Jon was 16 years old when he came to Tuloy. He had run away from home and stayed in the streets begging, selling cigarettes, and washing cars. For him, life was tough on the streets because he found it difficult to deal with the people he encountered. When looking for a job, he also felt the suspicion and mistrust of his potential employers.

      To seek refuge from the streets, he would sometimes go to orphanages. But after some time, he would go back to the streets. "I would leave if there are fights and to avoid the tough kids staying there," he says. But Jon wanted to live a life far from the many dangers in the streets and drugs. He wanted to know the real meaning of life.

      In 1994, a friend recommended Jon to Fr. Rocky who was then looking for streetchildren at CCP Complex in Manila, one of the places where street urchins hang out. On the same day, Jon went with the priest to the center, then called Pugad Bosco.

      "I didn´t like it here at first," Jon recalls. "It was difficult to adjust." Later on, he began to enjoy his stay in Tuloy because he got along with the other children who were kind to him and he liked how the center was being run.

      However, after 2 years, he got involved in a fight with another child and decided to leave. He went back to CCP and worked in the Pier as a porter. There he slept in the terminal and began to take drugs. Realizing that his situation could get worse if he becomes more and more addicted, he decided to come back to Tuloy a year later. Since then, he has never left.

      Now, Jon is taking up bag technology. He feels proud whenever he completes a project. He is also assigned to helping the kitchen and has been assisting the housemother in charge of cooking for 3 months. He says his specialty is "adobo" (chicken and pork cooked in vinegar and soy sauce). He likes repair broken gadgets to create things, like a small electric fan that he made on his own.

      At the center, Jon discovered his talent in basketball and table tennis. He has also found friends and volunteers who care for him. "Before I didn´t know how to play basketball, and I just watched the other kids. Then, they taught me how to play and now when there´s a game they always let me join them."

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