Unlike her peers, Rosalinda Camitan was terrified as her 18th birthday inched closer.

The Filipino, whose father was murdered when she was seven and mother died in a hit-and-run five years later, knew that as a legal adult, she would have to leave her orphanage and strike it out on her own.

Like Rosalinda, many children in the Philippines have been orphaned, abandoned or neglected as a result of widespread poverty, lack of basic education, natural disasters and teenage pregnancies.

Statistics from Philippines Without Orphans revealed that up to seven million children – a staggering 1 in 6 – in the nation are currently without the care of their families.

The plan was for Rosalinda to live independently at a college dormitory. The teenager was anxious about how she would cope all alone.

In tears she pleaded one night: “Lord, I need a family.”

The parents she had prayed for

That Christmas, she received a text message: “Would you like to be our daughter?”

It was from Lito and Marisol Salva, an American couple who had adopted two Filipino children, Angielyn and Ethan, from her orphanage. Rosalinda had gotten to know the couple during their visits and had kept in touch with them over the years.

“I cried and told them that it had been my silent prayer,” she recounted to Salt&Light.

Lito and Marisol flew to the Philippines to celebrate all of Rosalinda’s milestones, including her wedding.

As Rosalinda was already a legal adult, the Salvas did not legally adopt her. But they stepped up to play the role of her parents, despite living halfway across the world.

They checked in on her every day through phone calls and text messages. They listened to her struggles and held space for her tears. They celebrated her joys and successes.

They prayed for her and encouraged her with God’s Word. They affirmed her gifts, beauty and value. They let her know that they would be with and for her no matter what.

When Rosalinda went through a particularly difficult season in college, they flew in from the United States to be with her. And they were present at every milestone: her graduations, her wedding, the birth of her child.

“They are my constants,” said Rosalinda, who calls them ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’.

Today, at the age of 36 and with a family of her own, she continues to rely on them for wisdom and advice in parenting.

“They are my rock and the comfort and grace that God has provided me.”

“I didn’t have a father growing up, but my (adoptive) dad would treat me like a princess. Every time we saw each other, he would treat me so well. Now my expectations of men are too high!” Rosalinda said with a laugh. She is pictured here with Lito at her wedding.

The Salvas, who are Christians, told Salt&Light over email from Florida: “The reason we ‘adopted’ Rosalinda was the same reason we adopted Angielyn and Ethan – a commitment to our Lord to take care of His kids and give them a new chance in life to belong and be loved by a family.

“You will never go wrong when you take care of His kids!”

All children need a place to belong

The impact of the couple’s love has touched not just Rosalinda’s life, but also the lives of the orphans she serves today.

Rosalinda is a staff member at an orphanage in the Philippines for kids under four, and also sits on the board of the orphanage that she grew up in.

Having experienced the love and support of her parents, she strongly advocates for placing children in a family through reunification, adoption or foster care as early as possible.

“It’s really hard to grow up independently without a family, a place where you belong, with permanence, stability,” she said. “It was by the grace of God that at the age of 18 I had my parents, but without that it would have been a different story.”

In her work, she has seen the heartbreaking ways some babies have been abandoned.

“There was one child who was abandoned in a cemetery as a newborn. Another child was like Moses, he got dropped off in the river and left to die, but someone rescued him,” she said sombrely. 

“But these stories remind me of my purpose: to find these children and place them into families where people will love them and care for them,” she added.

Even adults need their parents: Lito, Marisol, Rosalinda and Dess spend time with each other through trips to the US and the Philippines.

Rosalinda encouraged families to consider adopting or fostering a child, or even just supporting a child in an orphanage. 

Looking back at her own journey in the orphanage and with her adopted family, she said: “Like me, one life was changed because of many people’s contribution.”

And she is one who walks the talk: She and her husband recently adopted a two-year-old girl, Esther Hope, into their family.

“Truly our Heavenly Father has blessed us with a precious gift. We will treasure her forever,” said Rosalinda.

Rosalinda with her adopted daughter, Esther Hope.

Asked how they feel about seeing Rosalinda where she is today, the Salvas said it has been a blessing to see her grow “from a teenager in an orphanage to an instrument of God’s hand helping and assisting kids meet their full potential in the love of God”.

They added: “We are blessed to be called ‘dad and mum’ by Rosalinda, (her husband) Dess, our ‘grandson’ Enoch and ‘granddaughter’ Esther.

“Our God has put a special love in our hearts for all Filipino kids, and our prayers for the future is for God to open doors so we can be closer to all our Filipino ‘grandkids’!

“What a family reunion that would be!”

If you’d like to find out more about how you can help to end the orphan crisis in the Philippines, visit Generations–Home.

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