Welcome to Loving Presence Foundation, Inc. website...

Loving Presence celebrates its 10 anniversary. From its humble beginnings at the Tomas de Villanueva convent in Bislig in 1999, the Foundation is now well established, its achievements recognized and its services extended over the entire Caraga Region.

My attention and dedication for people with disabilities was the result of a unique experience. I cannot describe it otherwise. I was about to retire as a faculty member of the Asian Social Institute when a delegation from the Leaf Foundation approached me to help them with their environmental activities in Bislig. I had to think twice as Bislig was not exactly next door. The implication was that I had to leave my family for protracted periods of time. My two children were in their late teens and needed their parents around as they started to make some crucial life decisions. I accepted the invitation because I looked at it as a temporary involvement. Much later did I realize that my involvement with LEAF Foundation was only a stepping stone for a more challenging and more permanent calling. The ways of the divine Life Force are indeed amazing. I recall that day when with some staff of LEAF Foundation we had a meeting at the barangay hall of Doña Carmen, one of the beneficiary communities of an experimental reforestation project. Our discussions were interrupted by a wailing and whining voice some 50 meters away. The voice turned out to belong to a young boy born with cerebral palsy and mental debility. For his own and his neighborhoods safety the parents had made it a practice to lock him up in a cage when they would be away for work or otherwise. The scene deeply disturbed me. Not long thereafter I was in my jeep near the parish of Tomas the Villanueva church in the Poblacion of Bislig when a young obviously hearing impaired girl approached me just out of curiosity perhaps. I learned later that the parish priest, Fr. Narciso Curalde, cared in a very special way for young PWDs. His altar boy was a kid with Dawn syndrome and the lead guitarist of his church choir was a blind young man. In the days thereafter I inquired about ongoing programs (DSWD, DOH). I was told that help was provided when PWDs or their parents would come to their office. During a sleepless night with some emotional upheavals I decided to make these children with disabilities my calling. In the morning I wrote a project concept for an organization that would provide special care for young PWDs. I shared it with some of my friends, leaders in the community of Bislig. They were encouraging and promised all-out support. These friends are still with the Foundation as corporate- and some as Board-members. And perhaps inspired by the love that Father Narcing displayed for these young people we named the Foundation "Loving Presence."

The start was difficult. We struggled for almost two years before we could provide the needed services. Then blessings came our way. A medical team from Service of Mercy Foundation in Cagayan de Oro came to Bislig for a cataract and cleft surgical mission. And not long thereafter Loving Presence received its first grant of two hundred thousand pesos from a private donor in the Netherlands. In the years that followed developments went pretty fast. More support came in and Loving Presence took off, initiating regular medical missions, conducting skills training for livelihood activities, special education and the beginnings of a CBR program.

As a result of our many initiatives and the opening of extension offices our staff expanded gradually and reached at some point 45. Overtime, adjustments had to be made in terms of approach as we realized that only a close partnership with LGUs could sustain our efforts. This strategy has turned out to be correct. Our close working relationship with Local Government Units has made it possible for us to expand our technical assistance all over the five provinces of the Caraga Region. Recent economic developments have also affected the Foundation. We have been forced to cut down on staff. But our Community Based Rehabilitation program in cooperation with the LGUs has remained on track. Today we are looking back at 10 years of very fulfilling service.