How to Start a Children’s Home in the Philippines
After months of waiting, we finally got our SEC Registration from the Philippines. Our Philippine Foundation is called Solid Rock Children Development Foundation. Now we have to begin the process of local registration, and the daunting task of registering and being approved by the DSWD. Our goal this year was to get registered and buy our first property, and so we are moving right along. The DSWD process could take another year to complete, we just don’t know at this point!
How will we help children in Malaybalay? Will we just pick up random kids off the street that we think look pitiful? No! Actually we provide a service to the city. We will provide housing for children when the local city government cannot locate the parents or have children that are in an abusive or tough situation and have to be relocated. We will only work with children that the government will refer to us.
How will we help the children in our program? We want to focus on kids that have a low chance of adoption. Are we against adoption? Absolutely not! Adoption is great, but there is only a very small percentage of children here in the Philippines that are adopted. So what can we do?
We will focus on several things, just like good parents of children should do: We want to make sure they have the following opportunities:
The children have an opportunity to hear about Jesus, and how much he loves them. This helps the child’s worldview to be shaped to see that they are important to God, and important on this earth. They matter, and we love them!
They have an opportunity to see healthy families, and be able to see what it takes to have a healthy family and good routine. We want to have a smaller child to house parent ratio to create small home-style facilities. We can do educational and vocational training in some larger groups, but just like a real family, our goal is to have the kids come home to a smaller group where they can interact and have healthy , deep, and meaningful relationships.
Vocational Training - The best life skills kids can have here in the Philippines involve learning english, learning financial literacy, learning to read, communicate with confidence, work ethic, computer skills, and agricultural knowledge. We will teach all of these skills right here in Bukidnon.
If you want to be a part of what we are developing, and the Lord has called you to give, we greatly appreciate it! Visit nolongerabandoned.com/give.
Thank you for visiting our site and send us a message! We would love to hear from you!
Blessings,
Casey Burnett
No Longer Abandoned