When a son or daughter dies, no matter what their age or the cause of death, grief lasts for longer than society in general recognizes. The death of your child is an unacceptable tragedy and it can take a long time before you regain any sense of normality in your life. "We Need Not Walk Alone."

The Compassionate Friends Philippines (TCF), is part of a world-wide organization offering friendship and understanding to families following the death of a son or daughter, brother or sister.  It is the largest self-help organization for bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents in the world. TCF offers support in the grief and trauma which follows the death of a child at any age and from any cause.

Our purpose is to offer friendship and understanding by reaching out to bereaved parents, to the surviving siblings and other family members to support them in the grief and trauma which follows the death of a child.

We promote the positive resolution of parents' grief, and to foster the physical, emotional and spiritual growth, in an open and friendly environment of bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings.

 

 

The Compassionate Friends Philippines -How it started

 

Although there are other grief support groups in the Philippines like Inang Naulila sa Anak (INA) Foundation and Healing Circles, this is the first grief support group that caters to the special needs of bereaved family members following the death of a son or daughter, brother or sister.

On November 27, 2005, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado emailed a second time the TCF National Office on how to  start a chapter in the Philippines. Margaret Pringle, the Chairperson of the recently-formed The Compassionate Friends (TCF) International Council emailed Noemi on November 30 the support and information needed to start the first chapter in the Philippines. To start a chapter, a few bereaved family members are needed and that the organizers should  be at least 2 years bereaved. She then contacted Cathy Babao-Guballa if she was interested to start a chapter and if she could invite other bereaved parents.  An enthusiastic Cathy invited Alma Miclat who readily agreed. 

The Compassionate Friends Philippines had its three founder members on December 1, 2005, namely Luis 'Butch' Dado and Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, Hector Guballa and Cathy Babao-Guballa and Mario and Alma Miclat .  Read more about the TCF (UK) history and how it started in England in 1969 and the TCF (USA) history.

 

 Read the January 8, 2006, Sunday Inquirer Magazine  about the interview on how The Compassionate Friends started. Survivor Tales: But What do you Call Someone Who Lost a Child?

 

   From Left to right: Cathy, Noemi and Alma
 

About the Site- compassionatefriends.info

The website, compassionatefriends.info is the web resource to support grieving parents, siblings and grandparents in the Philippines to find help after the death of a child. This site is hosted by parent volunteers of The Compassionate Friends (TCF). From this site you can find support for yourself or for a friend who may need help getting the support they need. Often times it is a friend who puts our information in the hands of the bereaved. Here you can find a local chapter, learn about what takes place at a meeting, and obtain additional weblinks and resources about related grief topics. If you are a bereaved parent, sibling or family member or friend , please register here so you can actively participate in the forums, subscribe to our newsletter, read special articles, submit news/articles or web resources.

 

 

A message for Bereaved Parents and Siblings

At The Compassionate Friends you will find the special understanding of those who have "been there". There are no pressures to talk or not talk, to cry or not cry, just a chance to be yourself, to have time-out.

The Compassionate Friends offers a safe haven, a listening and understanding ear, a place where you can let down the masks, and if you wish, talk about your son or daughter who has died.

The Compassionate Friends offers no miracle cure, just comfort and the consolation and hope that broken threads can be picked up again.

 

Mission of The Compassionate Friends Philippines

The mission of The Compassionate Friends (TCF) is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.

The Compassionate Friends is an international, nonprofit, self-help support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. There is no religious affiliation and no individual membership fees or dues are charged. All bereaved family members are welcome. Founded in England in 1969, TCF was established in the United States in 1972, with 501(c)(3) not-for-profit incorporation in 1978, under which provision the organization’s nearly 600 local chapters also operate. TCF operates as separate entities in nearly 30 countries around the world.

The secret of TCF's success is simple: As seasoned grievers reach out to the newly bereaved, energy that has been directed inward begins to flow outward and both are helped to heal. The vision of The Compassionate Friends is that everyone who needs us will find us and everyone who finds us will be helped.

Introducing The Compassionate Friends

Support and friendship to parents and families after the death of their son or daughter at any age and from any cause

When a son or daughter dies

“No death so sad”: that is how many bereaved parents describe the devastating loss of their son or daughter. No one expects to attend their own child's funeral, yet every year thousands of newly bereaved families face a future in which their lives have been changed for ever.

Immediately after the death, parents and families are usually surrounded by relatives, friends and those in the caring professions. Later this support often lessens just when the pain of bereavement seems to grow more intense. This is when The Compassionate Friends offers continuing help, which is there for as long as the parents and family want.

The Compassionate Friends

A feeling common among newly bereaved parents is that those around them cannot truly understand the depth of their grief, that only someone who has “been through it themselves” could possibly know what they are feeling.

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) was founded in 1969 and is an organisation of bereaved parents and their families helping others through their grief, It is open to all parents whose son or daughter has died at any age and from any cause. The death of their child brings many difficulties within a family; in TCF we know that there is no easy path through the pain and we do not offer simple solutions. What we do offer is continuing understanding, friendship and encouragement. We also offer support to grandparents and siblings.

While religious or spiritual beliefs are undoubtedly helpful to some parents, TCF as an organization has no such affiliations.

The aims of The Compassionate Friends are to:

• Offer support and friendship to any sorrowing family,

• Listen with understanding,

• Provide chapter (group) meetings,

• Give information about the grieving process,

• Provide acquaintance with bereaved families whose sorrow has softened and who have found fresh hope and strength for living,

• Promote more understanding among professional, medical, paramedical, police, clergy and teaching persons and the community at large of the trauma and special needs of bereaved families following the death of a child,

• Establish, promote and assist local Chapters in their efforts to support bereaved families.

• Establish and maintain the Bereaved Parent Center in offering support, understanding, personal contact and referral for all bereaved families.

How TCF can help

Members of TCF, all of whom are bereaved, offer time to listen and share experiences and feelings in a safe place. We all have different needs and circumstances and TCF has a wide range of support services to try and meet your needs.

• A Helpline where you can speak to a bereaved parent

• A network of local TCF Contacts who may offer one-to-one visiting and hold chapter meetings

• Support through letter and email with Contacts or other bereaved parents

• A range of publications written within TCF , offering both practical and emotional support

• A quarterly Newsletter, where parents and grandparents can write about their feelings as well as read about those of others; there is also a newsletter for brothers and sisters

• A website offering information about TCF and the opportunity to communicate with other bereaved families

• A program of seminars, workshop in cooperation with other grief support groups in the Philippines, TCF's informal weekend retreats and an annual weekend gathering

The Best time to make Contact