Tormented children find refuge at Hope House
House Hope offers temporary care and child placement for children who are orphaned, neglected, surrendered, maltreated or living in abject poverty.
Philippines – For Emil and Jeremiah*, childhood was a nightmare and the two boys hadn't even reached their teens.
As punishment, their stepfather hung one boy by his neck and the other by his toes; both had been burned with cigarettes.
"They were taken away by the government after being severely abused by their step-father," said Lenora Bush, director of Projects for Asia, Hope House Baguio.
The boys told of their torment and the youngest recounted a time when his father slashed his mouth in both corners.
The final straw was when the stepfather placed both the boys in a sack and locked them in a cabinet.
In order to process the necessary paperwork to terminate parental rights and legally put the children up for adoption, Hope House had to contact the boys' mother. Once the stepfather left, their mother demanded her boys be returned.
By law, the children had to be given back.
One month later, both boys showed up at Hope House. They had come alone and brought what little they had in a backpack. The boys told the social workers the abuse continued and their mother threw them out of the house.
Two days later, their mother showed up to voluntarily surrender parental rights.
Last year, a financial crisis nearly forced the facility to close its doors, so OBI stepped in to provide emergency funding to the organization.
House Hope offers temporary care and child placement for children who are orphaned, neglected, surrendered, maltreated or living in abject poverty.
Last year, a financial crisis nearly forced the facility to close its doors, so OBI stepped in to provide emergency funding to the organization.
"By giving us the necessary funds in our crisis situation, we were able to keep the home open and operating, properly finishing the 2007 year," Bush said. "No child's adoption was delayed and many children were aided and reunited with their families."
Emil and Jeremiah join 25 other children currently being sheltered at the Hope House.
*Names changed to protect identities.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Operation Blessing is helping to transform the futures of children like these by providing clean water, education assistance, nutritional feeding programs, medical care and more. Please make an online contribution toward OBI's orphan care programs today and help us continue to reach those in need.