Day 4: Chosen Children’s Village

Today we were fortunate enough to visit Chosen Children’s Village, an orphanage in Batangas that currently homes 66 neurodivergent children. At Chosen Children’s, kids are taught life skills in addition to their academics, and given a vast array of opportunities to assist with cooking, cleaning, gardening, and farming.

Located on a beautiful plot in rural Batangas, Chosen Children’s provides young people with an opportunity to be connected to nature and to develop their interpersonal skills. In assisting with farming activities, I was able to learn about local cows and see the community’s collection of pigs and lambs. Paul, our wonderful tour guide, also told us about his favorite NBA teams and discussed the impacts of typhoons in the area.

Following our foray into farm work, the children prepared a number of singing and dancing performances before joining us for lunch. This provided us with a valuable opportunity to learn about the options available to children who are orphaned or abandoned in the Philippines, and the serenity of the community made for a much-needed respite from bustling Manila.