The story that i hold dearest to my heart is one that is extremely complex but it slowly unravelled over the last 8 years. Please bare with me as I find the words to tell it to you…
It started in 2008 when a group of uni students started to make a film about change and met a man who was already living this dream with 16 young "orphans" and "Semi-orphans" in a bungalow in Cebu. He had a dream to make a lasting change in the life's of these boys that could in return impact their communities...he once even said something about raising the boys in the Filipino culture so as to strengthening the country from within. BUT somewhere along the way this dream became too hard to keep up. In 2012 he admitted that there were holes in the system he created to care for the boys. despite external attempts of help to fix things, the many compromises he had made, had already started to sink the ship. I use this analogy because what happened over the last two years can be likened to what one would expect in a pirate story, not real life.
Alas, When the captain died, all hell seemed to broke loose as crew (all from impoverished backgrounds themselves) battled amongst themselves for the helm... each stepping over a fellow mate to get to the place of perceived power and prestige. A chance to keep their own lifestyles and comforts that they have become accustomed afloat.
Only down fall... they have yet again forgotten their duty to their young wards. They have used lies and illusions on these children and turned them into stewards for their own purposes, without a care of the future of these young boys. Stewards in their selfish war. (The part that saddened me the most was that they all claimed to be followers of Christ, on a christian mission, that i wouldn’t understand as a non-christian, but trust me their actions didn’t match any of the teachings or actions of the Jesus -who's example i happen to highly value.)
I don't have a Pirates entry...I was part of a committee with members representing both the churches and the secular supporters of Phil rep, with members all being long standing supporters of David's work them selves. We became aware of the situation and had tried extremely hard to negotiate change and put a stop to corruption for a whole year.
Finally in January 2016 i went there indefenitly in response to pleas for help from the boys. (The boys had grown to trust me and my group of friends as the only focus for our visits since 2009 have been for the boys). Their equivalent of the Department of Human Services (DHS) were involved and the boys were ordered to be removed from the care of Cornerstone on the 1st of april 2016. Being a social worker myself the hope was that I could reason with the DHS and work out how to fix the missing pieces. I can tell you the 3 months i lived there were extremely disheartening, witnessing the conflict and the depth of the corruption for my self. And attempts to convince the DHS to change their mind on Cornerstone failed- with good reason too. I did however convince the DHS to work with me to create an alternative transition home for the boys we have had in our care for many years who now in their teens would not be able to be placed in other institutions and will end up on the streets.
Thus evolved the solution, the transitional home by the name of Balay Pagpakusog. This home is the best solution for our older boys. Boys that have been extremely traumatised by the events that unfolded following David's passing away. Boys that have been forgotten and over looked so many times over the years. Boys that have family but have been estranged so long they are practically strangers to them. Boys that don't yet have the developmental, emotional, practical, educational skills or qualifications to be able to survive on their own as adults. Boys that would loose their chance at ever having a future if we stopped caring about them and allowed the DHS to have custody of them.
Balay Pagpakusog provides the boys with all the supports they need, allows them to truly feel part of a family while equipping the with skills they will need to one day need to establish families of their own. Though its not a permanent orphanage set up, Balay Pagpakusog is setup as a home in a rented 3 bedroom apartment. The boys are taught about the costs associated with having a home- so utilities, rent, groceries, internet etc. All our boys are finally attending some form of education or training. Balay Pagpakusog is also based in Calbayog as its the city or region that most of our boys originally fare from. We hope that by being closer we can re-establish and nurture a positive relationship with their existing communities/families, that will sustain them once Balay Pagpakusog is no longer needed.
I was part of a team of 2 that negotiated and organised this transition from Cebu to Calbayog. Please believe me when i tell you that this was one of the most traumatic, exhausting, heart breaking transition i've every been part of. Leaving a place that once had so much hope, joy and love was now just an empty shell filled with anger, jealousy, deceit, hatred, cruelty and hunger for wealth and power. I have never seen the boys more dejected that in those first 3 months in Cebu... but all it took was 8 hours on a boat and these boys were already beaming with smiles at the thought of a future and all it held in store. Settling was not easy as you can imagine but i can honestly say that by the time i left another 3 months later those boys were truly grateful that they had not been forgotten. They had settled into their new life and were trying their best to make the most of opportunities provided to them (with of course the occasional slip ups one would expect from teenagers).
The boys have since been progressing well and being supported by a team of local staff.
The reason I'm writing this story down is because i want to show you that these last 2 years (especially 2016) has not been easy on any account. It has been a time of heart break and disappointment; of lies and deciet deciept; of finding out that things haven't been as honest as you were made to believe they were; of grief& loss for a place that once was; of saying good bye to many of the younger boys (who returned to families as they should ever have been accepted in the first place)...over all a time to throw in the towel and feel hard done by, to want to withdraw support for fear of being hurt again.
But in amongst this heartache and uncertainty, its easy to forget that there is a group of kids that still need us to support them. A group of kids that have been worse done by than any of us; children whom we supported, adored, went back to visit over and over... they are still there (they just call a new place home). They are still trying to heal and create a future. If it wasn't for these boys and there still being a chance to help them, to fix the wrong done to them by those they trusted to care for them, i can guarantee you the committee and myself would have thrown in the towel and walked away a long time ago. It has been a long sad journey… but believe me when I tell you it leads to hope.
If i truly didn't believe this was the right think to do I would not have quit my stable job and stayed in the Philippines for 6months caring for the boys and setting up the new home. I cant do it all by my self, at 28 years of age I really cant financially support all these boys myself even if I wanted to... They really need those of you that have cared for them to not give up disheartened… we are part of their extended community and they still need that. These boys have already lost so many of their community/family in Cebu, so many people they cared about simply turn their back to them like they never mattered… they still need your friendship and support to successfully transition to adulthood. They need your help to hold onto that chance for Hope.
