Child Haus survives another difficult year, thanks to countless volunteers and donors who put their heart and best foot forward in providing thousands of young cancer patients a home away from home.

MANILA, Philippines — Despite hurdles that come along its way, CHILD Haus manages to overcome everything — a controversial eviction, lack of funds, and many more — to fulfill its mission of nurturing not only ailments, but young souls and hearts as well.

Since CHILD Haus moved to its new home from its former premises at the Quezon Institute in Quezon City, it has begun to face more daunting challenges.

For one, CHILD Haus now shoulders its own rental, water, and electricity expenses. Because of this, their budget is now tightly pre-allotted.

For another, where patients used to inhabit a spacious lot with a vast play area and rooms that could accommodate quite a number, the children now adjust to living in a cozy, three-storey house on a 400 sqm lot. The place is nonetheless cheerful and comfortable.

“We spend P50,000 a month, so that’s P1,500 a day. We allot 500 pesos per meal. We consume one LPG tank every two days and even our food is carefully portioned.

A sack of rice would suffice for 1 ½ days or at best, two days. We consume seven kilos of vegetables a day, four to five kilos of pork a day and four to five kilos of fish and meat a day, ” Daydee Castillo, a social worker who is also a staff at CHILD Haus, says. But by divine providence, things are working out.

Through the eight years of its existence, CHILD Haus has provided over 7,000 patients with a home away from home. Today, it continues to house its current stead of pediatric patients, each with one parent or guardian, free of charge.

“We used to have around 120-140 patients a day who stay three to five years for their rehabilitation, but since the transfer they have been reduced to 70 a day. But we are adjusting pretty well,” Castillo adds.

Around 70 to 80 percent of the patients brought in are sick with malignant ailments such as heart disease, cleft palates, hydrocephalus complication — from cancer infecting the organs, to cancer afflicting the brain and the heart.

And with this kind of sickness, special care comes in and translates to medication, maintenance, food and other expenses. Despite the challenging task of making ends meet, the staff in CHILD Haus manages to make it work.

Every Friday, they give donations in kind to patients and their families such as laundry needs, dishwashing paste, toothpaste and toothbrushes, canned goods and noodles — depending on which stock is available and plentiful.

Good Hearted Souls along the way

But CHILD Haus is never alone in its daily mêlée to keep the kids well-fed and happy. There are many good hearted souls who come along the way and share what they can, when they can.

Operating expenses for CHILD Haus reach R5 million to R7 million a year, but through the goodness of donors’ heart, they manage. One of the staunch and persevering figures is founder Ricky Reyes who tirelessly seeks solicitations from friends and donors.

Eight years and 7,000 patients later, CHILD Haus keeps to its original commitment, uplifting not only children’s health, but their quality of life as well.

(Donations and volunteers are welcome at CHILD Haus. For details, call 414-2421, 09164252927, or email Childhaus@yahoo.com)