Personal Journey from my Internship in Childhope Philippines
When you touch lives, it will always remain in your heart forever.
Being with Childhope Philippines is just like that to me. It is a humbling experience that made me learn something that will stay in my heart for a long time.
I met numerous people in my almost one-month internship in Childhope Philippines. It is indeed true that people can change you even over a small period of time. It first started by interviewing the achievers from the College Graduate Scholars of Childhope Philippines. As someone who is on the journey of obtaining my degree, seeing them finish their studies even though they are faced with a lot of hurdles along the way made me inspire to strive harder in finishing my studies. As they share their stories of success, it made me think of my own struggles and how I also overcame them. It is also the same when we had a chance to interview a family beneficiary of livelihood assistance from Childhope Philippines. I became aware of what are they facing every day and how they are overcoming these.
The interview with social workers, on the other hand, is another eye-opening experience for me. We have talked about the possible scholar grantees that they referred from the street children clients that they handle. Through them, we have known these children’s stories and the potential that can be unleashed once given the chance to be a part of the Education Assistance Program of Childhope Philippines. I see how they cared for these street children clients through the way they tell their stories to us. We also talked about the experience they have as a social worker in Childhope Philippines. Like how they became an instrument of instilling hope for the street children and their families, they also experienced receiving that hope through being in Childhope Philippines. It’s admiring to see that light of hope being shared with each one of them.
Aside from conducting interviews, I also experienced writing articles from these interviews. I see this as an extension of making their stories heard and sharing the light of hope that also shone on me. In the process of writing these articles, while it also test my writing skills, it also made me reflect on my own experiences.
Looking back, there is common ground with the numerous stories I have encountered. All of them have seen the light of hope that Childhope Philippines have led them to see. It gave them a chance to believe in themselves and to be the person that they wanted to be. It only takes someone to believe in them for them to start believing in themselves too. And it is wonderful to witness their journey in doing so.
I think the lessons I have learned from the various experiences I heard from the people we interviewed surely changed some of my existing shortcomings in life. It is as if I became a better person compared to before. Thus, the overall experience I have with Childhope Philippines is a humbling experience that I can bring along with me for a long time.
Ma. Cristy Anne F. San Pedro
Student-Intern from Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Sta. Mesa