Philippines Global Outreach 2019

​Nurturing Touch and Essential Care for Children

Alongside a team of 29 other dedicated professionals, we will travel throughout Cebu and Manila for three weeks in December.  We were selected from 4,200 applicants and are a mix of massage therapists, physical therapists, nurses, child life specialists and occupational therapists. 

Liddle Kidz Foundation uses the power of touch to reach the world's most vulnerable children with experiences of appropriate nurturing touch that they often lack. We address critical needs by working with families and healthcare providers in pediatric hospitals, hospices, and orphanages to provide comprehensive services, education, program development and support through our sustainable Liddle Kidz International Therapeutic Exchange Program (iTEP®).



Children in Need

While on the Philippines’ outreach in 2016, we continuously provided  therapeutic, instructional and educational clinics for children. One of our clinic sites was held at a government municipality building in the mountainous region of Borbon, Cebu. The local township informed its’ people and the surrounding communities about LKF’s free pediatric massage and physical therapy clinic.  It was here that I had the opportunity to meet a young boy named Paul. Paul had Cerebral Palsy and was a paraplegic. Paul’s parents make what is equivalent to two US dollars per day and can’t afford physical therapy for Paul. They brought him to the clinic in the hopes of learning techniques so they can provide him with home therapy. I spent about four hours with Paul and his family both demonstrating and training them. There are no words that can explain how impactful this time was to me. I knew in my heart that Paul’s parents gained a very important gift from me that day, as I did from them.

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Why Touch is Important
Touch is a major part of providing a child with a chance to grow into a happy and healthy adult. The need for touch can be vastly greater for those children who may have illness, disease or a special need. When these children are living in an institutional setting such as an orphanage, their physical needs are immediate and are often met with urgency. However, their emotional needs and personalized attention are often overlooked and they lack an essential ingredient for basic health and happiness- touch.