Girls and women struggling to move forward . . . to go on courageously through the rough journey of life ! Like soldiers, they prepare themselves inside the confines of a structured setting, before they go in combat, in what seems to be life’s “battlefield.”

They are the temporary residents of the Regional Haven (RH) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Eight, located at the DSWD Institution Complex in Palo, Leyte. The facility caters to abused and exploited women who are 18 years old to 59 years old, but most of the referred victims are those in the middle age, as well as minors who become mothers (not by their choice).

In the case of 15-year-old Sandra (not her real name), she was a victim of rape for many counts by her own stepfather, andwith that, a bouncing baby girl was left to remind her of a grim past. Now, her angel is three months old now – cute and adorable, but she does not want to keep the child !

There have been, and to date, other “Sandras” who have been/are striving to hold on to life as they go into a process of healing, forgetting, and analyzing of what they plan to do next after their stay at the center. These girls or women are doubly burdened, as they not only attend to themselves, but to a child or children left or brought along with them at the 16-year-old facility.

As of to date,there are 18 of them seeking comfort at the RH, with 11 dependents living with them under one roof. Sandra and two women sleep with their kids in the Center’s nursery, while the rest stay in the 25 – bed sleeping quarters.

Luzvisminda Davis, the Officer-In-Charge of the center, says other residents have their kids with them for they know their lives are threatened. “This goes with domestic violence cases in which wives and children are both victims of battering,” the social worker revealed.

For the fourth quarter of year 2012, there were 21 cases, with domestic violence cases topping the list (seven in number); incest – second (six); rape – third (four); followed by trafficking – two, and abandoned cases – two. Three are now discharged from the center – two were reunited with their families and one works as a volunteer – houseparent in this facility.

The nine – man staff of this haven for women “work together to effectively and efficiently carry out the delivery of programs and services of the Center” that include homelife services, spiritual enrichment, and counseling sessions and group – guided acts that will help the victims restore their normal functioning.

“My stay here is helping me a lot,” a smiling Sandra tells this writer. She had been at the RH since July 31 of last year, when a half sister of hers accompanied the young girl then to this place of refuge. Fortunate for Sandra as her mother supports her, to the extent of filing a case against the latter’s third husband, who is now on the loose.

Says Sandra, “ I am getting ready to face the challenges of life after what happened to me.” She mentions about pursuing her studies via the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education (while at the center), while the DSWD works for the placement of her baby in an adoptive family.

The Regional Haven stands as a “training ground” for Sandra to acquire that life skills needed to regain strength to continue fighting again.