Luzon: Catholic University provides a home for child victims of abuse

The Sunflower Centennial Halfway Home for Boys' offers shelter, education, medical care and psychological help for boys aged 5-17 from all over the island. Founder Fr Costa: ‘We provide the most suitable facilities and opportunities for recovery from trauma, struggles and problems. From a small clinic to a full-fledged centre with therapy and psychiatric assessments of children in difficulty.

Baguio City (AsiaNews) - A children's home run by the Catholic University of Baguio City, Benguet province, in the northern part of the island of Luzon, is distinguishing itself for its work in helping young victims of violence, providing them with a healthy and safe environment in which to grow up. A project that has been active for years and has seen further development in 2021, thanks to the valuable contribution of Saint Louis University (Slu).

Called the ‘Sunflower Centennial Halfway Home for Boys’, the centre provides shelter, education, medical care and psychological help for boys aged five to 17 from all over the island. An ‘open’ home for those who have suffered abuse or neglect in their growing up years and, therefore, need medical care and psychological support to develop their potential and have a better future.

P. Geraldo Costa, a member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is its founder. The centre also handles cases of those in conflict with the law or in need of legal assistance, helping at least 82 minors so far. ‘This facility helps them reintegrate into society,’ explains the priest. ‘We provide them,’ he adds, ’with the most suitable facilities and opportunities for recovery from the traumas, struggles and problems they have faced.

Since 2003, the shelter has also been a facility for psychotherapy sessions under the name Sunshine Child and Youth Wellness Centre, also a division of Saint Louis University. Fr Costa, a child psychotherapist, was the first to make this effort, believing strongly in the project, not least because he has spent years learning how to support the healing process of abused children.

The provincial superior of CICM Philippines approved the project to support homes and institutions for children in need of psychological care, after the priest himself had presented a report on the needs of children in ‘unique’ situations in the country in 2000.

In the beginning, senior students and psychology teachers from Slu worked with children in the care of the Department for Social Welfare and Development in Baguio and Benguet. The initiative started as a tiny playroom, a simple place for disadvantaged children who needed mental health support. However, from a humble beginning it grew into something much bigger.

The ‘Sunflower Child and Youth Wellness Centre’ clinic has blossomed into a full-fledged centre that provides therapy and psychiatric assessments to children in need, working closely with families and carers to try to heal trauma, rather than just treat it. These include children abandoned because one or both parents have left the country to seek work abroad. To give these children the psychological assistance they need, the centre fills this gap by connecting families virtually. Fr Costa explains: ‘As a community, we are investing in improving the development of children up to adolescence.

Government authorities in the Cordillera region reported 281 cases of violence against minors between January and October 2024, down from 354 cases during the same period in 2023. However, the figures do not provide a complete picture. They do not include cases filed for human trafficking, rape or violence against women and children. The numbers also do not report cases that go unreported due to stigma, fear and silence.

According to the Child Protection Network, in 2023, 71% of cases handled by Women and Child Protection Units nationwide involved sexual abuse, with 11% physical abuse and 5% neglect. Unicef reports that 59% of Filipino children were abused in 2022, with the number of cases steadily increasing between 2021 and 2024.

‘We wish,’ Fr Costa concludes, ’that every child, without exception, grows and develops towards the light and is as beautiful as can be, just like a sunflower.