The Springboard Foundation has just completed its very first placement of an overseas volunteer in a Filipino orphanage. Twenty-three year old, Emily Baxter, who hails from Carlisle in northern England, has just successfully completed a four week residency at the Jesus Loves The Little Children Foundation Orphanage in Pasig. Emily, who is currently working as a pre-school teacher in the UK, wrote to the Foundation asking if we would be able to help her find a reliable, trustworthy and needy orphanage that would benefit from her time and experience. JLTLCF Orphanage maintains a strong link with both Brent International School as well as the British School, Manila; JLTLCF has also been a recipient of Springboard funds and demonstrated good practice.

Home to 38 students (22 Boarders), JLTLCF maintains its very own school and employs three teachers as well as a child psychologist to support the children’s learning. During her one month stay, Emily constructed daily lesson plans for the teaching of English, taught songs and nursery rhymes to Pre-Schoolers and to younger residents in the orphanage, played an active role in devising a curriculum for Nursery, Kinder, and the prep School in the Subjects of English, Mathematics and Science as well as constructing some sample lesson plans in PE for all age rages.

Emily had a thoroughly enjoyable stay which included witnessing a ‘home-birth’ and then naming the child, Michael. She also had the opportunity towards the end of her visit to take in the sights and sounds of Puerto Galera before heading back to England.