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"A Paradise for the Kids"
Every week in our updates we will give you a little history of one of the children at the home. This week's child is Gerry Canete.
On June 6, 2000, Gerry Canete came to Subic Bay Children's Home. At the age of ten his parents separated. His mother now has another family. Gerry and his father lived with his Aunt (Sister of his father) where they helped in a small canteen. His other brothers and sisters moved in with their Aunt (sister of their mother.)
A dried fish dealer from a village near Subic Bay Children's Home came and ate lunch at their cafeteria where Gerry and his father worked. On December 1988, she arranged with the boy's father to have Gerry as their helper in exchange for a sum of money. She had promised to send Gerry to school. The boy's Aunt further persuaded her brother to go ahead with the deal. It was very hard for Gerry to go with a stranger, but he had no choice because his Aunt beat him. They stayed in Manila for several months to sell the merchandise the lady had before they returned to Olongapo.
The woman and her son mistreated Gerry. He had to work all day without proper food and sleep. He ran away four times. He begged from one place to the other for his food and slept on streets.
Last May 2000, the son of the cook of Subic Bay Children's Home saw Gerry sleeping on the street. He would often give Gerry food. The cook later told her son to bring to Gerry to Subic Bay Children's Home. During his first week of stay in the home, Gerry had a hard time in adjusting to others. He always cried and was very lonely. He was so thin and sickly. He has improved a great deal in his behavior since coming to the Children's Home. He is now very friendly to the other children and participates actively inside the classroom.
Personal Note: I talked with Gerry during my visits. He also wrote me a letter telling me about his past before coming to children's home. He told me he was only given a small piece of bread to eat for the whole day. The woman mentioned above would make him work the whole day on that little bit of food. Gerry was so malnourished that he developed large knots under his skin from not getting the nutrition he needed. He still has them today.
Gerry now is grown and helps out in the livelihood projects. When a pig is killed he gets the tail and cooks it on the spot (Yummy). |
