Scottish Catholic Observer

As the sun rises over their simple make-shift home in one of the many poverty-stricken areas on the outskirts of the city of Cebu in the Philippines, Helen is woken by the desperate cries of her youngest daughter, Henny. She immediately takes her precious daughter in her arms and squeezes her hand. To her horror, she can feel that Henny’s tiny body has gone limp and weak. The one-year-old toddler’s face is pale and sweaty, her body severely dehydrated from a desperate lack of food and water.

Distressingly, Helen has not been able to provide proper nutritious food for her children for several weeks following the recent death of her husband. Watery porridge is all she can afford, but this is simply not enough to keep them strong and healthy. Now she is forced to leave her other children at home by themselves, with no food or water, as she rushes Henny to the hospital, which is a six-hour walk away.

With no car and no money for transport, Helen is forced to complete the journey on foot. She is having vivid flashbacks from three years earlier, when she made the exact same trip with her second youngest daughter, Jenny, who fell unconscious while attempting to feed from her mother’s breast. She prays to God for another miracle—that Henny will not die.

Being told by the doctors at the hospital that Henny was only moments away from losing her life because of severe dehydration puts shivers down Helen’s spine. Despite her great love for Henny and her older daughter Jenny, this frightening incident has made her realise that she simply is not able to care for her youngest children at this stage. As a single parent with eight children and a low-paid job, sadly, she is left with no alternative.

It was with a sense of defeat and a heavy heart that Helen contacted the Sisters of St John the Baptist at the nearby Our Lady of Providence Home, an orphanage for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. With Jenny already having lived at the orphanage when she recovered from malnutrition a few years earlier, Helen knows that her girls will receive the essential care they need to have a brighter future.

“I was very sad to give the girls to the sisters, but also relieved,” Helen said. “Henny almost died in my arms. I just wanted her to live. I know that the girls will be okay with the sisters. I don’t want the children to follow in my footsteps, I want them to get an education and finish school, so that they can stand on their own feet when I am no longer here.”

Helen and her young daughters were met at the gate of the Our Lady of Providence Home by Sr Corazon Riconalla, the Superior at the orphanage. With a warm smile and arms wide open, she welcomed them. It did not take Sr Corazon long to realise the urgency of the situation. Looking at the girls, she could immediately tell that they were both extremely malnourished, their little faces and bodies bony, and their skin pale and flaky.

Sr Corazon has decades of experience working with children in desperate need, and sadly, she has seen it all. She knows the pain and heartache many of these children have experienced in their short lives, the desperate poverty they come from, the mental and physical abuse many have experienced and the gruesome events they have witnessed, including brutal violence and death.

Learning of the extreme hardship and struggles of these precious children and their families in the Philippines, and of children in similar situations all around the world should make us extremely grateful for the work of dedicated missionaries like Sr Corazon. It is thanks to the kindness of people like you, that we can uphold these missionaries, helping them reach out to children in desperate need to offer them care for a brighter future.

The Our Lady of Providence Home is set up to offer vital physical and spiritual care, so that the children can have life to the full. In addition to providing the girls with essential nutrition, medical care, counselling and education, the sisters also ensure that the girls participate in weekly Catechism, Bible sharing, Sunday Mass and daily prayers. Through learning about the Catholic Faith, Christian values are instilled in the children, helping them to make positive choices for their future.

Sr Corazon has seen an amazing transformation in Henny and Jenny since they first arrived at the orphanage five years ago. Like many of the other girls, they were incredibly timid, insecure and shy at first, while also struggling with health issues related to their severe malnutrition. When first affected by malnutrition, Jenny was not able to stand or walk for an entire year. Today her physical health has improved, but sadly, her intellectual capacity has been affected, making it crucial for her to receive the care and education provided through the orphanage in order to have a hope-filled and bright future.

Sr Corazon feels a great sense of fulfilment working at the orphanage and seeing the life-changing transformations in the children, including Henny and Jenny.

“I am very happy to be with the children at the Our Lady of Providence Home,” she said. “I am faced with difficult cases almost every day, but it is very rewarding to see survival when the children have been so close to dying. I feel fulfilled doing this work of God to help the children. When I was young and decided to become a sister, it was because I wanted to make a change in the society. I am convinced that if we care for the children, they will become an asset in the society.”

With more than a quarter of the people in the Philippines living below the poverty line, Sr Corazon constantly worries about the future of the children. Given the limited capacity at the orphanage, she knows that she and her fellow sisters are only able to reach out to a very small number of children in desperate need. What is more, she needs our help to continue this life-saving work.

Learning about the desperate struggles of families like Helen’s in the Philippines is truly heartbreaking. As you and I prepare to celebrate the Holy Season, the image of baby Jesus in the arms of his mother Mary comes to mind, reminding us of the tender mercy and boundless love between a mother and her child.

— To help children like Henny and Jenny receive care for a brighter future this Christmas, please send your Christmas gift to us at Missio Scotland, St Andrew’s, 4 Laird Street, Coatbridge, ML5 3LJ or by contacting us at 01236 449774. Everyone at Missio wishes you a Blessed and Holy Christmas