Day 8

Our Final Day at Balay Pasilungan

Today we enjoyed a slower start to our morning as we were not required to be ready until 9 am and our bodies enjoyed the rest.  Father Long picked us up in the school van and we travelled directly to Bapas.

Not all the boys were there when we arrived as many of them were already at school.  However, there were still about 15 boys there who do not attend regular classes as they are not enrolled in school yet. Enrolment needs to occur at the commencement of the school year in June and so these boys will still need to wait 6 months before they can join the other boys at the local elementary school.  In the meantime, they are participating in informal tuition at Bapas and this morning it was our responsibility to teach them basic lessons in English and Maths.  At times we got a little distracted from our lessons, but we had a lot of fun and discovered just how much the boys love the Uno cards we brought for them from home.

At 11:30ish the rest of the boys returned from school for their lunch break and we all ate together.  The boys are required to return to elementary school at 1 p.m. and so we accompanied them.  When we got there we were greeted with a whole hoard of children waving at us and asking us our names.  We had photos taken with them and they were clearly happy to have us there.  We also visited the teacher of one of the boys and stood in her classroom.  She told us that she has 52 students, but that she used to have 70 in her class!  It seemed an insurmountable responsibility and we were able to appreciate how difficult it must be for her to cater to the needs of all her students.  She was a Grade 2 teacher, and her student was Joe Marie.  Joe Marie is 15 years old and towers above the other students in his class.  His time at Bapas will draw to a close soon as the facility can only keep boys until the age of 15.  We wonder how Joe Marie will cope in the future with such limited education.

We were really hot when we returned to Bapas after our walk and were pleased to be given the opportunity to sleep ... We had heard rumours before our departure about the Filipino custom of afternoon napping and we were pleased to be able to experience it.  Air conditioning and fold-out beds were exactly what we needed, and though not all of us actually slept the break was great nonetheless.

At 4 pm the farewell activities commenced and this was a highlight for all of us.  There were three separate dance routines performed by the boys and all of them brought smiles to our faces.  But the most heartfelt moments were during the speeches.  Kervey thanked us on behalf of the boys and ended with "We love you and we will miss you" and that brought tears to all our eyes.  Father Long reminded us how the boys are "wounded and broken" and his words to us also sparked a watery reaction.

Saying goodbye was difficult and there was a mix of emotions that it stirred up in us as we contemplated their future.  Bapas is an incredible place and so important for the development of the boys who would otherwise still be walking the streets.  They are loved and they are cared for and it is hoped that Bapas will provide th foundation upon which they can build the rest of their lives.

Each of us have been changed by our experience with the boys and have all confessed that we would love to take them home with us - but this is not a reality and so we must return home to do what we can to help the Bapas Boys.  They will forever be in our hearts and prayers.