Caring in Times of Killings: Narratives of Community Volunteers for Children Orphaned By Drug War

Date of Award

12-1-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo, PhDMara Patricia Y. De Guzman

Abstract

The war on drugs in the Philippines left thousands of orphans and their families struggling. Since a national orphan policy is yet to be crafted by the Philippine Government, the Catholic Church takes over these long overdue orphan care roles by mobilizing community volunteers. However, volunteer work for marginalized families in the context of an existing punitive drug policy and the ongoing pandemic remains underexplored. Fifteen (15) church community volunteers were interviewed and asked to narrate their experiences with orphan care. Using an Integrated Narrative Inquiry, three broader categories became evident: (1) empathizing orphans‘ continuing marginalization as killings persist (2) calling for government‘s accountability in the face of limitations to caring and (3) holding on to the purpose of caring the orphans with shared sense of hope. In each category, sub-themes were generated which unpacked the multi-layered narratives of participants representing not only individual/personal but also wider contextual realities surrounding their caregiving efforts. These findings contribute to the literature understanding community volunteers‘ experiences as they took over caring roles for drug war orphans and their families. It also adds to the empirical utility of narrative in examining how psychosocial services are delivered as nuanced by prevailing socio-political issues presently confronting the country (e.g. human rights violations, pandemic). As such, there is an urgent need to factor in community volunteers‘ multi-layered experiences in coming up with relevant social policies protecting and promoting the rights of drug war orphans and their families.

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