Relief After the Fire

By Babylene Bocayes, Philippines Field Communications Specialist   |  Photos by Hope Center Staff

Child Champions in the Philippines step in to provide relief supplies and counseling to families displaced by a destructive fire in the slum they were living in.

Child Champions from OneChild helped provide activities and stress debriefings for kids displaced from their homes due to a fire.

About 200 families in one of the slum communities in Mandaluyong City, Philippines, lost their homes when a fire broke out on March 4, 2022. One of them was home to sponsored child Josmaryan, whose family lost everything including their clothes and personal belongings.

As soon as the fire was out, Josmaryan’s Child Champions immediately visited the family to provide comfort, prayers, and relief food and clothing.

A few days later, OneChild Philippines staff visited the family with more relief goods for the family.

Currently, Josmaryan and his family as well as other families are staying in tents (pictured at the top of the page) provided by the local government as temporary shelters while officials work on how to resettle families affected by the fire.

Kids affected by the fire were given activities to keep them busy.

The Child Champions not only provided food and nonfood relief goods, but they also conducted stress debriefing activities for Josmaryan and other children who witnessed the fire.

“We cannot ignore how the fire may have affected the children. So, we had a (stress) debriefing,” says Pastor Raquel Vargas.

Some kids did indeed show signs of trauma during these sessions, she says. The Child Champions are thankful that God gave them these children to care for, Pastor Raquel says.

“The Lord is faithful, and we believe that God cares for them, and He will heal their trauma.”

True love for the children not only shows in the material things given to them but also the love and care in action, especially in hard times like this fire. Kudos to our Child Champions in the Hope Center for shining the light for these children!

Give to the Children’s Crisis Fund to help OneChild respond quickly in providing disaster relief for families like Josmaryan’s.

Child Champions made sure the kids who were traumatized by the fire received counseling.

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