For the seventh year in a row, Br. Dan Fenton and several volunteers have made the trip to Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center, Bacolod, on the Island of Negros in the Philippines. Leaving on June 6, Br. Dan was joined by Br. Peter Nguyen from the District of Eastern North America (DENA), Justin Grider from Saint Mary’s College of California, and Jose Herrera and Adonis Trujillo, both graduates of San Miguel High School in Tucson. Over the five-week visit, the service volunteers got to know the residents and their situations, taught classes, helped with school assignments, and even assisted in planting crops.

Volunteers José Herrera, Justin Grider and Adonis Trujillo pose with a new friend

Meaning “House of Hope,” Bahay Pag-asa is a center for Filipino youth who have run into trouble with the law; it provides a safe, positive, educational environment as an alternative to the overburdened Philippine correctional system which often houses young offenders with adults. The center opened in 2001 with the support of the District of San Francisco and under the supervision of Christian Brothers of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod.

Brother Dan Fenton’s report of this year’s trip makes for fascinating reading, and a Philippine television station broadcast this positive story.