January to June '05 Alvin & Gerome Since Christmas life has been hectic to say the least. My two boys arrived in time for the Christmas celebrations and the whole family had a wonderful time. The boys Alvin and Gerome have spent most of their lives in orphanages, and were among the little ones that I looked after all those years ago in the “Orphanage from Hell”. So it seemed only right that after I opened Bahay ng Pag-asa, they should come and live with me there. They are wonderful kids and have settled in without any problems except perhaps one. One of the boys is still wetting the bed even though he is fourteen years old! It is really not his fault; I believe it is due to the abuse he suffered in the “Orphanage from Hell” I never chastise him, just love him and we are giving him time to settle down, and no one makes a big thing about it. I just spent £50 and bought a washing machine which is a God send, when sometimes we number ten and the temperatures are in the nineties most of the time! Lots and lot and lots of washing! I would however be very grateful if anyone has advice of how to stop the bed wetting. I never had this problem with my own kids so advice welcome. Thankfully both of them have settled in the new school really well and I say with a modicum of pride that they are both in the top ten in their class. Hopefully a good education will lead them to a better future and an independent life free from the chains of poverty. Bullet & Jenny The girls Bullet and Jenny are just as bouncy as any normal kids and in January we celebrated Bullet’s ninth birthday in style. A very different birthday to last year when she was in hospital near to dying from malnutrition! At that time we doubted that she would ever see her ninth birthday… not that she knew when her birthday was… so to celebrate the first birthday she had ever known we had a party with lots of kids and games and we even had jelly, ice-cream and a cake. It was a great day now Jenny wants to know when her birthday is!!!…. We have just had another milestone in the lives of Bullet and Jenny, they started school! They are the only members of their family to go to school and they were so excited that they were up at 4am to get ready! In the Philippines they start school at 7am. As I was home in the UK I telephoned at 6.20am to wish them luck, only to be told that they were already in school! I am looking forward to hearing all about it when I get back, but hope they are not still getting up at four to get ready! Rommel Rommel returned to Bahay ng Pag-asa needing care again! I of course allowed him to live with us again on the understanding that we didn’t have any of the behavioural problems that we had last time! He promised he would be good…. We shall see… Patricia Sadly I have been having big problems with Patricia. Her jealously has become a big problem. She is forty-one years old and thinks that I am her mummy, and that no one else can have any of my love not even the puppies let alone the other kids! One day she had an argument with Alvin and went to get a knife… needless to say I sent her straight out of the house. It broke my heart to do so, but I could not risk her hurting the other children, I don’t think she would really have hurt him, but it was not a risk I was prepared to take. This took place in early March and she did return while I was away for a visit but she did not stay. I am hoping and praying that being away from me for several months will break the obsession she had developed and that maybe she will be able to return one day to live with us. In the mean time we visit her and take care of her food etc., Court Case The court case is still going on and on and on…. Nothing really to add, it is the usual story of delay after delay. Please pray that it will come to a successful conclusion this year! Lenlen We have had several new cases referred to Bahay ng-Pag-asa. Among them was Lenlen. The local school came and asked if we could help her as she was suffering for a serious skin disease and could no longer walk or attend school. I arranged treatment for Lenlen and within three weeks her condition had improved enough for her to return to school. However we still need to keep an eye on her and supply the medicine she needs. Crispin Crispin and his parents travelled in an open bus for over 50 miles. Several of those miles were on rough road in temperatures of over 90 degrees. Crispin’s parents brought him to Bahay ng Pag-asa just because they had heard we help children like him. He is unable to support his head or focus his attention. Unfortunately they only came to the mission three days before I left for a trip home. When I return to the mission I will take him for a consultation and hopefully we will be able to help him. Tonton Tonton is a very poorly little boy! He suffers from cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. Before I returned to the UK, I arranged for him to have a brain scan and a blood transfusion. His hydrocephalus is so bad that he desperately needs surgery to relieve the pressure. Sponsored Walk At this point I would like to thank you all for you continued support for the mission, and I would like to express our deep gratitude to Gerald and Phil who undertook a mammoth 300k sponsored walk in the Pyrenees Mountains to Lourdes. We are still collecting in sponsorship money, but we estimate that the total will be approximately £3000! A fantastic effort which means that Tonton will get that so desperately needed surgery… Please rest assured that every penny donated does go to the neediest of cases. Thank you both so much on behalf of all at Bahay ng Pag-asa. |
