One of my officemates, Carlos, recently celebrated his birthday. And instead of throwing a party, he decided to give back and hold several mini outreaches spread across different weekends.
- One Million Lights - June 15
- Habitat for Humanity - June 21
- Elsie Gaches Village - July 5
I’ve actually been looking for an avenue to help out, so I signed up for one! Despite having a really long week at work, I was pleasantly surprised that I had no trouble getting out of bed. Since our meet-up point was in McDo Alabang at 7AM and since I have no idea how to get there, I decided to leave earlier than usual. Given my track record with directions, I already anticipated getting lost and allotted extra travel time. But thanks to Waze, I was able to get there without a sweat. I was even the first one there. Eager beaver much?
After grabbing some breakfast and waiting for the others in the group, we headed across the street to Elsie Gaches Village. The group was led to the main building, where we were given a brief orientation before we officially started the day. Some brief facts about the place:
What Elsie Gaches Village Is
Elsie Gaches Village is the first and only government-run residential care facility that provides “care and rehabilitation services to the abandoned and neglected children with special needs (e.g. cerebral palsy, epilepsy, visual and hearing impairment, mental retardation, autism, etc.). Residents here are either those picked up by the government, referred here by a third party, or brought here by their own families who are unable to care for them.
Our Tasks for the Day
We were assigned to 2 cottages, one for boys and one for girls. In general, we were to help them clean the surroundings, interact with them, and help feed them, if necessary. The girls were assigned to Camia, where the residents either have Down Syndrome, autism, or varying degrees of mental retardation. Although their biological age may go up to as high as 30, the mental age of the residents are only from 0-3 yrs.
After the orientation we set off towards the cottages to begin the day. As we approached the cottages, some of the residents ran out to greet us. Although most of them can’t speak well, you can tell by their smiles that they’re happy to have visitors. Some took our hands and gave us a mano while some just hugged us in welcome.
I didn’t know how to react. I stood frozen unable to decide whether to just approach them and interact or to hide behind and blend in with the rest of the volunteers.
I’m not gonna pretend that I was not shocked, because I am. Nor will I pretend that I was not taken aback the first time they hugged me. Because I was. The whole experience was so different from what I was used to that even though I went through a briefing, it did not prepare me at all.
And honestly, it took me a really long time to be able to put my thoughts down into words. because even now, the emotions inside are just so jumbled up. Was I sad over hearing their heartbreaking tales of abandonment and neglect and their struggle to ? Was it relief that somehow at least they’ve found a safe haven here in Elsie Gaches? Or was it confusion on how despite their disabilities, despite their longing for a family they will almost probably never have, they are able to be as they are, with smiles on their innocent faces?
Maybe a few days or weeks more, and I’ll be unable to recall their faces, but I will always remember their stories and who they are. There’s fragile Jenny, who I’m guessing would be the baby of the family. There’s Daisy, the aggressive one who lost no time in showing who’s in charge. There’s Bettina with the beautiful made up face,who reminds me of how a Spanish señorita. And then there’s Bianca and her need for constant affirmation, who tugs at you every 5 mins seeking validation.
But then again aren’t we all like them too? Don’t we put on faces to show the world what we want to show? And maybe we don’t do it as often, but don’t we seek validation just as Bianca does?
Maybe, just maybe, if we’re willing to look past the superficial, we’ll finally see, that them and us — we’re not so different after all.
