A morning with White Cross orphans

MANILA, Philippines -  It was no ordinary day for a group of dedicated concierges. In the middle of the week, they woke up extra early to prepare for a much-anticipated event in a place where once-abandoned children find a home – the White Cross Orphanage in San Juan City.

Early in the morning, the essentials were set: packs of medicine, cleaning supplies, food, dozens of loot bags, and grocery items. Everyone was prepared to surprise the kids with a slew of gifts.

It turns out, though, that the surprise was on them. As soon as the doors opened, around 50 kids, aged three to six, rushed to hug officers of Les Clefs D’Or Philippines, an association of concierges from across the country.

Joy filled the small roofed area inside the White Cross compound as the team from Les Clefs D’Or Philippines was accorded such a warm welcome.

“We hadn’t even given our gifts yet but we saw how happy the children were just to see us,” Les Clefs D’Or Philippines secretary general Len Bayas pointed out.

White Cross Orphanage is a residential institution that provides temporary shelter to abandoned infants and children. It does not receive any government support or foreign funding. The donations they receive come from generous individuals or corporations who want to help.

Nene, 41, one of the caregivers in the institution, is in charge of looking after boys aged four to 10.

She shares: “Sometimes they would ask one another, ‘Who could be our visitors today?’ ‘Will there be a clown performing a magic show?’ ‘Will there be games?’ ‘Will they give us toys as prizes?’ That’s how their conversations go every time they learn that there will be visitors.”

Nene only has one daughter. Not having a son, she used to be unfamiliar with ways of caring for young boys. But inside the White Cross Orphanage, she experiences having a son 10 times over.

“God is so great because He let me work here to take care of these boys,” she said.

The orphanage, she says, welcomes guests almost everyday. With every visit, donors bring with them a realization similar to what the team of Les Clefs d’Or Philippines realized upon meeting the children of White Cross.

“Allotting our day here is really time well-spent. It makes us realize that we are lucky to be in a position to help and share what we have with the community,” Les Clefs d’Or Philippines president Mayumi Hayakawa-Marcelo shared.

From its 48 members all over the country, the organization raised close to P30,000 for their first outreach activity at White Cross, excluding all donations in kind.

“We do this everyday for our paying guests but this time, what we did was for no one except our chosen organization,” she added.

Les Clefs d’Or Philippines plans to regularly conduct outreach programs and craft projects that would benefit small communities, especially the younger generation.

“We hope that helping children would benefit a couple of generations from now,” Marcelo ended.