Written by Board Member, Glenn Costales
The summer sun welcomed the team of U! Happy Events last Saturday, March 8, at the Gawad Kalinga building in Baranggay Pinagsama, Taguig City. The dayâs art-themed event was made possible through the partnership with Esquire Financing Incorporated, a company providing financing aid to small and medium-sized enterprises. This was the 1st of 6 events to be conducted this year in this location. Another 6 will be done with nearby Gawad Kalinga site, Laura.
The dayâs glare joyfully illuminated the already perked-up colors of the 4-storey complex. As the children piled in, with their bundles of excitement in tow, the kuyas and ates couldnât hide their thrills for the activities in store that day.
After a brief yet enthusiastic introduction from the volunteers, the âShow-Me-Your-Faceâ game fittingly started the creative festivities. With the participants divided into several teams, the children and volunteers had to âwearâ different facial expressions â whether angry, sad, happy, etc. â to win a point. One group stood out as the most coordinated and convincing with their lively facades. Needless to say, there were no dull faces in that room.
Kuya Robby, U!âs art authority, then took center stage with the dayâs art-making activity. With pointers and careful instructions from the expert, the children made different art depictions of their faces using several kinds of paper. There was indeed a âplethora of personalitiesâ present there. Short, long, round, rectangular, square – it didnât matter what shape or look they had because the art exercise was all about providing a means for the childrenâs creative expression.
After that, a literally packed lunch provided much needed sustenance to both the volunteers and children. And as if it wasnât enough, a serving of sugary donuts completed the hearty meal.
Finally, to make sure that the children would keep on expressing themselves, the group handed out art kits as a parting gift.
Mary Ann Kohl, an Art Author and Educator, said that âCreating art expands a child’s ability to interact with the world around them, and provides a new set of skills for self-expression and communication⊠it also cultivates important skills that benefit a child’s development.â The event hoped to foster this kind of development for the children. The team of U! Happy Events would continue to pursue steps towards this direction with more events lined up through the partnership with Esquire Financing.
Thank U! to all the volunteers who were present for contributing to the dayâs success. Heartfelt gratitude especially goes out to the wonderful people from Esquire Financing for sharing their blessings with us.