On the 6th of September, a number of Y10 students travelled to the Chosen Children's Village Foundation, located in Cavite, Philippines. Alongside Mr. Guinness, Ms. Fenton, Ms. Swinnerton and Ms. Millburn, we departed BSM at 7:30a.m. and took a 90 minute bus ride to the foundation, eager to get a chance to meet and interact with our new KS4 charity partner.
CCV is a non-government organization which takes in children, under the age of 9 months, who have been abandoned or surrendered by their parents – many of these parents had attempted to abort their children. Due to this, some of the children we encountered were either mentally or physically handicapped. Yet thankfully the Chosen Children Village, founded in 1989 by Maria Peypoch Fullerton, strives to care for and rehabilitate these children, often finding many of them adoptive families in places such as Canada, Finland and Spain.
(For more information, you can visit their website)
Upon arriving the village, we were introduced to the foundation’s principles and their purposes, as well as the facilities located around the village. The 2.4 hectare parcel of land contained the village (housing multiple cottages), a school, a chapel and a playground; it was refreshing to see how open and peaceful the village was, as the playground was situated in the middle of the village alongside colourful swings and wooden animals. It was then explained to us how a handful of children live in each cottage – with each one housing a different age group.
Our visit began with us meeting the younger children (aged 2-4). Here we met the toddlers who had been adopted by families. We learned that every house has a few caretakers who watch over the children every day; it was great seeing how active the children were!
Afterwards, we headed to the house for the infants (who were aged 1 year or below). There we spent approximately 20 minutes carrying and playing with the babies, who were all very playful. A handful of us played games with the children, whilst others helped assist the caretakers by doing a few simple tasks.Our group then split up: half of us headed towards another cottage, and other half helped to feed those in wheelchairs – myself being amongst those who helped feed the children (this was part of their residential care program). Once we had carefully brought them to the eating centre, we were taught how to feed them and help them drink. Though difficult at first, I found this experience to be extremely rewarding and eye-opening as I was able to help a boy named Hendric to eat, despite him being born deaf and blind.
The day was later concluded with a fun game session, where we played basketball, twister and took photos with our newly acquainted friends.
For many of us, this was our first visit to the Chosen Children’s Village. I was stunned at how much the rehabilitation centre had helped the children, and I found it to be incredibly inspirational. Seeing how much CCV aids the children in finding new adoptive parents and families opened my eyes to how much the organisation was improving these children’s lives – all whilst giving them a fun and homely upbringing. Inspired and moved by our rewarding visit, Year 10 are now planning to bring some of the CCV children to BSM during Bonfire Night, International Evening and the Fete.
Here are some quotes about our trip to CCV:
“The trip was really fun. Not only did I get to see the children, but I also got to make new friends. This was definitely a trip to remember!” – Ira Hamoud 10LFE
“It was a great experience to mix up and help the children, I felt incredibly lucky.” – Adam Clarke 10LFE
Overall, the experience was very rewarding. It was an experience filled with excitement, hard work and fulfillment. We encourage everyone to take part in this wonderful activity and we hope to see you there someday!
Thank you to all of those involved in this trip and I’m sure Year 10 would be happy to pay a visit to the Chosen Children’s Village again!
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