A very long-time friend messaged us and requested us to come and oversee the children while all the staff were having Christmas luncheon.
Last Saturday we responded to their request. It was my previous workplace where I worked as a house parent and then later as a teacher at a center rescued from online sexual abuse.
a place of healing
Murals
1st and 3rd house
I cannot disclose the exact location because the center is highly protected. It was a foundation where children living there were traumatized with a high profile in pornography.
I worked there for almost six months being their houseparent and a year and a half being their teacher since we sent them to school. There are twenty kids catered to by eighteen staff, from drivers to social workers.
Playground
The reason they request us to oversee the kids is because there are no other people they can entrust the children except for us since we were trained before and know the confidentiality of the center.
We arrived at the place before 8:30 am. My hubby and our two church members were together with us since we could not handle all twenty kids for just the two of us. By 10:00 am all the staff were going to have a Christmas party.
back porch of the house
children takes their naps
The kids were living in two houses separately depending on how they behaved. All the boys and big girls with a three-year-old baby were with me and my hubby while the other 13-year-old girls were with our church members.
Overlooking
Lush vegetation
The place is very peaceful very far from the highway. It was covered with lush vegetation and the wind was so cold. I still remember when I worked here there was only one house standing but now three houses were already occupied. The first two houses are where the children lived and the third house is the office.
Dinning area
office
It was a place of healing and restoration. Children were taught by the word of God daily. They had abundant supplies since they were funded by the Americans. Everything materially, and spiritually together with love and care was given to them. The kids have gone through so much pain from their family and relatives as their perpetrators but in this place, they are loved.
with Ginger and Brandon
I prepare lunch for everyone while my fellow overseer watches every move of them. We have breaded pork chops for lunch and quek2x for snacks. In the afternoon we let them have naps and then playtime. Everyone follows the rules set in the center. They also have merits and demerits as a punishment.
Our lunch breaded porkchop
While the kids were playing I had a chance to take a picture of the place. We are on top of the mountain seeing the ocean and the clouds which give us tranquility.
They raised chickens and goats so the kids have time to feed them. They have planted also string beans, corn, and ampalaya outside the fence.
Chicken coop
Vegetables
Goats
It was proposed to have fifteen houses all over the area, a school, a clinic, and a church someday as the Lord provides. It will help more children rescued from child trafficking, mainly online sexual abused and raped.
By 6:00 pm we said goodbye to the children and went home. It was a tiring yet fulfilling day for all of us.
I realized how many children are not yet rescued from their parents, or their perpetrators. They were used to providing for their family in an easy money way. So traumatic would it be.
That would be all for today, I hope you enjoy reading my blog.