Since the foundation of IKP/PIKIFI, the Red House has been the centre of our organisation. The first children found a home in Virgie Demata-Vicare’s private house. The more children that could be accommodated, the more cramped the space became, so that several extensions became necessary.
On the ground floor, a corner near the entrance was converted into an office for the administration. Next to the kitchen were two desks for the social workers. Apart from the dormitories for the girls, there was a living and working room for Virgie and three small rooms which always accommodated people in an emergency situation, as well as a room for volunteers.
Next to it was the annex for the boys with its own kitchen as well as a lounge area.
In 2017 two houses for girls were built, so that only the boys lived in the Red House. The administration and social work department was able to move to the Alice Rose Clover Child Development Centre in 2020. When the women’s shelter (Ruth Kellenberger Safe House) was built in 2022, the boys moved into the upper floor.
Since then 7 young men and women (as of 2022) have been living in the Red House, preparing for the transition to independent living under the guidance of Virgelia.
In 2017, two identical girls› houses were built. The Blue House accommodates 13 girls (as of 2022). Some come from desolate family backgrounds, others lived in street situations or were victims of violence and/or human trafficking. Some are here temporarily, others will stay longer. Our goal is always to reintegrate them into their extended family.
The Green House, built in 2017, is home to 15 children/teenagers (as of 2022) who either have no home or cannot live there (anymore). In the kitchen they cook, work, laugh, argue and make up again.
The Yellow House was built in 2019. Its rooms are colourfully decorated in therapeutic shades. inaugurated. It is home to 16 girls aged 4 to 16 (as of 2022), all of whom have been victims of abuse, rape, trafficking or prostitution. Most of the residents were brought to us by the dedicated police officer Rose Pulmones or by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
On the upper floor of the women’s house (Ruth Kellenberger Safe House), which was inaugurated in 2022, 11 boys (as of 2022) have moved in. Together with their houseparents, they live and work in the large kitchen. The seven beds for the smaller boys are in one bedroom, the six for the teenagers in the other. There is also room for their belongings.
To be continued…
Again and again we are asked if we could take in another child. Again and again we try to make this possible somehow, although houses and social workers reach their limits. The need in Cagayan de Oro is great, not least due to the consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic with its economic consequences, which caused a rapid increase in human trafficking and online abuse. In 2021, Thomas Kellenberger launched his ambitious project «Kuya Thom goes Home»: As part of a sponsorship and fundraising event, he is crossing 22 countries from Switzerland to the Philippines on foot only. After the 15,000 km hike, he will use the donations collected for constructing and managing a second children’s village.
