This January 2024, we marked a momentous occasion as we gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of our Children’s Village for sick and vulnerable children, a haven that will provide temporary shelter and care for those who need it most.
Allow me to introduce Helping Hands Healing Hearts to you in a nutshell. HHM was founded in 2001, registered in 2004 and operated in Olongapo from 2001-2014. We have operated in Baguio since 2009. We consolidated operations here in Baguio in 2014. We have 34 full time staff and 2 foreign missionaries, myself included.
With a 21 year legacy, we’ve served thousands of children and families from all over the Philippines. Our Children’s Home primarily focuses on providing temporary residential care for children from a variety of crisis and trauma backgrounds. Family preservation is always our main goal and we take joy in reunifying families as often as possible. If reunification is not an option, we support adoption. We have been able to place over 55 children into forever families both locally and through and inter-country adoption.
Through our Children’s Recovery Unit (CRU) , we provide practical, emotional, spiritual, and financial assistance toward children’s recovery from illness while in the hospital and after their release. We would love to help more but our space is limited.
Our current facilities are retro-fitted homes that, after using for 15 years, are no longer well equipped for the demands and necessities of our work. From daily care of children, palliative care facilities, multipurpose flex spaces, and administrative capabilities, we need a space designed with the extra needs of these children in mind. We need a space purpose-built to serve the wide variety of needs that our team addresses.
After years of praying and saving, we’ve purchased this 3,235 square meter plot of land in Tuba, Benguet, a few miles outside of Baguio City so still close enough to get to BGH in an emergency! We are currently raising money for construction on this property before the monsoon season begins. We will begin with phase 1, our first two cottages on Jan 28th 2024. Phase 2 will follow as soon as funds are available. We need to work fast as the monsoon rains will come mid year.
The Children’s Village will be a safe haven for kids to come, heal, process, receive holistic treatment and hopefully returned to their families healed and whole. The Children’s Village will have a purpose built Children’s Cottages for those who need residential care, a Children Recovery Unit for those who need medical care and additionally, we will have finally have a special wing for kids with special needs and a palliative care wing for children and families who need extra loving end of life care. The children who will benefit from Helping Hands Healing Hearts generally come from far flung provinces were access to medical care is extremely limited and without our help, their chances of surviving are limited. We work closely with the local hospitals and that is why this Village is strategically placed to ensure that partnership continues to benefit the children! The village will also be the hub where we operate The Community Program (TCP) and the family strengthening program from. TCP provides assistance for medical care for children all over the Philippines who are able to remain in their own family homes for treatment or recovery but require assistance to do so. It is our pleasure to help keep these families together. The FS program strengthens families and helps prepare them to survive though times.
In this compassionate endeavor, we embark on a journey to create a nurturing environment where every child can find solace, support, and the opportunity to heal. Children who need temporary shelter will be able to live in one of our six cottages with a Mama who truly cares for them. They can stay until they can return home or be adopted into a forever family. Children who are sick and in need of medical attention at our local hospitals will be able to stay at our children’s recovery unit until they are well enough to return home to their families. We will serve children from Baguio, Benguet and further flung provinces who need our help. We will also provide a safe space for hospice care and a space for children with special needs who also need medical attention. Our village symbolizes a collective commitment to the well-being of these young souls who deserve a chance at a brighter future.
As we begin to build, let it resonate not only in the soil beneath us but in the hearts of everyone. Together, we sow the seeds of hope and resilience, cultivating a space where love, kindness, and understanding will blossom.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. May this village stand as a testament to the strength of our community, a beacon of compassion that radiates far beyond these physical boundaries. It is a place where every child will be embraced, where their dreams can take root, and where the warmth of empathy will dispel the shadows of adversity.
Let us unite in our shared mission to provide sanctuary for those in need. Thank you for being part of this transformative journey. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of these children, and together, we shall build a future filled with compassion and possibility.
In our village we are not raising orphans, we are raising sons and daughters ❤️
