(Established on Sept. 1, 2002)
September 1, 2002, the second temporary shelter for the abandoned sick, the elderly women, and the handicapped, was inaugurated in Digos City, Davao del Sur. [The Digos Community] Surrounded by high mountains, adorned with verdant hills, and enriched by a gorgeous sea, Digos is a beautiful, relatively small city in Davao del Sur. It is easy to feel at home there, and our Sisters did feel immediately at home when they began their community life in a house provided by the Bishop at Lim Extension Street.
Through continuous updating, the institutions have satisfactorily complied with the Department of Social Welfare and Development standards in implementing Residential Care Programs and Services for the Elderly. A DSWD accreditation was awarded to the institutions for their continuous efforts to uplift the poor and the disadvantaged. Besides the home for the elderly, the sisters commit themselves to home care assistance for the sick and the elderly and pastoral health care in the hospitals. The community also organized a scholarship program and a livelihood-candle-making program to support the elderly.
It celebrates the fifteenth (15th) year anniversary of the Balay ni Maria Domenica Temporary Shelter for the elderly. Through God’s Providence, the Sisters are able to organize various health care, livelihood, and educational activities for children, youth, and adults, as well as care for the elderly who are abandoned. Certainly, the Sisters’ unselfish dedication will empower many people towards an active collaboration in daily life, which is quite hard yet rich with great opportunities for authentic human and Christian growth.