An Open Letter to the Manila Bulletin

Manila Bulletin
Attn.: Chief Editor for Social Affairs
Muralla cor. Recoletos St.
Intramuros
Manila
Republic of the Philippines

Norway, Hvalstad, 14.1.2001

Dear Sirs,

We visited the Philippines in November/December 1999 to adopt a little boy. He was named Samuel, and he was 26 months (born September 18th, 1997). He was, and is, a very cute little boy.

Our reason for sending you this letter is to inform you about the conditions the small defenseless children have in the governmental institutions. Our hope is that you kindly write and make articles of the degraded conditions where the small children are badly neglected.

As said we adopted Samuel in November/December 1999. First we traveled to Manila, and then to Davao. Samuel stayed at RSCC (Reception and Study Center for Children) where Ms. Virginia Molina is responsible manager of the governmental children's home. What we saw and discovered there was terrible. About 15 small children at the age of 2 to 3 years were locked in a room of about 20 square meters. The room was completely empty except for the children, and worst of all they were staying there alone without adults. We repeat completely alone, physically and mentally nearly naked. Please imagine how horrible it was. None to take care of them, none to stimulate them, and nothing and none that could give them experience. And regarding Samuel, who was 26 months old, he did not understand any words of the Philippine language. He even did not react when his name was mentioned.

The result on Samuel, being 22 months at that governmental children's home, should be further clarified after arrived our home in Norway. He behaved like an animal, and we discovered that he had no experience at all.

The first six months in our family Samuel did not show progress in neither physical nor mental development. He behaved like a wild animal. Especially the nights were difficult, he woke up during the night laying awake about two hours making monotonically nasal sounds. He behaved so extraordinary that an extensive investigation program was started. This included neurological investigations, testing of his hearing, checking his chromosomes, testing if he suffered from epilepsy (EEG tests) and photographing his brain (MR investigation). The results showed that Samuel was a normal boy. Though the neurological tests showed that Samuel mentally was 12 months old! The investigations showed in other words that Samuel had not got any stimulation and no skin-to-skin contact with adults during his stay at RSCC in Davao! All adults know that it is catastrophically for babies and small children to be left alone without love and care. Samuel is a proof of how destroyed a child can be.

Fortunately the situation has changed to the better for Samuel during the last months. He now sleeps better. He is not roaming that much around any longer. He seeks more contact with adults, and he tries to a certain degree to play together with other children and with the adults. Anyhow much remains to get Samuel to a 'normal' child. Still he sometimes is very frustrated and tearing his hair. Samuel is therefore each second week at the Hospital of Bærum County to get treatment for his mental problems.

Dear Chief Editor, please try to understand how difficult the situation has been, and still are, for Samuel, just because he had been neglected during his stay in RSCC in Davao. We ask you kindly to do your very best to follow up and better the situation for the children in the governmental children's homes. Please let your staff do research and write articles about these matters. You have power to change the situation. Please highlight that it is necessary to reduce the length of the children's stay there before they are adopted. Further highlight that the staff of social workers has to be increased, so they get more time to give the children love and contact with adults. Confidentially speaking we are also of the opinion that many of the managers of the children's homes should be removed from their positions as managers, since they are responsible for these bad conditions giving the many small children mentally problems the rest of their lives.

Once again we ask you kindly to do research and write critical articles about the bad conditions at the governmental children's homes. Above we have described the situation at RSCC in Davao, though we know it is the same all over the Philippines. Please write about this, please inform the people of the Philippines about how these defenseless and orphan children suffer every day.

Please distribute this letter to your social-minded colleagues.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or want more information (E-mail address is albrektsen@sensewave.com).

Yours faithfully,

Sylvi Albrektsen Strøm and Ole Strøm

2001 (c) Sylvi Albrektsen Strøm