The Constant Mother: Gledelyn "Nanay Dhen" Echague By Darlene Ramos

The Constant Mother: Gledelyn "Nanay Dhen" Echague
By Darlene Ramos

When you turn left coming through the lobby of the Children's Home, you might meet someone who nine out of ten times will be lighting up the corridor with her eternal grin: Nanay Dhen.

Barely two years ago, Nanay Dhen came to CCFT as a volunteer houseparent, months fresh from a caregiving exam as a nursing assistant and patient care technician.

"June 26, 2007. I remember it well because I was interviewed that Monday morning, then went on duty that very afternoon. I had no orientation whatsoever, and they brought me to the family of toddlers on the spot. I did not sleep a wink all night because I was quite scared, but also excited," Nanay Dhen recalled. She spent her first two months with the toddlers, and then by September she was assigned to the infants.

"I was impressed by CCFT when I first came on board, because it was a lovely, quiet place, and had everything the children needed," she added. There were already thirty-three children when she arrived, who were grouped into eight families - three of boys, three of girls, and the two she already handled, infants and toddlers. By the end of September, Nanay Dhen became "mother" to a family of three grade-school girls, Sarah, Jairah, and Abigail - appropriately (at the time) called Family Three.

At first it was difficult for her to handle the three, because they threw tantrums left and right, refused to follow her rules, and were generally naughty little girls. She wasn't the only one - some house parents were so overwhelmed by the hard-headed youngsters that they left after a few weeks. Nanay Dhen and Jonathan (Tatay Jong) Tamayo were the only houseparents left of the first batch in CCFT.

"I stayed because of the children. I felt that these children needed something - someone - constant in their lives to love them and care for them. These kids have been through so much sadness, trauma, and change at their young age, and I wanted to be one of those constants," she explained. "I want to see that vision come true, that the foundation will take care of the children till they can fend for themselves in the real world. They have nowhere else to go."
On a lighter note, Nanay Dhen talked about her favorite day-to-day routine with the children. "They are so fun to be with. I love playing with them, and I enjoy teaching them songs. When I was still handling a family, we would gather round and sing together. Sometimes when I would sing my family to sleep the children from the next room would call out and beg me to sing them to sleep, too. That's what I miss the most." For when Nanay Dhen was promoted to Head Houseparent-OIC in mid-2008 - the officer-in-charge when Head House Parent Tatay Jong is away - she spent less time with the children, and had to oversee the kitchen and the clinic

"These days, there is however one hour in the morning that I get to spend with the toddlers of Family Respect," she said. "I don't get to spend much time with anyone else, sometimes my own family. Sometimes, on my day off, my mind is still on the children. I worry about them. I wouldn't be able to bear it if anything happened to Sarah, or Jairah, or to any child."

Spoken like a true mother.