A safe haven
03.08.2009
Holy Family Home tries to be a home while girls and young women are educated.
Holy Family Home is a cross between a boarding school and a refuge. It's a safe haven of bright coloured walls, plants and peacefulness on the outskirts of Bacolod, a city on the sugar-rich island of Negros in the Philippine Islands. The girls who live there during the school year are from poor families who cannot afford to educate their daughters or from families in which the girls could be at risk if they were living at home.
Columban Fr Sean Coyle the Editor of Misyon*, was my guide to this small but significant home when I visited him in May last year.
Sr Alma, a young Filipina Sister is the Director of Holy Family Home. She is a Capuchin Sister, one of seven Sisters who run the home. She was on retreat the day we arrived and the girls were washing clothes. Most of the girls who live there were absent with their families because it was school holidays. However, Sr Alma came off retreat to talk with us. A young Chinese girl was staying with them with a view to joining them.
"The girls go to local schools during the school year, they walk to school with the children from this local area; some of the older ones catch the bus into Bacolod," said Sr Alma. "They have their school routine and their holiday routine. The aim of the Home is to provide a place of security and safety and assist them in getting a good education." With obvious pride she mentioned that some of the girls had finished high school and were going to college.
The question hovers in the air about the cost of running the Home and financing the girls' education? Sr Alma explained with a disarming smile, "Holy Family Home has some benefactors and Providence helps us educate the girls." The girls live in pleasant dormitories, each bed has a teddy bear and other soft toys or animals. Sr Alma says, "Every girl who comes to stay receives a teddy bear on arrival."
Fr Coyle supports the Home by celebrating the Eucharist with them throughout the year.
Like any home the girls have work and play built into their daily and weekend routine. Holy Family Home has skilled people who spend time with the girls and help them to express their feelings and provide emotional support for them. Sr Alma wants it to be as much like home as possible so the girls are encouraged to look out for one another, especially the older girls for the younger girls.
There are many successful people who received little education yet succeeded in the world. But they are exceptional. Most people are not able to follow their example. Education is the key to getting somewhere, of giving people choices. Holy Family Home is giving this small group of girls that chance.
Fr Gary Walker is Editor of The Far East magazine.
* Misyon – is the online magazine produced by the Columban Fathers in the Philippines. To view Misyon see: www.misyononline.com/misyon
