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INTRODUCTION
The island of Bohol is
the tenth largest island in the Philippines. Bohol has
a population of about one million people, with 38.3%
of the population under the age of 14. Most of the
population lives in rural areas.
A recent study found
Bohol to be the second poorest province in the
Philippines. According to a 1997 survey, the average
annual income of a Bohol family is $1,140 per year,
while the average family expenditure is $1,015 per
year. The poverty threshold on Bohol is $1,434 per
year. About 44% of all families lived below the
poverty line in 1997.
Bohol is predominantly
an agricultural province, but micro and cottage
industries also play a vital role in the economy.
About 50% of Bohol's families have their main source
of income from entrepreneurial activities, with only
27% deriving their income from wages and salaries.
Although there are
nearly one million people residing on Bohol, there are
no government-sponsored facilities on the island that
care for children who are orphaned, abandoned, or
abused. Only two residential facilities in the
province care for such children: a small Catholic
orphanage and the Arms of Love Children's Home. The
Catholic orphanage is currently caring for about 30
children. The Arms of Love Children's Home, which
opened in January 2001, has the capacity to care for
more than 50 children, and in mid-2006 was caring for
more than 40 children.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Arms of Love Children's Home in the Philippines is
a complex of four homes, operated on a family model,
that care for orphaned, abandoned, and abused children
who would otherwise be living on the streets. Arms of
Love has legal custody of the children living in the
Children's Home. By providing the children with a
loving Christian family in which to grow and mature,
Christian discipleship, an education, vocational
skills, and other life skills, the project seeks to
reintegrate these children into the local community as
self-sufficient Christian adults.
In each phase of the
project, our objective is to assist and train local
believers to manage and conduct the ministry. The
project is staffed entirely by Filipino Christians who
attend the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Tagbilaran
City. Arms of Love is also helping the project work
toward financial self-sufficiency through agricultural
operations.
The Children's Home is
located on a 2.5 acre piece of property in Lourdes, a
rural area about 20 minutes outside of Tagbilaran City
on the island of Bohol. An adjacent parcel of land is
being used exclusively for farming. The farm provides
food for the children's home, generates income to help
support the children's home, and also provides
opportunities for the children living at the
children's home to develop useful agrarian skills.
ARMS OF LOVE
CHILDREN'S HOME
Objectives
To provide a long-term
residence, which simulates a family environment, for
children who have no home or family to care for them.
To provide children
with the Christian discipleship, education, vocational
skills, and other life skills that they need to become
self-sufficient Christian adults.
Physical facilities
A complex of four
distinct homes, each of which accommodates 10-12
children, the resident houseparents, and one support
staff. Each home has four bedrooms, a living room,
several bathrooms/showers, a kitchenette, and storage
space.
A separate
multi-purpose facility on the property is being
developed to accommodate staff offices; a common
kitchen an dining facility; indoor recreation,
including basketball; the children's library; and the
computer lab. This facility also includes large
meeting areas, a sound studio, and accommodations for
short-term ministry teams.
Residents
The homes receive
children that come from a variety of circumstances.
Most of the children have been living on the streets
full time, begging or stealing in order to survive.
Some of the children were removed from their families
due to serious physical or sexual abuse. The principal
criteria of admittance is that the children have no
long-term means of support, i.e., no home to live in
and no family to care for them.
Children may be
referred to the project by the local government (DSWD)
and/or by local churches on the island. Many of the
children will be initially identified through
the transition home in Tagbilaran City and other
outreaches on the island.
The children attend
school off-site. In addition to their education, the
children participate in caring for the farm, attend
sports activities on the weekends, and conduct
evangelistic outreaches to other children in the
community.
Staff
Each of the homes are
staffed with a Christian Filipino couple, who live in
the home as full-time "houseparents." This couple
serves as surrogate parents to the children, who
relate to the couple as "mama" and "papa." Other staff
are hired to cook meals, relieve the houseparents on a
regular basis, and conduct recreational and
therapeutic activities with the children. Houseparents
are given one day off each week, and a weekend away
from the project every several months. Staff receive
training in ministering to children at risk. The
complex also has a full-time administrator and a
full-time social worker.
LOCAL CHURCHES
AND OUTREACH
One of the principal
values of Arms of Love is to develop each project as a
ministry of the local church to its own community. The
Philippines project is currently affiliated with the
Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Tagbilaran City,
which is located about five miles from the site of the
project. All of the children and staff involved with
the Children's Home are a part of the church, and one
of the houseparents at the children's home, Bonie
Colarte, serves as the senior pastor of the church.
Moreover, the children who live in the Children's Home
conduct outreaches that are directed toward poor
children in the community. These outreaches include
worship, teaching, and the distribution of food.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Expenditures of the
project are monitored by Arms of Love International. A
part-time accountant in the Philippines keeps
financial records for the project. Copies of the
monthly ledger and all receipts are mailed to Arms of
Love on a monthly basis. Arms of Love maintains
regular and frequent communications with the project
and visits on a regular basis.
Arms of Love
Philippines is a separate non-profit entity that was
formed under the law of the Philippines to own and
operate the Children's Home, farms, and related
facilities. Arms of Love Philippines will enter into
binding contracts with Arms of Love International
prohibiting the transfer or encumbrance of the
facilities - or any fundamental change in the use of
those facilities - without the prior written consent
of Arms of Love International.
Financial support for
the project is provided primarily through Arms of Love
International, which has started a child sponsorship
program on behalf of the children living in the
Children's Home.
YOUNG ADULT TRANSITION HOME
In mid-2006, Arms of
Love rented a house in Tagbilaran City to serve as a
"young adult transition home." In 2006, several of our
children completed their high school education and
were prepared to advance to studying at the University
of Bohol. These young adults needed a new place to
live, where they could experience a greater degree of
responsibility and freedom. However, they were also
not yet ready to support themselves and live on their
own. Accordingly, Arms of Love started the "transition
home" as a place where these young adults can continue
to live, between 18 and 22 years of age, while they
are attending university, working part time, saving
money, and/or pursuing vocational training, until they
are ready and able to fully support themselves and
live on their own.
AGRICULTURAL
OPERATIONS
A farm has been started
on several acres of land adjacent to the Children's
Home in Lourdes. This farm produces food for the
children's home and a modest amount of income from the
sale of chickens, eggs, fish, goat's milk, sheep, and
mangos. The farm also helps teach the children useful
agrarian skills and a good work ethic as they help
with the farm part-time on weekends. Our hope is to
further develop the farm so that it's income can cover
some of the operational costs of the Children's Home.
However, as of mid-2006, we were looking for a new
farm director who would have the expertise to expand
and develop the farm into a more profitable
enterprise.
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