Rehoboth Children’s Home, Inc. (RCHI) began in 1981 in response to a request from the elected village chief of San Pedro on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. He asked Vernon Andrews, a visiting evangelist from the UK to help children in his village. The Home began with just 4 children and was located in Sta. Maria, Camiling, Tarlac.
Vernon and his wife Connie founded the work and stayed for 6 months. Pastor Luzano took over the managment of the home and began to build the work up. Another home was later opened in Cauayan, Isabela and a third home in Munoz, Nueva Ecija. By this time there were about 80 children aged between seven and eighteen, being cared for. As time went on it became increasingly difficult to manage the three centres effectively. Communication and transportation in those days were much more limited and brought many problems. It was therefore decided in 1994 to consolidate the work of RCHI into two centres. Sta. Maria and Munoz, and the Isabela home was closed. However, in 1997 all residents and staff were re-located to Sta. Maria and the Munoz home was consequently closed too. Since then, Rehoboth has been operating solely from Sta. Maria.
RCHI had been renting two houses in Sta. Maria, one for the girls and one for the boys. However in 2005, through God’s goodness and provision we were able to buy 500 square metres of land and build a new house which now provides the living quarters for the girls as well as the main office for RCHI. The boys live across the road in a rented house of similar size. Behind the boys house we have been able through a generous donation, to build a half size covered multi-purpose court which is used for basketball, volleyball and other activities. Beside the court we havea small playground with swings, slides, seesaws, climbing frame and monkey bars for the children to play.
St Maria Elementary school
To help support the work of RCHI, a charitable trust was formed in the UK, Rehoboth Children’s Homes Trust (RCHT). Through RCHT and the hard work and prayers of many other volunteers both within and outside the Philippines, the needs of the Home are provided for financially. Together RCHT and RCHI work to provide a happy home for the residents where they will prosper both physically and spiritually. We aim for all of our children to be sponsored by an individual or church group, and they then receive letters and cards from them regularly, and they also pray for each other. Sometimes the sponsor is able to go out to Rehoboth to meet their sponsored child.
Presently RCHI has about 50 residents. About one third are in elementary school, one half are in high school and the older youngsters are in college. When residents have finished elementary school, they continue with their high school education. After they have successfully completed high school studies they have the opportunity to continue with further education taking up such courses as teaching, nursing, social work, psychology, hotel and restaurant management, engineering and information technology. There are also opportunities for vocational courses such as home technology, car mechanics, hairdressing, dress-making, woodwork and metalwork.
Making Jewellery
In 2008 we launched a new project called REAP – Rehoboth Educational Assistance Programme. REAP offers assistance to local families who are unable to send their children to school and/or college due to financial limitations. We currently support 18 students from elementary school level all the way through to college. Through this programme these students are able to receive education while continuing to live at home.
Our vision at RCHI is to provide a God-loving home where children and young people are enable to reach their full educational potential and are encouraged to develop morally,emotionally, physically and spiritually to become responsible and productive members of their family and society. Rehoboth has been providing a home for children for more than a quarter of a century and over the years has developed to meet the changing needs of children in the Philippines and the increasing requirements of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). We have been awarded our licence and accreditation from the DSWD in the Philippines.
All of the above has been made possible through the partnership of RCHT in the UK and RCHI in the Philippines, working together with our loving Heavenly Father, to whom we give all the glory.