A woman from the north-east who has run a children’s home in the Philippines for the more than 30 years has returned to Scotland to tell the tale.
Connie Andrews, 78, cares for 33 youngsters at the Rehoboth’s Children’s Home in the village of San Pedro on the Island of Luzon.
She began her career as a religious education teacher at Hazlehead Academy, and said she had encountered many differences between the two countries.
She said: “In the Philippines education is seen very much as the way out of poverty.
“There are no benefits paid out and there is no NHS, so the family is the base for assisting people.
“If nobody in the family has money if can be very hard to escape poverty.
“We aim to give a hand up to people in their education.
“Some children we have worked with have gone on to become teachers and nurses and entered other professions.”
The Rehoboth’s Children’s Home uses two houses, one for the girls, which is also the base for the main office, and the other for boys.
It is licensed and accredited by the department of social welfare and development in the Philippines, and is a registered UK charity.
Mrs Andrews’ faith is the main source of inspiration for her work, and she has been visiting churches and schools across the north-east and beyond in order to share her experiences with others.
Her tour has taken her as far as Shetland and Peterhead – and the efforts are already paying off.
Having listened to her story, Seaton Community Church is planning to send 15 people out to work in the school in October.
Mrs Andrews, a former pupil of Mile End School and Aberdeen High School for Girls, said she was grateful for a series of opportunities which took her to the Philippines.
She said: “I began my career at an English teacher at Hazlehead School and the head teacher kept giving me religious education lessons. I had been a Christian for five years but I have no background in it so I needed to retrain.
“When I was doing my Bachelor of Divinity in London I met my husband Vernon. He had been in a far-east military band in Hong Kong for around six and a half years and we went over there and got involved in a children’s home.
“We had planned to return to Europe but an American man asked him to come to the Philippines, where he was approached by the captain of the San Pedro village to work in a school there.
“We arrived there early in November in 1981 and the school was set up by the end of the month.”
Mrs Andrews’ husband died the following year, but she stayed in the Philippines and channelled all her energies into making a success of the school.
She has not forgotten her roots, however, and returns to the north-east every few years to share her work with churches in the area.
To find out more visit www.rehobothchildrenshome.org.