Children of Cebu Foundation

This week Doug and I had the opportunity to visit the Children of Cebu Foundation. It is a government operated transitional home for orphans and street children. The intended function of the home is to house children temporarily while they are being placed in local orphanages, foster homes or possible adoptions. However, due to the lack of these types of permanent homes, there are many children that have now been at the Foundation for longer than a year. The Foundation currently houses 33 children with two full time house parents, Mimi and Celso. While the staff is very dedicated to the children they care for, it is very evident that resources and funding are limited.

Visiting the Foundation was a very moving and humbling experience. We got to meet and spend time with some great kids. Michelle, a 17 year old blind girl that has been at the Foundation for almost 2 years, told me that the thing she liked most was school. However, she is presently not able to attend school because she was unable to keep up with the other students due to her handicap. Michelle talked about how she loved to hear stories and play music. With the help of Joel Talaver, minister at the Downtown Church, we are looking into some possible Braille lessons or skill training for Michelle. This would be a wonderful opportunity for Lilia's Place to make a difference in the life of a child. We also got to spend some time with Jeffrey, Jason and Chris. They are new to the Foundation and were brought in from the streets. After spending just a few short minutes in discussion with these boys (ages 11-13) one could tell they had definitely been exposed to things which children should not be. They were very sweet boys and asked Doug and I to bring them to America with us since they did not have a mom or dad. I was drawn to two very quiet and shy little boys, Romeo (5) and Marc Marc (3). They were very withdrawn and just wanted to watch us from the sidelines. After several minutes of smiling at Marc Marc he finally gave me and came and stood by me and placed his hands on my knee. Mimi, the house mother, informed me that Romeo and Marc Marc had just been in the house for two days. They were brought to the Foundation after the death of their mother and father. My heart ached for these two little boys. I just wanted to pack them into our van and bring them home to love. Of course, all of the kids were completely enamored with Lilia and Chandler. Lilia was such a little ambassador, shaking hands and giving hugs. She loved playing with the kids in the court yard. All of the little boys wanted to touch Chandler and talk to him. They couldn't believe he was so tall!

While we are not yet able to bring children into our home we do realize there is a golden opportunity for us to do God's work at this Foundation. We are going to work with the Downtown Church and begin a ministry at this Foundation that will not only meet their material needs but also the emotional needs of the children. Our goal is to begin a big brother/big sister program where relationships will be formed. We also hope to provide tutorials, meals and clothing for the Foundation. Our sponsoring church, Sugar Grove Church of Christ, is going to partner with us and host a book/clothing drive for the Children of Cebu Foundation. If you would like more information or would like to help with the drive please email us at doug.simpson@mac.com.