ABOUT US

Bahay ni San Jose, now known as St. Joseph Home for Special Children, is the first and only Catholic Institution involved in the care of special children with multi-disability in Tariac City. It is a non-government, non-profit institution located at Block 3, Brgy. San Jose, Tariac City. It was officially started on November 22, 2009 - feast of Christ the King 

St. Joseph Home for Special Children opened in a house owned by Mr. & Mrs. Roberto Soto. With God's providence, a generous benefactor donated 9.732 square of agricultural land to the Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph. Being a raw land, a construction committee was formed to start a fund rising project for the buildings needed by the children and the Dominican Sisters assigned to the mission: a 2-storey classroom building, multi-purpose covered court, a dorm for boys and girls, a Sisters' Cloister, and an office. 

On February 3, 2011, during the second year of operation, Rev. Fr. Elmer B. Gonzales celebrated the first Holy Mass followed by the blessing of St. Joseph Home for Special Children in the presence of the members of the Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph, members of the Dominican Laity of San Antonio, Nueva Ecija headed by Mrs. Julie Agapito, Mrs. Nellie O. Santos, benefactors and friends.

On February 14, 2011, we formally transferred to the first structure that has been built. There, seventeen (17) children with special needs were being taken care of in our simple house with four (4) rooms. A mini prayer room serves as our source of strength and guidance, together with our lay co-workers in fulfilling our duties to these little children; some of which are mentally and physically challenged, autistic, speech delayed, lame and with cerebral palsy.

Looking back at the 13 years of mission, we see the miraculous interventions of St. Joseph in bringing us to where we are now: with complete facilities, licensed and accredited by the Department of Social Worker and Development (DSWD) Office. Our school for children called St. Joseph the Worker SPED Center was recognized by the government. We have four (4) teachers: one (1) occupational therapist, two (2) SPED teachers, and one (1) teacher for daycare children. We also accepted students, particularly in care giving and nursing from TSAT (Tarlac School for Arts and Trade, Inc.) and TSU (Tarlac State University) for their On-the-Job Training to help us in taking care of the children. As of now we have a growing number of children and co-workers, and a steady growth on our healthy relationships with the City Government of Tarlac City, church-based, and NGOs. We, the Dominican sisters of St. Joseph headed by Sr. Leoncia V. Mateo, O.P., thank God for the gift of love and active participation of our benefactors and friends for the continuity of our mission in taking care for the multi-disability children. For our dear co-workers, social workers, teachers, houseparents, cooks, and drivers and all those connected to our ministry, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the journey of faith in serving the poorest of the poor children when they do not know where to go. As Jesus said, "whatever you did for one of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me". (Matthew 25:40). Thank you for your unending generosity.