My Stairway Experience.

People from my school who went to the Stairway Foundation for Classroom Without Walls in eighth grade or ICARE Week in high school would usually return to Manila saying that it was truly a life-changing experience. Of course, out of curiosity, and also because I felt absolutely touched by the kind of work that Stairway does to rehabilitate less fortunate and abused Filipino children, I wanted to experience Stairway for myself. Since eighth grade, I’ve been signing up to spend a week at Stairway for CWW and then for ICARE, but due to its inevitable popularity as an ICARE site among students, I was unfortunately unable to go to Stairway for those three years. This year, however, during my fourth attempt, I was successful, and the days leading up to that eventful week were full of inner excitement and sheer anticipation.

From the moment I set foot in Mindoro on that Tuesday afternoon, I knew for sure that I was going to love Stairway. Once our group of twenty or so students got there I was instantly able to connect with the place and the relaxed, peaceful Stairway environment that everyone was talking about. The people at Stairway were also very warm and welcoming towards us, including “Kuya” Lars Jorgensen and his wife, “Ate” Monica, their children Zachery, whom I’ve known since eighth grade, and Izana, who was absolutely adorable, and, of course, the staff, volunteers and social workers, some of whom I was able to know better as the week progressed, and the Stairway boys, who were some of the most amazing children I’ve met during an event such as ICARE, if not ever. The boys at Stairway would only be there until March or April, and it was evident that they were taking advantage of their year at Stairway in the best that they can.

In fact, I honestly don’t think that I could be able to single out one single activity that day, or any other day that week, which I could say I enjoyed the most. The first day at Stairway began with an orientation and an icebreaker with the Stairway kids as well as a group from Baclayan, a school for Mindoro’s indigenous Mangyan tribe, with whom we were also to spend that week together. We also went to the beach, which we did every afternoon from Tuesday until Thursday, wherein the mixed company of old friends from school and new friends from Stairway enabled me to conquer my apprehension towards swimming in salt water.

On the second day, we focused on the issues of child exploitation and sexual abuse. Throughout that day I felt really, truly emotional about this issue that Stairway has been working against for nearly twenty years. The amount of information that we learned about that day overwhelmed me, from the animated films based on Monica Ray’s stories “A Good Boy” and “Red Leaves Falling”, to the play “Cracked Mirrors”, which was presented that night, and to the stories shared by the play’s actors afterwards, which opened my eyes – and surely opened everyone else’s eyes – to the painful reality of sexual abuse in the Philippines. It was a challenge to have to digest such information, especially the thought that children who are so young and should be in school and spending their time enjoying their youth are being abused and exploited by strangers, both local and foreign. What gave me some sort of relief, however, was the fact that, despite everything, there are still places such as Stairway that are able to select a few of these children, rehabilitate them holistically, and give them a strong support system. Giving less fortunate children that spark of hope, in my opinion, is truly one of the most beautiful things that I saw with the Stairway foundation.

I think that the best parts of ICARE at Stairway were in the simple things that weren’t listed in the itinerary. I remember that there was a boy from Stairway named Benjay who was very friendly from the first day. Although we had just arrived there and we weren’t even divided into groups yet, he told me that he wanted to be my partner because he felt that I was his first real friend, which just might be one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard anyone say to me in my life. Also, throughout the week we got to know the kids through games, discussions, and through the conversations that took place while we worked on crafts and paintings, during mealtime, and even during kitchen duty. Playing guessing games three boys named Joshua, Ivan and Raymond over national capitals and each other’s favourite colours, flowers and animals was also fun, since their cheerfulness seemed to alleviate any traces of exhaustion experienced throughout the day.

By the end of the third day, the group of students from my school had gotten to know the kids from Stairway and Baclayan to a certain degree, and as one of the four students from the International School Manila who were able to fluently and comfortably converse with the children in Filipino, I was able to feel what I thought was an even closer bond between myself and the kids. Later that night, during our last night in Stairway, it was evident that there was a mix of emotions among everyone. There were people such as myself who felt that they were simply not ready to go.

Looking back at the experience as a whole, I can safely say that, like the other students from my school, those four days at Stairway were some of the best days of my life. The Stairway Foundation is a place that gives children an opportunity to have a better life. It’s a place that feels like what home should feel like. From the moment I arrived there until this day, I’ve come to associate “Stairway” with “positivity”, because never in my life did I ever smile or feel happier than during those four days spent in Stairway. Stairway gave me new friends, but more than that, it also gave me a new sense of what it’s like to embrace life despite obstacles. I can’t wait to go back.