Ever since Joanna Lou Tubal visited the Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia 3 years ago with a youth team, she has kept in touch. Yet I was surprised when she decided to join our staff because she already had a good job as a floor staff nurse in a good hospital in the Philippines.
She works hard not only as our nurse (which could mean working round the clock if a child is ill), but also helps in the schoolhouse, oversees the cooking of the food, and prepares breakfast for the children every other day. She checks daily on the personal hygiene of the children, especially the younger ones, monitors how children wash their clothes, and sees to it that the dorms are clean and properly maintained. On top of all these she helps to teach the children songs, and the children like to be with her.
Here, Joanna tells of her experience in the Home: “The Goducate Children’s Home is unusual in that most of the children are not orphans–but they have been neglected or abandoned. As such, personal hygiene is not part of their upbringing, so the younger ones do need close supervision regarding personal cleanliness. Their background also means that they can be defiant, especially when the houseparents are not around. I understand how important it is to be strict with them, otherwise they will not gain anything from coming into the Home. Yet I am conscious that they need special care because they come from dysfunctional families, and that, despite their background, they do have the opportunity and potential to be trained to be useful members of the community.”
