With their son, Rene, who was adopted from the Philippines as a baby, they will be moving to the country to help run an orphanage with a special focus on helping children who have found themselves on the streets. 

The family is hoping to have the Lithgow community's support to carry out their new roles through a regular sponsorship program. 

It was Rene’s adoption that started Mick and Tracy on the very long and gradual road towards their relocation.

“We applied to adopt from the Philippines. We had three children of our own and we wanted another child,” Tracy said. 

Tracy has worked at Hope’s Pharmacy for 25 years, while Mick worked as an OH&S officer at a mine before joining the weights and measurements team at the waste management facility. 

The adoption process took four years and the family eventually bought Rene home in 2006. In 2011, the family returned to the Philippines with Rene on their first visit. 

During the visit, the family connected with Gentle Hands, a Manilla orphanage. 

"They were caring for children that other orphanages would not take, children with special needs,” Tracy said. 

They joined in Gentle Hands’ efforts to raise funds for an upgrade to their building and facilities, allowing them to take in more children.

It was there Tracy and Mick got to know Gill, a badly burned 12-year-old boy who had been taken to Gentle Hands by his brother when the slum in which they lived offered no medical care. 

When efforts to adopt Gill and bring him to Australia failed, the Staines family turned their efforts to improving his home. 

When Gill left the orphanage and went back to his family, it became clear to the Staines that the neighbourhood posed serious safety risks, not just for Gill, but for the other residents. 

Mick recalled one occasion during a typhoon when one of the boys had to climb on top of their family home and lay down on the roof in an effort to prevent it being blown off. 

“He told us it was okay because he had his motorbike helmet on,” Mick said. 

Tracy said it was clear they had to help. 

“The houses were made of rice sacks, bits of tin and wood – they weren’t safe and they would just blow over in a typhoon.”

The family carried out fundraising to help build brick homes for more than 150 people in the slum. 

It has been a progression for the family. From having no involvement in the country, the family progressed to helping set up homes in needy communities and helping to establish a new business for an injured worker.

“I knew God wanted us to move over there,” Tracy said. 

“In November 2016, I gave up the fight and I said, all right, we’ll go.”

They will be joining Jack and Tammy Fairweather’s not-for-profit Arise Ministries on the island of Calipan, Mindoro, which aims to improve the lives of children living in poverty. 

The family plans to fly out on February 8 this year. 

The family is looking for 50 people to sponsor them at a cost of $10 a week to contribute to their living expenses. The charitable donation would be tax deductible. 

If you would like to be involved, or learn more, contact them by email at tracystaines9767@gmail.com or mickstaines1260@yahoo.com.au or by mobile on 0417 641 404 (Tracy) or 0467 245 390 (Mick).