Project 006 - Rehoboth Children's Home - Philippines

John Rey Carlo on admission 19th July 2005

By September 2005 little John was really making progress thanks to the caring staff headed up by Deputy Administrator Mrs Fe Canlas.

By Summer 2007 little John was a different child and a joy to all who came in contact with him. His little chest has now grown to 53cms and he weighs 11kg.

Forsaken but not without help - Siloam's vital support of the Rehoboth Children's Home in the Philippines

"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." Psalm 27:10

Dear Siloam friends,

The eyes of this pathetic child still haunt me, the look on his little face would surely cause me to lose sleep were it not for the knowledge that such distressing cases like John Rey Carlo can be turned about. John's life began on September 5th, 2004 but his mother was unable to support him so he was admitted on 19th July the following year to Rehoboth weighing less than 3 kgs. When Fe Canlas the Deputy Administrator of the home first caught a glimpse of him, she cried as she held little John in her arms. The poor child couldn't even lift his arms or kick his legs. He had been abandoned by his birth mother who had left him in the care of her sister, her nearest kin who in her hour of despair brought him to Rehoboth.

The child was suffering with the life wasting condition of Marasmus, he had only been fed on rice soup, and brown sugar diluted with water. Had Rehoboth not been in existence, this child would surely have died and become just another sad statistic recording the grim plight of so many desperate children in the Philippines.

Rehoboth Children's Home is a non government child caring agency working in co-ordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The home is managed by the Asian Hope Missionary Outreach, a non profit relief organisation originally founded in Perth, Western Australia in 1989. It is a Christian ministry borne out of a divine vision given to Bob and Barbara Morriss to provide a temporary safe haven for destitute children in the Philippines. Siloam has been involved since its inception in June 2003 and even before that date Siloam supported the Shalom Bata Rescue Centre in Manila. The home enjoys the patronage of the British Embassy in Manila - the staff visit often.

Mrs Fe Canlas the Deputy Administrator knows all the pitiful stories of all the children who have entered through Rehoboth doors. She has been there from the beginning when she first welcomed little Joel followed by Lea and Jelly Rose. She supervises the care of these children from infancy to toddlerhood making sure that they receive the nourishment, medical attention and love that they each need in order to thrive. Now those first three children have thankfully been adopted, but it was a bittersweet experience for Fe when each of the children finally left the home.

So many children in the Philippines need your help and currently the Rehoboth Children's Centre is licensed to care for 24 babies/toddlers at a time. The project managers have ambitious plans to build another project on an adjacent piece of property measuring 2.2 hectares which has recently been purchased. A team of engineering and architectural professionals from EMI a Christian non profit development organisation made up of architects, engineers and design professionals are due to meet on site later this autumn to finalise the plans for a proposed building. If you would like to be part of this project and would like to contribute towards the future ministry of Rehoboth, then please return the coupon below designating your funds to project 006 the Rehoboth Children's Home in the Philippines.

But, Rehoboth is only one of many ministries Siloam supports overseas even though we sent gifts last year and this totalling almost £11,000.00 to help with the general running of the project.

Gifts of £5.00, £10.00 and £100.00 when added together can make a real difference and can literally save the lives of babies who would otherwise die. But, the intention of Bob and Barbara Morriss, the Founders was that this facility should only give short term help, the real goal is to find these babies adoptive parents as quickly as possible as there are already enough orphanages in the developing world bringing up children institutionally. Siloam believes everyone should have their own mother and father.

Perhaps this month you could help us by making this ministry more widely known in your sphere of influence. Could you undertake a special fundraising initiative and/or become more personally involved in rescuing these babies? Please send whatever you can for this lifesaving ongoing ministry so we can continue to rescue young children and make it possible for each of them to be brought up in a caring Christian family somewhere in the world. Please respond soon, your gift could make a real difference, your love really does matter.

Yours sincerely on behalf of the children needing your support at Rehoboth

Richard Norton
Director-Siloam UK

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