OJT Immersion Program at Hospicio de San Jose

Eduard M. Solomon, March 9, 2017

The Delta Company of the PCCR Criminology OJT visited Hospicio de San Jose foster care institution in Manila last March 7, 2017. The theme of the immersion program is: “Recognize, Appreciate and Repay our Parents’ Love”. The fourth year students were accompanied by OTJ Coordinator, Prof. Mandy Gonzales and his assistant, Prof. Cholo Galindez. Prof. Rodel Rivera and the PCCR Band were also part of the team.

The team reached the institution at around 12:00 NN. The lolos and lolas of Hospicio were pleasantly excited to receive the members while the students greeted them with great enthusiasm. There were huge smiles on the faces of the elders and they were very happy to engage with them. The students, together with the PCCR Band and Prof Rodel Rivera, provided entertainment numbers where some of the lolos and lolas gamely danced with the student performers. Snacks from the team’s funds were distributed and the elders were assisted in eating.

The team also distributed flowers and slippers to the lolos and lolas as their simple gift which they contributed from their own pockets. As a way of saying thank you, our lolos and lolas gifted the students with song numbers.

The team spent more than four hours with the elders of Hospicio before saying goodbye to them. It was indeed a very satisfying experience for the students as they were able to bring smiles on the elderly’s faces even for just a short period of time. They realized that one must repay and understand their social responsibilities towards society. “Mga anak balik kayo ha,” -- these were the parting words the elders told the team as they left the orphanage.

“Hospicio de San Jose is the first social welfare agency in the country, and as a foster care institution has been a home for orphans, the abandoned, special needs and the elderly for more than 200 years. Initially named the Hospicio General (General Hospice), Hospicio de San José was established during the Spanish Era in October 1778 by Don Francisco Gómez Enríquez and his wife Doña Barbara Verzosa. After being cured of a fever, Don Gómez Enríquez donated the sum of ₱ 4,000 to found the hospice that would take care of Manila’s “poor and unwanted children”, the physically and mentally handicapped, and aging people. The initiative and example of Don Gómez Enríquez was followed by other charitable people of Manila” .