Empowering Girls: A holistic approach to residential care management
Every girl has the right to an identity. Every girl merits a family. Every girl needs an education. Every girl deserves a safe space. Every girl is entitled to dream and achieve her aspirations. Identity, family, education, security, and opportunity set the stage for a girl to mature into a stable, responsible worker, citizen, leader, wife, and mother.
The Sustainable Development Goal No. 5 promotes gender equality and women empowerment. SDG 5 seeks to end to all forms of discrimination against women and girls. Unfortunately, at least 17,600 girls suffered child violence and abuse in 2023, according to the Philippine Council for the Welfare of Children.
Ending violence against children requires a cross-sectoral resolution and execution. Inasmuch as prevention is paramount, the protection of girls in residential care facilities is vital. Residential care homes for children offer 24-hour service protection to neglected, abandoned, abused, or exploited children who cannot be taken care of by their families. The culture that the girls absorb in these homes profoundly shapes their personalities and readiness for the future.
Girls enter the residential care homes stripped of peace, happiness, and self-esteem. How can the residential care managers mend brokenness? How can they effectively lead the girls towards autonomy? I summarize my findings as follows:
1. Recognize girls’ inherent dignity. Children have the capacity to think and feel deeply. Their circumstances do not make them less of a person. Thus, they deserve the respect owed to any human being. Managers should communicate, listen, and value each girl’s individuality.
2. Love them. Children sense the managers’ honest concern for them. For example, the children in a Bahay Tuluyan center spark joy, for the love of their houseparents’ shows. Similarly, the girls in the Laura Vicuña Foundation (LVF) home rejoice in being well-fed, receiving vitamins, and having good support. In both organizations, the children know they are loved like family.
3. Build mutual trust. Children trust adults whom they perceive as trustworthy.
In Filipino psychology, Santiago and Enriquez referred to pakikipagpalagayang-loob as developing mutual rapport and trust. Trust unfolds when one openly shares sentiments and feels no shame for their actions.
Pakikipagpalagayang-loob defines the relationship between LVF managers and the girls. From the onset, the managers trust in the girls’ capacity to overcome difficulties and in their integrity to do good. When the children misbehave, the managers prioritize teaching over sanctions. In the process, the girls reciprocate their managers’ trust in them. The girls who had initially lost trust in adults begin to speak up and confide in the managers.
4. Empower them with knowledge and skills. As the adage goes, “Education is key to success in life.” Managers ensure girls continue their education, whether in the classroom, through distance learning, or through the Alternative Learning System. Simultaneously, they equip the girls to be self-reliant. ACAY Mission Philippines educates girls in cooking, bill payment, and agency transactions, among other skills. Bahay Tuluyan conducts an independent living skills program that includes money management.
5. Engage the girls in meaningful participation. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child promotes children’s protection and participation rights. However, balancing protection and participation faces challenges due to adult-centric views that children lack maturity.
Notwithstanding, LVF and Bahay Tuluyan engage girls in a way that aligns with Boumo et al.’s concept of meaningful participation. This model includes informing, hearing, and involving children. The managers inform children of their right to participate and grow up without violence by teaching the UN Children’s Rights. They hear the girls in child-friendly dialogues and meetings. They encourage each one to voice their opinions and ensure that their insights are valued. Finally, they involve the children in decision-making. They animate the girls to organize in-house and outbound projects that benefit children in communities. These initiatives build the girls’ self-confidence and ownership of activities.
6. Nurture faith. A worldview that embraces the transcendent being offers answers to life’s most profound questions. LVF managers, for instance, cultivate piety and guide the girls to live honestly as God’s children. The girls enjoy discovering God’s love and finding hope and refuge in talking with Him.
The experiences of residential care managers underscore the necessity for attitude and skills that surpass mere program administration. A holistic approach to residential care management heals the girls and empowers them to be active members of society.
Dr. Maria Adiel H. Aguiling is an assistant professor at the Department of Management and Organization, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University.
