Service Weekend

Tour of the Virlanie Homes
[L to R Clockwise] Najee showing us the playground, Babies and toddler home, Mobile School that goes to far flung areas and volunteers set up blackboards and teach children from that area, Bunkers for the kids, Art work by the children at the Drop in Center.

We are entitled to 2 free breakfasts at the Citadines Hotel and we decided to pack up our second breakfast everyday to give to the children of the Virlanie Foundation. This is a foundation in Manila that gives a reason for street children to smile. Andrie was kind enough to take us to this child caring institute, where we met Najee the campaign officer who took us on a tour of the place. The place that broke my heart was the toddler home where we met around 10 toddlers all longing to be hugged. As soon as we entered the room they all lifted their arms to be carried and as soon as I carried Angie - 3 yr old girl, she hugged me tight. Was really nice spending time with them , but was also hard to say goodbye. Some of them started crying when we left and it was heart wrenching to have to walk away.

Angie and I

Children at Virlanie

On Saturday morning we visited another organisation that works with children in the SOS Village. This village is nested in a typical "Village" setup in Manila i.e amidst the posh residential villa properties in Manila Alabang. We were allotted to houses and spent time with the kids from the house. The concept of SOS was unique for the fact that siblings were kept together and assigned to a house. This house is a decent property with a porch, garden and all the amenities of a normal household. The idea is to give the children a sense of belonging and normalcy so as to foster their growth and independence. We spent half a day with them and was fun to interact. Some pictures from SOS village: