YEAR END MESSAGE

It’s that time of the year again when our thoughts are with our loved ones past and present. Bethany has had its ups and downs this year but the struggle continues and we have somehow survived. Several of our children have recently gone overseas to be with their adoptive parents and we wish them all the best in their new homes and countries. Its seeing the joy on the faces of the children with their new adoptive parents that make life all worthwhile for myself and the staff at Bethany, long may it continue. I would like to also thank all of you who have given both financially and spiritually to us here at Bethany as without your invaluable help we would not be able to continue.

Once again a very big thank you to all those who have supported the children and staff and on behalf of everyone at Bethany may we wish you a joyous Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Mixed Emotions.

It’s every member of Staffs dream at Bethany to have their wards placed in the care of loving parents, whereby they can go off to whatever part of the world and enjoy a new and fulfilling life. This week it was the turn of Angelo and his sister Criselda to do just that. Tony and Christine Fazzini travelled from their home in Adelaide, Australia to Manila to finalize the necessary paperwork and then on to Talakag to collect their new son and daughter. Tony and Christine had already been keeping me up to date regarding the progress of their adoption process and Marilou and I were excited to meet them on arrival at Bethany. Immediately on meeting Tony and Christine we knew what wonderful parents they will make for Angelo and Criselda after watching them interact with their new son and daughter.

The children view a specially prepared scrapbook showing them their new home and family.

 As is customary before leaving Bethany the children and class mates of Angelo and Criselda held a farewell party which actually was also an early lunch. About 30 children attended the send-off as well as members of the teaching staff and after prayers the children sang a special send off song for Angelo and Criselda and Angelo sung a solo song in response. There was hardly a dry eye in the house after his rendition and watching Tony and Christine they were so proud of his effort.

The class mates of Angelo and Criselda sing a special farewell song to them

Angelo sings solo.

Greg Longcob the CEO of Bethany made a speech about how Bethany cherish people like Tony and Christine who by their love of children make the self-sacrifice of offering a loving and truly Christian home and life to our children here. Tony responded on behalf of Christine and himself by saying that he was overwhelmed by the love that’s given to the children at Bethany despite all the hardships encountered. He went on to compare what children have in the developed world with the children he has met here and concluded that the children at Bethany were a lot happier with a lot less. Tony thanked the staff for all their hard work and dedication and promised to keep us updated with Angelo and Criselda’s progress in Australia.

Mr Tony Fanzzini responds to Mr Greg Longcob's speach.

Proud father and daughter

Loving mother and son 

 Bethany would like to wish Angelo and Criselda and their older brother Jason Fazzini a happy and fruitful life in Adelaide. Once again Tony and Christine it’s been our pleasure to meet you and to know that Angelo and Criselda have wonderful and loving parents.

The Fazzini family will spend a few days in Manila and leave on Sunday evening to return to Australia.

AN UPDATE ON RACHEL SULATAN

A short while ago I wrote about Rachel (Chi chi) Sulatan having to go into hospital for Radiology treatment and Chemotherapy in Davao. Following her treatment she wanted to return to Bethany to be beside her family and friends so as soon as she was well enough to make the journey she returned home. The day after she returned to Bethany we set off for Bohol to attend our niece's wedding so never got the opportunity to visit Rachael until this morning.

                                                        

Rachel has remained positive and is a credit to herself and family as well as the children who live in her cottage. Although those who know her know she is unwell, that spark still remains in her eyes and radiates when she smiles, albeit with difficulty under her present circumstances. Words fail me as of now to express my true feelings for Rachel’s situation so I will let the photograph of Rachel and I speak for itself. Rachel currently has a spend of 5,000 pesos per week ($122.00) (£75.50) (€95.00) on medication and with Bethany’s limited funds it is becoming a struggle to find. Can I please ask you once more wherever you are too kindly help a truly wonderful person in her time of need.  It does not have to be a big amount that you have to give as collectively we will I’m sure be able to raise sufficient on a monthly basis to pay her medication bills.

If you contact me direct jcjimc@aol.com  I will give you instructions on how to forward your donation as there is no foreign exchange account here or means to draw on a personal cheque (Check).

56 YEARS AND STILL GOING STRONG.

Rose and Rita entertain the audience at the start of the ceremony

 

This morning my wife Marilou and I attended the 56th Founders Day celebration at Bethany Christian School for Children. Each year the children from kinder grade to 4th Year High School celebrate the founding of the school by way of various competitions including sports and subject related challenges. The students are divided into four groups or teams and they challenge each other to find out who is the best overall. The team with the most points at the end of the four day competition is declared the winner with prizes given in each category. Competition is fierce with very high standards being achieved amongst the competitors. The completion will start tomorrow proper and last till Thursday with the prize giving on Friday to conclude the celebrations.

A section of the Students and their Parents.

 

BCSC was started in 1956 to provide an education for the then children of Bethany Christian Home for Children and soon expanded to provide kinder, elementary and high school education for a sizable number of students in the Talakag area until now.

                                                                   The Teaching Staff Choir

Rachel Needs Your Help Urgently.

The Children saying goodbye to Rachel before going to Kinder School this morning.

 

When we returned to Talakag from the UK at the beginning of this week I received an e-mail message from Rachel Sulatan’s daughter Astrid to inform me that her mother was ill and required my assistance. Today we visited Bethany to deliver some books donated by our friends Agnes and Don Black currently living in Scotland for the children’s library so took the opportunity to visit Rachel.

I knew from the moment I saw her that something was amiss and that she was not looking well. After the customary greetings Rachel informed us that she has been diagnosed as having cancer. I was totally devastated in hearing this news as I know Rachel is a pillar of Bethany’s child care system having been a staff member for over thirty years (30) and a houseparent since 1988.

Having known Rachel or Chi Chi as she is affectionately called since I became involved at Bethany I do appreciate the tremendous work that she has done over the years caring for the numerous children that have passed through her cottage as well as those who are still there with her as of now. There are many adoptive parents all around the world who have met Rachel either when they came to Bethany to collect their new wards or have visited since with them as they grew up.

Without beating about the bush Rachel requires your financial help in order for her to receive the necessary medical care and treatment for her condition. Neither Bethany nor Rachel has the financial reserves to cover the cost of her treatment which will involve receiving radio-therapy as well as chemo-therapy and prescription medicine. Rachel’s treatment will be administered in either Davao or Cebu as Cagayan de Oro does not have the required facilities.

Since this treatment will start soon can I please appeal to all of you out there who know Rachel and are willing to donate to her care no matter how much or little you are able to give, any amount will be greatly appreciated. I promise to give regular updates on Rachel’s progress and condition.

Initially the cost of her treatment, travel and after care is estimated at $10,000.00 and all donations can be either sent through me or direct to Bethany, bank details will be given to those wishing to donate by contacting me direct at jcjimc@aol.com.

I hope and pray that this urgent appeal will reach out to as many people as possible and Rachel will receive her medical care without delay.

DONATIONS FROM SCOTLAND

Sorry for the delay in updating my blog as we are currently in the UK where we attended our son Michaels wedding. Yes they don’t remain children forever and now he and his new wife Jessica will experience what his mother and I had to endure to get him to where he is now, along with all the expense of doing so ha!ha!ha

In my last entry I mentioned our good friend Meriam who visited us in Talakag from East Kilbride in Scotland. I also wrote that she had promised to help with soliciting used football (soccer) kit from her friends in Scotland involved in running a youth Football Team. Meriam is not one for making a promise and not keeping it. When she attended our son’s wedding recently in Newcastle upon Tyne she brought with her a large quantity of football kit consisting of shirts, pants and socks as well as an assortment of used football boots. When she last organised to obtain football kit the children at Bethany as well as Talakag town all benefitted and this started an enthusiasm for the sport amongst boys and girls. In addition to the football kit Meriam also brought with her a large quantity of dental care kits for the children consisting of tooth brushes and toothpaste. A large selection of baby clothes was also included as well as a monitory donation.

Marilou hands over the dental hygene packs and baby clothes

 I always like to say a big thank you to our donors and on this occasion especially to Paul & Debbie Kinghorn for the used youth team strips, this is the second batch Paul & Debbie have donated. Also I’d like to thank Elaine McClymont for her donation of used football tops and boots. Thank you Loraine Houlden and friends for the dental care kits and baby clothes and also I’d like to mention Sheila Murdoch and the others who donated a monitory sum for Bethany.

 

                          Some members of the football team with their new stips 

The box with all the items is already on its way to Bethany and should arrive in Talakag by Mid-August all going well. When the box arrives I will be sure to include photographs of the handover of the donations to the  Bethany staff. Once again a big thank you to all of you for giving so generously to a worthy cause.   

Meriam visits Bethany

Meriam in Talakag native costume.

Meriam Quilang-Galuna Hunter long time best friend and supporter of Bethany finally fulfilled her promise to visit BCHC here in Talakag last month. Meriam has supported Bethany for many years now and has vowed to visit Bethany when next in the Philippines. Never one to break a promise Meriam during her recent visit to Cagayan de Oro to visit her family and friends following the Typhoon Sendong disaster in December 2011 called on Bethany to hand over gifts brought all the way from East Kilbride in Scotland my homeland.



Meriam in the Nursery with our most recent addition.

During her visit to Bethany Meriam had the opportunity to meet the children first hand and had it been possible, I’m sure she would have taken them back to Scotland with her. Since returning to Scotland Meriam has informed me that she has been working hard to raise funding for Bethany amongst friends and work colleagues so all we can say is a very big thank you to all in East Kilbride who wish to help us here and your donations will be put to a worthy cause.

Meriam with Marilou and myself.

Once again thank you Meriam for taking the time to visit us here in Talakag and seeing first-hand the valuable work done by Bethany on behalf of their children.

Sustainable Rubber Plantation Project.

The Rubber Plantation

The rubber plantation project that a group of my friends, former work colleagues, Marilou and I started back in 2009 is now approaching its fourth (4th) year of growth.

The young trees are now gaining height and girth and should be ready for tapping sometime towards the end of 2013 or early 2014. Once tapping commences Bethany will have 25 years of monthly income and with the just over 4 hectares plantation that will give a financial yield of 30,000 pesos monthly net income.

         The trees are maturing

Our dream was to plant a further 11 hectares which would then on maturity give Bethany Home a monthly income of 125/150,000 pesos, depending on world market prices and demand. This would truly make Bethany self-sufficient in terms of financing the existing facilities and allow the future donations from well-wishers to be used to maintain and update its infrastructure ensuring its long term survival.

Marilou and myself would like to appeal to all former Bethany children their supporters and Bethany well-wishers to collectively donate a little to ensure that this dream of being self-sufficient is realised in the not too distant future as remember it takes five years (5) from planting the rubber tree seedlings to tapping the latex. By planting trees we are also helping the environment and natural rubber is much better as a raw material than oil based plastics.



The Miller Family Visit CDO

Dusty, Hazel & Michaella at KL CdeO.

Very recently Adrian (Dusty) as he prefers to be called his wife Hazel and daughter Michella visited Cagayan de Oro following the tragedy of typhoon Sendong to visit Hazel’s family who live in the city.

Dusty hails from Australia and was a one time resident of Cagayan de Oro before returning with his wife and daughter to live there once more.

True to form Dusty though, “What can we as a family do to help those less fortunate when we return for our holiday to CdeO”. The Miller’s brought with them 50 sets of School Supplies and donated them to the children of Bethany, knowing that School Supplies is always an appreciated gift for any child attending school.

50 Sets of School Supplies

As always the Bethany staff was delighted with the gift to the children and once all the school age children have been catered for the balance of the School Supplies will be given to the less well-off elementary students who attend Bethany Christian School for which I’m sure they and their parents will be truly grateful.

It’s worth adding that Dusty when in CdeO always attends the Kingston Lodge Expat Group (KLEG) meeting held every Wednesday at the Lodge and gives generously to the weekly Charity Raffle, the proceeds of which go to various local needy causes. KLEG was able to donate 175,000 pesos in food aid with the donation coming from the proceeds of the Raffle as well as private donations from members and well-wishers in the aftermath of typhoon Sendong.

Once again a big thank you to the Miller family for their generous gift to Bethany and we all hope to see you again in the future when you may have an opportunity to visit Bethany Home here in Talakag.