Day 44 - Global Citizenship Day with Cebu Task Force for Street Children

L-R: Philip, Jenny, Isabelle and Sonny on our way to
the Cebu City Task Force for Street Childern

It's the 44th day of my ICS Volunteering Journey. We went to the GVSP office to meet up before we travelled together to Cebu City Task Force for Street Children (CCTFSC) in Brgy. Parian. We are going to partner with them for the Global Citizenship Day which is part of the VSO-ICS program.

Global Citizenship Days (GCDs) are activities that aims to create an impact in the community which is different from the work placements (Deaf Inclusion). Based on the interest of the volunteers, themes like in Environment or Awareness Raising in a particular issue can be considered as part of the GCD.

Love not Alms. A tagline of the
Cebu City Task Force for Street Children

We introduced ourselves to the children and taught them the A-Zs of Filipino Sign Language. They were very enthusiastic about it and then we asked them to spell their names. It was a fun learning for each of them. 

Parian Drop-In Center is just one of the aspects
of the CCTFSC. They provide temporary shelter
for street children.

I taught them the famous boom-snap-clap which is like rapping. The kids also enjoyed singing the Tong-tong-tong Pakitong Kitong which is a very old Cebuano song - like a nursery rhyme for children. Part of their activities included dancing and I was so amazed how kids learned how to do break dancing and splitting. They are very creative and artistic which can be seen on how they do their moves.

Vision of the Cebu City Task Force for Street Children

One of the volunteers in the center told me how thirsty kids are for men volunteers who visits them because most of the people working for these kids are women. They seemingly search for a father figure to play and talk with. There were 29 children in the Drop off center which usually sent by the police, family, and some were really taken out of the streets. 

Mission of the Cebu City Task Force for Street Children

The volunteers of the center makes it sure that the kids are enjoying their stay in the center because there were some cases that they choose to go outside and go back living in the streets. They are taught routine activities such as brushing their teeth, taking a bath, washing their hands, changing their clothes and sleeping in a bed (most of them are used to sleeping on the floor). 

Objectives of the Cebu City Task Force for Street Children

If a child arrives in the center, they usually confirm their identity to identify where they came from and if they still have families or relatives There were some children who are addicted to "rugby" ( an addictive solvent used for gluing) tried to escape from the center because of their addiction. The center also helps the children have access to education.

Later, Jenny and Isabelle cooked lunch for the children and also we helped the kids wash their hands and prepare the dining table. 

Jenny, serving the rice. They also cooked the viand
at the center's kitchen.

 After lunch , some of us read stories to children with their story books. And around 1:00PM, they were all sent to bed because its their regular siesta time.

A very colorful Superhero mural at the boys sleeping room.

 After the wonderful interaction and fun time with the children, we had to bid goodbye. One of the children asked me if I will be going back here. I just can't say yes. I don't want to leave empty promises to these kids. Or maybe, I wasn't that courageous enough to keep a promise? 

The Cebu City Task Force for Street Children together with the
ICS Volunteers before bidding farewell.
Note: This photo is blurry to protect the child's identity.

  There was a kid who was really attached to me and he even cried when some children would go near us or if I leave his side. But, I couldn't be with him always. It came to my thoughts that if children are easily attached to the visitors in the center, they might have trust issues when they grow up. Am I just too much  believing of what "Erik Erickson" had said on his theory?

A bright and sunny mural at the boys room. Very inspiring!

I can see that the visit we had brought a glowing smile on their faces. And that may we have sent the message that there are many people around them that cares. May their creativity continue to blossom and their dream may come true. And again, I can only hope.