RESIDENTIAL CARE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Tuloy cares for poor and abandoned children from the streets or from abusive family environments who are 9 to 18 years of age and physically and mentally trainable for skills that will enable them to obtain gainful employment in the future. Prospective residents are assessed by professional social workers and child psychologists, and finally by our Management Committee to ensure that they meet set intake criteria.
Currently, there are ten dorms in the village, each capable of accommodating up to 30 children. Two dorms house the girls and boys. A “head of house” serves as parent overseeing the children in each dorm – their needs, health, behavior, studies – and giving them the dose of love and discipline which they sorely need but never had enough of. Children learn respect and kindness as they live with “siblings”, the other children.
Psychologists and social workers from the Child Development Department (CDD) follow through the development of each child, including establishing birth records and history, and searching for family members. For children who have families, the CDD has quarterly visitation days and lectures, and Christmas vacations intended to foster family ties. In-house counseling and intervention by external professionals are made available as needed. Children are reconciled and live with their families whenever circumstances justify – more than 200 reconciliations on record since 1993.
Still, for some children, the trade-off to stay in Tuloy is simply too much and they leave. They are allowed to, with the hope that they will come back because they already know that in Tuloy, they are loved unconditionally. If they do, they are welcomed home to start anew.
Profile of Residents
Age 1993 2001 2009 April 2010
Below10 0 2 4 3
10-12 0 13 37 38
13-18 11 94 111 123
19 above 1 14 10 14
Total 12 123 162 178
TULOY INTEGRATED JUVENILE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Letting their light shine brighter and brighter everyday….