading of the morning message, and praying before we start our classes. One of the best memories of my journey with this boy was when he first greeted me with my name as his "new teacher" and hugged me. He even asked me about my morning. He was so excited!

The first day with him was not as smooth as I hoped for. There were a few bumps. This was the reason why we observed him in the classroom and modifications were made to suit the student's needs. He would always choose to be the first person in the line, but I explained that we have our rules on "taking turns," and he already had his chance. When I checked on him outside the classroom the next day, he sat on his spot and patiently waited for others to come. I realized that firmness and consistency are two powerful tools to achieve successful classroom management.

Another classroom scene that made my day was when we had our group sharing. Knowing that younger students are visual learners, I added fun pictures to make our sharing more interactive and to get their attention. As I flashed some images on the screen, I heard him laugh as if he was being tickled. It went on for a long time, and it certainly gave his classmates a stomachache laughing with him which caused a little bit of chaos in the class. So, I gave him 30 seconds, and he did stop. It was effective, then we began with our sharing. Since that moment, we've been working on calling the name of the next sharer. He was very observant and quick to realize that he needed to do the same to his classmates. To our surprise, he was able to call the next sharer without his classmate's help and use the phrase "Popcorn, student's name." Everyone in the class was shocked and happy, telling me, "Teacher Lyrah, have you heard him saying popcorn? He learns so fast!" Truly, success happens not just because of one person working as "the teacher," but it includes the students and peers who help one another and have a common goal to lift each other up.

Moreover, I have noticed that he is gifted and very clever. I had set aside things each morning and prepared different materials that he would need to stay focused in our class. These things will be given after each class activity. It was essential to remind him that he needed to finish his tasks then he could use what is prepared for him. Well, being firm with expectations and setting classroom boundaries are challenging at times; however, at CCHS we always do it with love and care.

He appeared to be adjusting into our classroom setting over the next few days. He also loves to participate when being asked. Though, he needed some reminders from time to time for him to stay on track. There was one instance in the middle of our discussion he stood up and asked for his dinosaur books. We stopped, and most of his classmates reminded him to ask permission every time he stands or wants to have something. He did go back to his seat and asked permission. But it was not time for him to read a book yet. So, he participated in our reading first and answered all the activities. Then he got the book for him to enjoy. Another strategy that was very effective to him was giving him a time frame before he could get his desired reading materials. These things didn't come easy, it requires hard work, patience, determination, cooperation, and above all, love. We made a lot of classroom modifications to cater for his needs and the rest of the class.

To be successful in the classroom, as teachers, we need to set clear classroom boundaries for our students.

As Colossians 3:23-24 says: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."