“We started Anawim…a long time ago. It was just nipa huts (because that was all that we could afford) when we were starting. I lived here for three years. No running water. No electricity. But we had lots of love. And we have not stopped loving them. In the past 30 years, we’ve HOUSED thousands of the poorest of the poor. — Bro. Bo Sanchez”
Tucked in the foothills of Rodriguez, Rizal is a sanctuary for the elderly — those who have been forsaken by family, who no longer have anyone who could care for them in their twilight years, or who did not want to be a burden on others as they live out their lives.
Anawim, which means in Hebrew the poor who depend on the Lord for their deliverance, is a facility in a three-hectare spread that is now home to 62 seniors, 44 of them women and 18 men.
The resident elderly are cared for by a crew of 45, mostly caregivers who work daily in 3 shifts. The rest of the Anawim complement include nurses, social workers, admin, maintenance, logistics, kitchen and laundry staff. A couple of workers too who tend to an organic patch.
Founded in 1995 by lay preacher Bo Sanchez, Anawim is sustained solely by donations, according to Center administrator Arcie Binohhi. In 2003, it was recognized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as the best non-governmental organization in Calabarzon.
Most of those who are taken in by the Center are elderly who have lost contact with family and relatives, or abandoned because their relationships with their children have deteriorated or become broken.
“Karamihan sa Anawim wala talagang family na ma-locate. Bata pa lang sila, iniwan nila ang province nila to work in Manila until they got old and hindi na nabalikan ang pamilya,” says Binohhi.
“Ang ilan naman na may pamilya, usually ang kwento ay hindi sila binigyan ng attention ng mga magulang. Usually mga nagtatrabaho sa ibang lugar, walang relationship na build sa family, sa mga anak. Importante po talaga yung quality time sa pamilya. Ang iba naman ay may ugali daw noong malakas-lakas sila. May ginawang hindi maganda sa family,” she tells the Good Life.
In an FB post after attending Anawim’s 2025 Christmas party, Sanchez posted this message:
“We started Anawim, our Home for the Abandoned Elderly, a long time ago. It was just nipa huts (because that was all that we could afford) when we were starting. I lived here for three years. No running water. No electricity. But we had lots of love. And we have not stopped loving them. In the past 30 years, we’ve HOUSED thousands of the poorest of the poor.”
In an interview with the Good Life, Binohhi says that while the Center can accommodate up to 80 residents, their current resources can only provide the best care possible to 65.
“The Center lives on donations from generous benefactors who believe in our mission. We have no regular funding,” she says in an interview with the Good Life.
Knowing its limitations, the Center strictly follows a criteria for accepting residents and coordinates with the DSWD to ensure compliance with regulations and vetting of applicants.
They don’t accept elderly who have communicable diseases or are mentally unhealthy because the Center is not equipped to handle such cases.
Applicants or referrals are vetted by the DSWD and the Center before the qualified are submitted for approval to the Anawim Board.
But Binohhi points out that if residents develop communicable diseases and mental health issues, they have partner doctors and hospitals that can provide treatment for the sick.
“It can’t be helped that their mental and physical health deteriorate while in the facility, we do our very best to provide for their needs. We coordinate with medical institutions to avail of their services,” she says.
Dementia she says is a major challenge for the Center as residents get older but assures that caregivers are assigned to focus on the needs of those afflicted with the disease-stricken elderly.
“Loving and caring caregivers who attend to them even if they get angry or become rude to them,” says Binohhi.
Elderly women outlive their male counterparts, she says, pointing out that the oldest in today’s cohort is a woman aged 96 while men pass on while in their 80s.
Binohhi says if circumstances permit, the Center tries to locate family or next of kin to see if they are willing to take the resident back into their fold. But sadly, she says, no one has yet done this.
The best thing that has happened, she says, is when relatives agree to visit, which makes their ward happy.
“We see the impact on the elderly when they do that. Masayahin, iba ang aura nila compared to the elderly na walang wala talagang nagbibisita. Mainitin ang ulo,” she says.
Binohhi says the Center’s wish is to be able to establish a project that would be the main financial source of its operations.
“Our goal is to accept more elderly because there a lot of elderly who need help,” she tells the Good Life.
