Yes to Gardening, ROS Kids Say

Can little ones develop a love for gardening? "Yes!" say the children at Visions of Hope Rose of Sharon House of Friendship (ROS) in Brgy. Puypuy, Bay, Laguna. The children not only learn the science of tending plants and animals in agriculture class. They also get to see and feel for themselves God's provision through His creation.

ROS kids dutifully tend their plots of vegetables.

Beginning in October 2013, 23 ROS children who are nine years old and above discovered the basics of vegetable seedling preparation, transplanting, and harvest in twice-a-week classes that combine lecture and hands-on organic gardening.

Biblical truths such as valuing the abundance, diversity, and interrelationships of all of God's creation and our stewardship mandate as human beings are integrated in the agriculture lessons. The class also teaches the children, former street-dwellers, about becoming self-sustainable.

Agriculture teacher Rey Sibi relates that the children were in awe when they saw the first buds of their pechay (Chinese cabbage) come out of the earth. Working in groups, they dutifully cared for plants in 20 plots, regularly watering and applying organic fertilizer to these. With organic gardening skills, they would know how to grow food in ways that are productive and friendly for the environment.

"When they got to eat their pechay after harvest time, they could not stop raving about literally tasting the fruit of their labor," Teacher Rey says.

The produce was sold to the canteens of ROS and CCT Magdalena, and to ROS neighbors and visitors. The children divided their earnings among themselves, and with the help of Teacher Rey, started a savings group. They plan to withdraw their money at the end of the year.

Some of them want to give their savings to their families when they go home for the Christmas break, while the others plan to use it to buy things for school.

Other vegetables that the children planted and harvested were tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumber. While the weather is not fit for planting this summer, the children at ROS are raising 40 free-range chickens which they intend to sell after 45 days.

It's pechay harvest time! 

In groups, ROS kids weigh their produce after harvest.

Jeloxen Canalita: Sharing Parental Love

Mommy Jelox tells former street-dwelling children at
ROS that the Lord has a better plan for them. 

“I want to let the children feel a parent’s love,” Jeloxen Canalita, young houseparent at the Visions of Hope Rose of Sharon House of Friendship (ROS) tearfully explains. “Having grown up as an orphan, I never experienced that myself.”

Jeloxen, “Mommy Jelox” to the children, has served at ROS for a total of two years – the longest-staying among the ROS houseparents. Only 22 years old this year, she started her houseparent duties in 2010 but left after a year to pursue an education degree while also serving as a teaching assistant at Visions of Hope Christian School (VOHCS) in Muntinlupa City. She returned to ROS in 2013.

Jeloxen hails from Zamboanga del Sur and grew up under her aunt’s care. Her aunt, who worked for Dr. Pan Callanta, one of Center of Community Transformation’s (CCT) doctors, encouraged her to avail of a CCT scholarship for a welding and construction course. When Jeloxen finished, she attended training on the BLESS (Basic Life Empowerment and Support System) curriculum of VOHCS. Then, a work opportunity opened up for her in ROS in Puypuy, Bay, Laguna.

She confesses that her childhood dream was to become a soldier, but because she has a big heart for children, she loves being in ROS. Aside from enjoying the friendship of other ROS staff, she takes
delight in sharing her life story with the children, listening to their own stories, and leading devotion and Bible study sessions for them. She tells them that even though they are not with their parents, “the Lord has a better plan for them and that many people are looking after them, including Lola Ruth,” referring to CCT President Ruth Callanta, whom the children call their “lola” or grandmother.

Through the years, she has seen the children become more respectful of each other. She says that they used to try to avoid meeting new people because they were too shy but now they know how to confidently greet and talk to visitors. She is also seeing a growing sense of initiative and obedience among the older girls. The children are now more affectionate and loving, she adds, unlike before when they would often get into fights.

Jeloxen makes sure to teach them about honesty. She tells them that when they want something, they can always ask and when they have made a mistake, such as taking things that are not theirs, they should admit to it and say sorry. Not only do the children learn from her but she also learns from them about humbly owning up to a mistake and always treating others with respect.

She prays that the children whom she takes care of will be grateful even in the smallest things, and will love God, others, and their country. She believes that as she serves the children, God is molding her to become more obedient, humble, patient, and faithful. To be more equipped in influencing them, she plans to go back to school in the near future to finish her degree.

VOH Children Receive Early Christmas Gifts, Serve Others

Whoops of delight filled the room as 53 Visions of Hope children opened shoe box gifts to find colorful toys, school supplies, fashion accessories, clothes, candies, toiletries, and letters from the givers.

It was the 24th of July, but for the children from the Rose of Sharon House of Friendship (ROS) and Magdalena boarding schools in Laguna, it seemed like Christmas. In the morning, they welcomed 34 Filipino and American volunteers from Operation Christmas Child (OCC) with leis and music and a program where some VOH girls did a dance interpretation of Hillsong’s “I Believe.” In the afternoon, they helped the OCC volunteers give out shoe box gifts to about 300 children at the neighboring Puypuy Elementary School. This became an opportunity for them to serve others in their community.

OCC is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization. Through OCC, volunteers collect and pack gifts in shoe boxes for distribution to needy children around the world.

After hearing about the life-changing love of Jesus Christ in stories told by the OCC volunteers, the VOH children lined up to receive their Christmas gifts. They were instructed to close their eyes and, while holding their gifts, pray about what they wanted to find. At the count of ten, all of them opened their gifts.

Eleven-year-old VOH child Carmela Panis, who used to live on the street with her family, said she wanted to receive shoes, sunglasses, toiletries, and school supplies but was glad to get necklaces, combs, a pair of cloth slippers, lip gloss, wallet, a small bag, drawing pads, and adhesive bandages. She described these as beautiful.

Thirteen-year-old Janelie Clavel, on the other hand, giggled about getting a box meant for a younger girl. But that did not make her less grateful for her new Barbie doll, as well as for the new clothes which she prayed for. She also got toiletries and flash cards to help her practice addition and subtraction.

Since she moved to ROS, Carmela said, she is able to eat three times a day and have a permanent dwelling, instead of having to always wander around. She also found people who mentor and correct her. Her mother, who stayed at the Center for Community Transformation Kaibigan Center in Manila for a time, died of cancer last year, and Carmela misses her dearly. She said that aside from the provision of her basic needs, she prays to be content despite her loss, and to know God more and draw nearer to Him. She thanked her shoe box giver and the volunteers who came to share their lives with her, and whom the Lord used to help change her life. 

Janelie and her older brother Michael were referred to VOH a year ago after he ran away from their home in Cavite. Janelie had to quit school after the fourth grade because her parents could no longer afford to send her and her five siblings to school. Today, she enjoys reading and writing. She related that in her former school, she learned unruly behavior from her classmates, but at ROS, she appreciates the rules she has to follow and the teachers who give enough attention to her learning needs. She dreams of also becoming a teacher someday and of taking her family out of poverty.

Carmela Panis interacts with a volunteer
from OCC while checking her shoe box gift.

Janelie Clavel (left) strikes a happy pose
after opening her gift.

OCC  volunteers, seen here with VOH children, also helped cover books for the ROS library. 

VOH children line up and help give gifts to the children
from Puypuy Elementary School.

How to Get to the CCT Visions of Hope Christian School in Puypuy, Bay, Laguna

Planning to visit the children at the CCT Visions of Hope Christian School in Puypuy, Bay, Laguna?  Here's how to get there: 

By private vehicle from Metro Manila: Enter  the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) at any of the following points: 

• Buendia Flyover (Gil Puyat Flyover)
• Skyway: Gil Puyat Ramp
• Skyway: Makati
• Arnaiz Avenue / Pasay Road Intersection
• Skyway: Don Bosco Magallanes
• Skyway Entrance: Magallanes
• Nichols Toll Barrier
• C5
• Merville
• Skyway: Bicutan
• Bicutan
• Skyway: Dr. A. Santos (Sucat)
• Sucat
• Skyway: Alabang South Station
• Alabang
• Filinvest
• Susana Heights 

 Leave SLEX at the Calamba exit, drive straight ahead on Real Road then turn right at the Calamba national highway. Drive along this highway through the resort town of Calamba, through Los Banos and past the UP Los Banos and IRRI on the right. About 500 meters past  UP Open Universiy you will enter the town of Bay, Laguna. Keep to the right when you get to the fork in the road. Drive straight ahead for about one kilometer, then turn right on the road before a police sub-station when you see the Royal Palm Resort sign. Keep going, passing the Royal Palm Resort on the left and the Puypuy Elementary School on the right. The  Visions of Hope Christian School (2240 Puypuy, Bay) is just about 300 meters past the school.  

 By public transport from Metro Manila: Get on a bus bound for Sta. Cruz, Laguna 

• at the  HM Terminal (near the Victory Liner terminal) on EDSA in Cubao, 
• at the DLTB bus terminal on Buendia /Gil Puyat (near LRT station)
• along Taft Avenue in Manila 
• at the Alabang bus terminal. (Fare from Alabang as of August 2011 is P77.85.) 

Alight at the Bay public market.  Tricycles to Puypuy are parked near Emely sari-sari store. Fare is P45.00 for a special trip (you alone) or P9.00 with four other passengers. The  Visions of Hope Christian School (2240 Puypuy, Bay) is just about 300 meters past the Puypuy Elementary School.