WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO ADOPT FROM THE PHILIPPINES?

Age of Parents

Both adoptive parents need to be at least 27 years old at the time of application. Parents must also be at least 16 years older than the child they wish to adopt. There can be no more than 45 years age difference between the adoptive parent(s) and the child.

Marital Status

Couples married at least three years (with no more than one divorce per spouse) are welcome to adopt from the Philippines. Single women are eligible to adopt older children, ages 9 to 15, with medical conditions.

Children in Family

Families with no more than four children already in the home are welcome to adopt from the Philippines. Families must wait a full year after a child comes into their home to apply for adoption with the Philippines.

Income

Families interested in adopting a child must have a positive net worth and an income of at least $10,000 per family member, including the adopted child.

Criminal History

Families with no criminal history are welcome to adopt from the Philippines.

Medical History

Families with no history of mental health issues, substance abuse, and counseling are welcome to adopt from the Philippines. Both parents must have a BMI of 35 or less. A psychological evaluation is required for all applicants.

As a part of the adoption process, NACC requires adoptive families to submit a letter of recommendation from a Christian church or organization. The letter must verify that the adoptive family has participated actively with the organization for at least the past five years.

“The advice that I keep giving families is, just ask God. He will make it clear. I think it’s clear through His word that adoption is really important to Him and it’s something that He has commissioned all of us to either provide for or care about.” — Jessica Wood

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ADOPT FROM THE PHILIPPINES?

The approximate cost to adopt from Philippines is $29,200. Cost does not include airfare, lodging and other fees associated with travel.

There are so many ways to fund your adoption! You can learn more about AGCI specific grants, adoption loans, and employee benefits and more on our How to Fund Page!

AGENCY FEES

APPLICATION: $400 This non-refundable fee covers the cost of a review of your application to confirm your eligibility for your desired program. (Due at application)

U. S. AGENCY: $8,000* The agency fee covers AGCI’s cost to facilitate your adoption with agency and government officials in both the United States and foreign country. Processing expenses for AGCI include, but are not limited to, personnel costs, administrative overhead, operational costs, staff training and education, state, federal, and international licensing and accreditations, communications and insurance. (1/2 due with completion of contract and 1/2 due six months after contract)

PROGRAM FEE: $2,800* This fee provides care for orphans around the world and allows AGCI to provide the medical, emotional, spiritual, and developmental care that every child deserves. (Due with completion of orientation)

POST-PLACEMENT SERVICE: $2,800 This fee allows us to provide post-placement support services to your family and process post-placement reports. (Due with completion of referral packet)

*If adopting siblings, agency and orphan care fees increase.

HOME STUDY AND POST-PLACEMENT*

HOME STUDY SERVICES: $2,500 These fees cover our services in preparing and completing your adoption home study, including any applicable social worker travel costs. (Due with completion of orientation)

POST-PLACEMENT REPORTS: $400 per report; $225 per report for each additional child. These fees cover the cost for AGCI to provide post-placement visits and reports upon arrival home. (Due with completion of referral packet)

*These fees may vary if payable to your home study agency for families living outside of AGCI’s licensed states.

NON-AGCI HOME STUDY REVIEW: $400 Any home study written by one of AGCI’s cooperating agencies will be reviewed by AGCI to ensure it meets all AGCI, USCIS, Hague and sending country criteria. Home study and Post Adoption service fees are paid to your cooperating agency.  (Due with completion of orientation)

PHILIPPINES COUNTRY FEES & EXPENSES

$8,700* These fees cover the cost of facilitating an international adoption in the Philippines. These fees include, but are not limited to costs related to personnel, administration, training and education, legal fees and communications associated with government and agency authorities, government fees, and care of your child prior to the completion of your adoption. (Due with completion of dossier and referral packet as indicated on fee schedule)

ADDITIONAL & THIRD PARTY EXPENSES

TOTAL COST: The approximate cost to adopt from the Philippines is $29,200. Cost does not include airfare, lodging and other fees associated with travel.

Fee Disclosure: All fees paid to AGCI are paid in advance of service. AGCI fees are non-refundable and may not be waived. If services are terminated and a refund is due, all refunds will be processed within 60 days of withdrawal and/or closure of the adoption file upon receiving the Adoption Termination Contract.

“We were so thankful for the level of commitment AGCI showed to our family and our loved one across the ocean. AGCI was with us every step of the way to bring our little boy home. Not only were they committed to our family during the process, but after as well. We still enjoy hearing from our AGCI family at different times with their post-adoption communications, as well as just staying in touch with our caseworker that we worked so closely with. AGCI also has a committed community of fellow adoptive families that I have come to know and love. We are all part of this fantastic family because of AGCI’s love for the orphan and commitment to the children and our families. We are forever blessed by AGCI and the help they gave us to bring our son home. Can’t imagine life without him.”

— Mara Schack, AGCI Adoptive Mom

THE PHILIPPINES ADOPTION PROCESS

STEP ONE

Complete home study and then submit dossier.

STEP TWO

Your dossier will be reviewed, translated, and approved by AGCI. Your dossier will remain at AGCI until the NACC has pre-approved your family to be matched with a specific child.

STEP THREE

Review waiting children! When a child has been identified from the Philippines’ monthly bulletins who meets your approved parameters, AGCI will request additional information on that child from the NACC. Once the information on the child is received, you will have two weeks to make an informed decision about accepting the referral. With a social worker’s approval, a referral can occur for a waiting child before the completion of your dossier.

STEP FOUR

Wait for final adoption approval from NACC board.

STEP FIVE

Travel to meet your child. Trip length: approximately 5-7 days.

STEP SIX

Welcome home! Once your child is home, AGCI and the Philippines require post-placement visits and reports at the 1, 4, 6 and 8-month anniversaries of your adopted child’s homecoming. Some states have additional requirements. The adoption will not be final until the 6-month post-placement report is received and approved by the NACC. AGCI is here for support throughout your child’s life—connect with us at anytime for ongoing support services!

PHILIPPINES ADOPTION TEAM

PHILIPPINES IN-COUNTRY TEAM

AGCI works directly with the NACC, the Philippines Central Authority, to facilitate adoptions through our Philippines program.

“It was very important to our family that we chose an agency that had a strong mission statement that we could stand behind, as well as an experienced agency in working with the country that we had chosen to adopt from. AGCI exceeded both of our expectations. The staff at AGCI went above and beyond in helping us navigate through our adoption journey. Their staff was reliable, kind, and informative. AGCI was very efficient in working with our family, and they were always two steps ahead of the process, so as to make sure our family would move along as quickly as possible. In addition, AGCI offered great support once we returned home with our child. WE are extremely thankful for all that AGCI did for our family and all that they are doing for other families in helping to create Forever Families for these orphans.”

— Ashley Felts, AGCI Adoptive Mom

CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ADOPTING FROM THE PHILIPPINES!

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How to Adopt a Child in the Philippines

How to Adopt a Child in the Philippines

Every child deserves love, care, and a stable home life. For those denied these fundamentals, adoption has become key.

In the Philippines, the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSWD is mandated to certify that a child is legally available for adoption, and to ensure the ease with which legally qualified children are placed within adoptive families.

Adoption Process

The adoption process begins with choosing an adoption agency accredited by the DSWD, after which the following steps are taken:

Pre-adoption

• Counseling of biological parents

To ensure that biological parent(s) are well-informed of their decision to relinquish the child for adoption.

• Counseling of prospective adoptive parent(s)

To ensure adoptive parent(s) are ready for adoption

• Counseling of the adoptee

To help the child understand that they are going to be part of new family with new parents.

Adoption Procedures

• Social case study report

The Social Case Study Report (SCSR) contains a written assessment made by a licensed social worker about the child’s social, cultural, economic, and psychosocial background. It also contains the child’s real identity and the scope of their neglect and abandonment.

• Matching process or family selection

After the case study has been filed, prospective adopters and adoptees will then meet

• Placement and supervised trial custody

The adoptive family is prepared for the child’s placement in their home and the subsequent transfer of parental responsibilities.

During the supervised trial custody, social workers will monitor the adjustment period and emotional preparedness of the adopters and adoptees.

The trial custody lasts for up to six months and if all goes well, the DSWD will issue a Consent to Adopt.

• Filing a petition of adoption

To make the adoption official, a petition of adoption must then be filed the prospective adoptive family with their local family court.

• Decree of adoption

The court will then decide whether to approve the decree of adoption based on the child’s best interests. Once the decree is approved, the petitioner becomes the legal parents of the child. The adoptive family will then receive:

• A certificate of finality to be issued by the Clerk of Court
• A certified true copy of the adoption decree
• An amended birth certificate with the child’s new surname from the civil registry

Qualifications of adoptive parents

• A Filipino citizen currently residing in the Philippines
• At least 27 years of age and 16 years older than the adoptee. This can be waived if:

• The person adopting is the biological parent or sibling, or the spouse of the adoptee’s biological parent
• Has the capacity to act and assume all the rights and duties required for exercising parental authority

• Good moral character with no past convictions of any crime involving moral turpitude

• Proven able to support, educate, and care for the adopted child in keeping with the means of the family

• Must have completed pre-adoption requirements

Required documents

Adoptive parent(s) must provide:

• Birth certificate with authentication
• Marriage or divorce papers
• Police or NBI clearance
• 3” x 5” photo of the applicants and his/her immediate family taken within the last three months
• Character references from:

• The local church or religious minister
• Employer
• A member of the direct community who is not a relative but has known the applicant for at least three years

• Certificates of attendance from pre-adoption forums and/or seminars

For more information on adopting a child in the Philippines, contact the DSWD.

Phone: (632) 931-81-01 to 07
Address: DSWD, Constitution Hills, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City
Website: dswd.gov.ph

Two-year-old Filipino twins who are on trial for human trafficking will return to their homeland: "The first words were spoken in Russian"

Komsomolskaya Pravda

SocietyPICTURE OF THE DAY

Anastasia VOYNITSKA

26 November 2021 15:02 daughter and son, born under the surrogacy program, their father, former Vice Speaker of the Philippines, Fredenil Castro, will fly to Moscow [photo]

Father Zandro with his daughter and three children Photo: Personal archive

The twin brother and sister Anika and Arturo Castro celebrated their first and then second birthdays at the Orphanage for children with disabilities in Vidnoye, Moscow Region. Note that this is loud. There are simply no such holidays in state institutions. Only some kids are visited by parents or relatives on such days. But no one came to Anika and Arturo. Their mom and dad, as well as the kids, they are citizens of the Philippines, for a long time were considered strangers to children. It took a little more than two years to prove their right to twins and kinship with them. nine0004

Recall, Anika and Arturo, two of the three foreign children who were found in January 2020 in an apartment with a nanny in Odintsovo near Moscow. The newborn twins and another Filipino boy were immediately taken to an orphanage. And six months later, the so-called “Philippine child trafficking case” was initiated. In addition to three kids from a bad apartment, there are seven more episodes in the case, that is, seven more foreign children, who, according to investigators, were sold to foreigners by Russian doctors. All babies, as it has already been established, were born under surrogate motherhood programs. nine0004

Anika and Arturo, two of the three foreign children who were found in an apartment with a nanny in Odintsovo near Moscow in January 2020Photo: Personal archive

mom or dad. That is, the programs used, depending on the situation, donor eggs or donor spermatozoa. Formally, this is not prohibited by Russian laws, at least for the citizens of our country. But with foreigners, there were no such precedents before. Whether it is legal or not is now up to the court, which is awaited by doctors accused under the serious article “Human trafficking” in the pre-trial detention center. nine0004

Meanwhile, two-year-old Anika and Arturo have recently ceased to be material evidence in this high-profile criminal case. Their father, former Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Castro Fredenil Ernaes , proved his relationship with the children in a Russian court and is about to be able to take the kids home.

- They did not want to accept the claim from my principal for a long time. We were able to submit it only in March 2020. It took even more than a year to prove the relationship and win the court on the transfer of children to their father, - told kp. ru Ludmila Aivar, lawyer. – A genetic examination, which established that these were the children of my principal, was carried out as part of a criminal case, but it took us six months to get its results.

The twins saw their own father only once.

- The father flew to Russia immediately after the birth of the children. But because of the pandemic, he then simply could not pick up the children. During this time, the kids, torn from their families, began to speak Russian. They grew up in an environment alien to them, among children with disabilities and developmental disabilities. Of course, this affected their development. These are now the so-called hospital children, - added lawyer Lyudmila Aivar. nine0004

Little Zandro can be adopted

FILLIPINE FOR ADOPTION

In the next few days, their father will fly for the twins. A well-known politician in the Philippines does not hide the fact that he is already raising six children from a test tube. All of them, like Anika and Arturo, were born by Russian surrogate mothers. At the same time, the wife of the politician did not participate in the process of conception. Due to health problems, she could not be an egg donor.

Meanwhile, another foreign parent is trying to get their child back. Zandro is also 2 years old and is brought up in the same orphanage as the twins Anika and Arturo. nine0004

- In this situation, it is more difficult to prove kinship with a father who is a US citizen of Filipino origin. Due to the pandemic, he was unable to fly to Russia to obtain a birth certificate. As a result, only a surrogate mother, a citizen of Ukraine, who has no relationship with children, was entered in the document. All this added a lot of complexity. But we are sure that very soon the child will be handed over to the father, with whom the relationship was established back in April 2020 as part of the investigation of the same criminal case, - said lawyer Lyudmila Aivar. nine0004

Brothers and sisters Anika and Arturo are waiting for them in the Philippines

True, while the legal red tape continues, little Zandro can be adopted. The photo of the baby is placed in the All-Russian database of children for adoption. His father, a businessman named Potensiano, despite this, does not lose hope of returning his son.

MORE

How Russia turned into a factory for children for foreigners

A high-profile and first in the history of our country criminal case on trafficking in surrogate babies will soon be sent to court (details)

Read more

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Messages and comments from site readers are posted without preliminary editing. The editors reserve the right to remove them from the site or edit them if the specified messages and comments are an abuse of freedom mass media or violation of other requirements of the law. nine0004

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Abandoned Filipino children who are not adopted | News Requests

Image: Courtesy of Gentle Hands

A bright orange house breaks the monotony of houses along Cubao's F. Castillo Street, and cheerful children's voices can be heard from inside, muffled only by the closed front door during lunch break.

The Jason House, as it is also called, is one of the boarding schools for the child and youth welfare agency Gentle Hands, Inc. for children of all ages who need special protection. Charity Heppner Graff, CEO of Gentle Hands, came to the Philippines in 2000 with her husband to continue the work that her missionary parents had begun at the center at 1990s. It was originally a maternity clinic, but in 2003 the center refocused its services and received a license and was registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development as a home for orphans, street children and abandoned children.

“I didn't believe in adoption and I didn't believe in orphanages, but then we realized that the more children we had, the more we had to do with them,” Graff said.

Japanese tourist raped in India

Image courtesy of Gentle Hands

Over 50% of children in Gentle Hands are foundlings or abandoned or abandoned children whose parents and relatives are unknown. There is little interest in adoption locally, Graff said, and those who are adopted are typically 0 to 2 years old.

Reflecting on the current state of adoption at Gentle Hands, Graff admitted that they were in crisis.

Acceptance is now slow. We have never been in such a situation in all the 17 years we have been doing. We have a lot of kids aged 13, 14, 15 [years] – they will grow up,” Graff acknowledged. nine0004

“We no longer have enough foster families, the process is too slow, so our children are getting older and DSWD is preparing their documents,” she explained. The system curses children.

Image courtesy of Nayon ng Kabataan

Prejudice against adopting young children?

Jamie Rose Bonko only had one successful adoption in her four years as a social worker at Nyong-ng-Kabataan in Mandaluyong City. This was in 2017. According to her estimates, today in the care of this institution there are about 129children, about 20 of whom apply for certification assistance so they can be declared legally available for DSWD adoption.

Social workers have three months to exhaust all possible efforts to locate the child's parents or family members. They visit the home and send letters with return cards to the last known address of the child's parents; obtain police reports or barangay certificates from the location where the child was found; and contact newspapers and radio stations for advertisements. Petitioning is their last resort when all efforts have proved fruitless. nine0004

“If nothing really happened, then we made a publication in the newspaper, we announced on the radio that the child with us and relatives can come here, we will tell them about it when we file a petition,” Bongko said.

(If after we published in the newspaper and announced on the radio that the child is with us and relatives can come to us, nothing happens, we let them know when we are going to file a petition.)

However, be declared legally available for adoption is only the first step. Matching children to potential adoptive parents can take a long time, months and even years. As for older children, they must also face the possibility of aging outside the system and never being adopted. nine0004

This is not the case at the Quezon City Reception and Learning Center (RSCC), another DSWD child care facility. Unlike Nayon ng Kabataan, which serves children aged 7 to 17, RSCC only accepts children aged 0 to 6.

“If we look at babies, especially those adopted locally, there are more of them in the RSCC,” Bongko said. As far as our center is concerned, since I came here we have a lot of matching opportunities, we have a lot for adoption, but there is only one that we have really successfully adapted and we still live in different countries. nine0004

(More adoptions from GPKS, if we look at babies, especially locally adopted children, there are more of them. In our center, since I came here, we have many children for matching and for adoption, but only one was adopted successfully, even between countries.)

Image: courtesy of Gentle Hands

Bonco suggested that this may be due to some adoptive parents who personally want to have a hand in raising the child themselves. nine0004

“Because our children do have intelligence, they already have experience,” she said. But we are grateful that there are still parents who are trying to find someone they can adopt.

(That's because our kids already have their own opinions, of course, they already have experience. But we're still grateful to the parents who are still trying to reach out and see who they can adopt.)

Advice on intercountry adoption, which was created as a result of Republic Law No. 8043 or International Adoption Law 1995, acts as the central authority in matters relating to intercountry adoption. But international adoption is also considered a last resort. According to R.A. 8043, the ICAB must develop guidelines to ensure that steps are taken to place a child in the Philippines before it can be placed for intercountry adoption.

Lanie Fowler, manager of social services for the Virlanie Foundation, a childcare NGO in Makati, said social workers and the DSWD recruiting committee are working hard to place the child in a Filipino family. When a child is placed with a Filipino family, there are usually fewer accommodations, but Fowler shared that this doesn't always work, as some Filipinos are somewhat picky and don't want older children. nine0004

According to Fowler, the adjustment is [lower], but if there is no family, the reconciliation committee will issue a certificate confirming that the child does not have a family. She will now be referred to the DSWD central office for an intercountry adoption permit.

The child will then be listed on the ICAB's list of approved families. What follows is a time frame that no one knows how long, depending on how many families are available for the child, how long it will take for the social worker to select the best family for the child, and whether the ICAB decides a match is right for the child. nine0004

Interstate adoption is from 3 years to 15, maximum 16, but less than the naive percentage [for their adoption]… she said. In fact, the dilemma of senior adoption right now is that only American [families] are [open] for adoption at an older age, and no one else among foreign partner agencies.

Graff echoed Fowler's point by saying that families who take in older children are usually American. They are also more open when it comes to adopting groups of siblings and children with special needs. Not in other countries. nine0004

Usually this happens because there is an opinion that the younger the child, the less baggage he has, the less problems you have ... - said Graff. In terms of older kids, really, right now, all we have that really accepts older kids and sibling groups is Americans.

Image: courtesy of the Virlanie Foundation

The Virlanie Foundation has adopted 71 children since 2005, but only two (one in 2016 and another in 2017) have been adopted at home. Children who have not yet been adopted at age 10 receive what Fowler calls dual training from his social worker. This is done during their regular monthly consultations as part of the child's permanent residence plan. nine0004

You may be adopted, so it will be, or you will not be adopted. Then let's start preparing for the independent living program ... so that the child can already think: "What would I like to do in my life?" - she said. Even if the child is still adoptable, at the age of 13, he or she will be required to attend various training workshops under the Independent Living Program [to equip the child] with various life skills to prepare him or her for independent living or adoption. nine0004

Bongko also shared that she openly tells the children in Nyong-ng-Kabataan that they cannot be adopted, so they explain to these children the possible alternatives that they can use.

Because there are only three of them. “They will be adopted, we will transfer them to the center, or they will live on their own,” she said. Or four more if their family comes out and stays there.

(Actually, there are only three possibilities: adopt them, transfer them to another center, or live on their own. Or a fourth possibility - if their real family appears.)

Image: courtesy of Nayon ng Kabataan

Preparing for Independent Living

Nayon ng Kabataan and the Virlanie Foundation offer an independent living program for their youth who may not be adoptable. One of the social preparations the former gives to his older children has them undergo on-the-job training at partner agencies such as Reyes Haircutters and Lions Clubs International, among others. They are also taught life skills, such as how to commute to work and manage their finances. This continues until they are hired. nine0004

Bongko, however, said that most children in Nyong-ng-Kabataan do not attend college.

She said that if possible, if their age is appropriate for their level of education and they have nowhere else to go, we usually re-refer them to a long-term care facility, as NK is just a temporary shelter.

(If it is still possible, for example, if their age is still appropriate for their class and there is nowhere else to go, we usually send them to a long-term residential facility. This is because Nyong ng Kabataan is only a temporary shelter.)

The Virlani Foundation, on the other hand, uses the Makati Special Student Employment Program (SPES) for young people to get summer jobs. They also have connections with companies like UNILAB, where they send their young people for training or appoint those who are not yet ready for a summer job with the Virlanie Foundation as registrars and carers.

Young people's earnings from summer work are divided among themselves: 25% goes to their personal needs, and the remaining 75% is saved so that they have money when they hit the road. The education of children in Wirlania is supported by individual sponsors at the local level and abroad, so those who want to go to college and have the opportunity to do so are supported. nine0004

When they turn 18, they are encouraged to look for a boarding house, usually near their workplace or, if they are studying, close to a college, and be part of the community. Some of them work and study part-time, while others study full-time. This will depend on their adherence to the program and their behavior, Fowler said.

"Wirlani has to support education, board, food, allowances," Fowler said. Or part-time work, you have to work, then pay for the boarding house. Virlani has to pay tuition. It's like being halfway home. nine0004

Meanwhile, Gentle Hands is not in the business of living independently or translating their older children. Graff does not believe in transmission and has said that if they are committed to a child, then they will be committed to that child for life. Currently, she and her team are planning some kind of service, such as a restaurant or cafe, to give older children who cannot go to college a livelihood, such as those with special needs.

Gentle Hands currently employs at least 15 children aged 14 to 16. According to Graff, they can be on the adoption list for up to 15 years and 6 months, but by then they almost know that no one will adopt them. nine0004

No one will adopt them by 15 [years], that will hit hard. We have about 15 [children] and they are approaching, they are approaching old age ... We are just really trying to figure out how we can find sponsors to create this program, because this is not an independent life, I am not looking for an independent life, - said Graff. I'm looking for something that we can take care of, be their support group, be their family, but bring them some income. Because not all of them are really at the intellectual stage where we could just say, "OK, go live and we'll take care of you." nine0004

Image: courtesy of the Virlanie Foundation

Case of Children with Special Needs and Terminal Illnesses

The Virlanie Foundation has two residences for children with special needs in Makati City and Cavite City. Fowler said the number of cases in these homes is stagnant due to the slow movement, most of which are already closed by the ICAB as there were no families, meaning adoptions.

According to her, the number of cases is from one to 10 years, from one to 15 years. We are lucky that we have two special children who were adopted, but they were younger. They were adopted by an American family, so this is already a great success, but most of them will remain during Wyrlania's lifetime. nine0004

Their children with special needs, or at least those who can be trained, are taught how to farm, garden and do laundry - anything that would make them productive at home. But, as Fowler pointed out, most of these children will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

“That's why you somehow know that part of Virlani's vision is to have their own columbarium, kasi wala naman talaga silang uuvian (because they have nowhere to go home),” she said. Actually, this is the hardest part. And the fear is where these kids are going? What is their ultimate plan of permanence? It's really difficult. nine0004

This is also a problem in Nyong-ng-Kabataan, as Bonko says children with special needs are not among their clientele. The programs and services to be provided to them differ from those who are only socially disadvantaged.

"There are many of us with special needs who are over 18 but still here in the center with no family who have not been adopted," Bongko said.

(We have people over the age of 18 with special conditions, and they are still here, in the center, without families, not adopted.)

They usually refer children with special needs to Elsie Gaches Village (EGV), also part of DSWD-NCR, which serves those with special needs. But EGV is already overstocked, Bongko said, and only those with serious medical conditions are currently being accepted. Because their children with special needs are still being treated, Bongko said their development could be slowed if transferred.

For them, little things like watching children learn to speak on their own, interact with other children at the center and learn to read and write, albeit minimally, are already important moments worth celebrating. nine0004

Image: courtesy of Gentle Hands

Passing or Living

Gentle Hands, on the other hand, works with both children with special needs and terminal illnesses. They are difficult to deal with, and just as difficult to find people who can accept them as they are.

Meanwhile, there are about 1.8 million abandoned and neglected children in the Philippines, according to the United Nations Children's Rights Organization and the United Nations Emergency Relief Organization. Last February, President Rodrigo Duterte passed Republic Act 11222, or Birth Correction Simulation Act, to help streamline the country's adoption process. DSWD data showed that about 6,500 children are available for adoption, 4,000 of which are in the care of state and non-state residential institutions. nine0004

But the problem with data seems to be that it proves a fact just as much as the people it concerns.

According to Graff, about three or four children die in Tender Hands a year later. But death is not something they hide from the children in their care.

They know it. “They understand that and I think our spirituality helps a lot with that because I think they know,” she said. I don't think they are afraid of death. It's part of what Gentle Hands has always been. nine0004

Graff added that she was always referred to children with terminal illnesses, even though she never ventured into it.

I have a 16-year-old at the National Kidney [and Transplant Institute] who is ready to be discharged, but he won't live, he won't live more than a month ... and no one can take care of him, she said.

This is reality, this is reality in this country.

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