The Infant Care Center, a child-caring facility founded by Bro. Eli Soriano through the ADD Foundation International, will hold an Adoption and Foster Care forum on February 23, starting at 10 a.m., at the Ang Dating Daan Convention Center in Apalit, Pampanga.
The event, which will be facilitated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), aims to educate couples and singles who want to adopt babies and children about the proper way of bringing up infants who are not related to them.
Annabelle Bercasio, one of the organizers and social workers of the Infant Care Center, said the discussion will also tackle the process of adoption, which includes the requirements and qualifications for the applicants and the legal bases for the procedure.
Earlier this month, Bro. Daniel Razon, the Vice-Presiding Minister of Members Church of God International (MCGI) and Bro. Eli’s collaborator in founding the center, encouraged the congregation, especially the couples, to think of adopting babies who are currently under its care.
Bro. Eli Soriano often reiterates during services at MCGI how fragile infants are; hence, the need for elderly guidance. Unlike most of the animals that survive without parental care, left alone, human babies die.
The leaders’ call for foster parents prompted the child-caring group to organize the forum and partner with DSWD, the principal government organization that initiates projects and campaigns focusing on the well-being of Filipinos.
Duly recognized by DSWD, the Infant Care Center was established in July 20, 2012 by Bro. Eli and Bro. Daniel as a way of addressing the rampant cases of newborns being abandoned. For more than a year now, the Center has been accepting abandoned babies, ages 0-2 ½ years old.
Sis. Annabelle emphasized during the Infant Care Center’s anniversary last year that babies are part of the marginalized sector as “they cannot fight back when they are neglected and abused.” The Infant Care Center is one of the charitable foundations maintained by MCGI, which also sustains orphanages that shelter the elderly.
Through ADD Foundation, MCGI also operates transient homes that cater to individuals seeking for refuge for a night.
The charitable institution’s upcoming affair requires both couple to attend. Singles are also welcome to join the forum.
(Written by Emmy Borromeo)
