I spent 10 days in an
orphanage north of my previous country of assignment. While I was there, I joined the staff in
caring for the residents in the center.
There were around 150 residents with different levels of need and
attention. Some are able to perform activities of daily living; others are
capable to do some simple tasks, while some remain in a vegetative state. They
have varying levels of special care but all of them have the same story. They
were left abandoned outside of the church gate because of their deformity,
because they weren’t perfect. Grace is one of them.
While I was there, I helped
in the morning care. After lunch break I joined another unit to help them in
their work of arts and crafts. Then later
in the afternoon, I joined another group for their English class, taught them
how to sing and dance. What I mean by dance here involves simple actions of
raising their hands and shaking their heads. Singing would mean simple la la
la. After supper, we all gather at the chapel for
prayer, and then they start to mumble, they recite their prayers. I find it
hard to understand what they were praying but I said it is for God to
understand.
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Hospicio de San José is a Roman Catholic welfare institution
in the City of Manila, the Philippines. It is the first social welfare agency
in the country, and as a foster care institution has been a home for orphans,
the abandoned, special needs, and the elderly. Wikipedia
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On my second day, I was
asked if I could privately tutor Grace to prepare her for her English
Proficiency Test. I said yes. Grace
arrived that evening. I learned that Grace used to be a resident in the
orphanage. A Christian elderly couple
with an unmarried son adopted her when she was 6 years old. It has been their tradition
that every summer, her adoptive family would take her to the orphanage for few
days to mingle with the residents. The
unmarried son who she refers to as uncle continued the summer tradition to the
orphanage. Grace considers the orphanage her first home, therefore the 150 plus
residents are her siblings!
I met with Grace an hour
and a half in the morning, then two hours in the evening. At first she showed me her English reviewer.
Aside from the written exams, Grace had to tackle an oral exam. I was a bit
unsure how to go along with the class. I can speak English but being able to
speak the language is different from knowing how to teach. Teaching isn’t my
profession, but nonetheless I took the challenge because I was the only one who
could assist Grace in her need at that moment.
There were 50 questions
and some of it was sensitive family questions such as ‘How do you show love to
your parents?’ What is your most memorable birthday celebration? When is your mother’s birthday? What is your
favorite childhood memory? When we started
working on the questions, I noticed her silence. I waited then noticed she shook her head then
took a deep breath, with her already struggling speech she said: How can I
answer all of that, I do not have a mother! I do not know my mother. There were
no words but tears streaming down her face.
This experience gave me
deeper appreciation of the childhood memories that define who I am as a
person. Many of us will find those
questions easy to answer. I pray that
we continue to be a saving grace to those in need.
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