Written by: Ate Claudine Regino, U! Resident Photographer
People often say that Christmas is for children. It’s the season of joyful carolings, writing letters to Santa Claus, wearing new sets of clothes, and receiving aguinaldos from beloved ninongs and ninangs. On December 22, however, it wasn’t only children who felt the early bliss of Christmas. Ates and kuyas from Accenture Inc. spent their Christmas party with children from Operation Blessing, and the Christ Community Church in Pasig became Neverland, where kids and adults alike shared in the joy of the most awaited day of the year.
Before the program even started, the volunteers formed their own groups and took initiative to get to know the children. By 10:00 am, the kids already grew fond of their new ates and kuyas and everyone was ready for the first activity of the day. To start, Kuya Harvard explained how to play the game “Bahay, Baboy, Bagyo” – the volunteers served as the bahay who would protect the baboy (played by the kids) when the facilitator shouts “Bagyo!” The stated number of volunteers must house a specified number of children and avoid getting eliminated in order to win. Ecstatic shouting and laughter filled the room as children and the volunteers looked for new groups after every round. Everyone enjoyed and competitively fought to stay in the game.
The next two activities were games involving a hula hoop. The first was an “All Aboard” challenge with a twist. Kuya Harvard assigned seven groups composed of five children and three volunteers and each team was given a hula hoop. The members must assess correctly if the category that kuya Harvard mentions applies to them and follow instructions on whether to stay outside or inside the hula hoop. When the category involved those who knew how to dance, people inside the hula hoop were requested to give a sample. The game soon became a showdown between the volunteers and the kids enjoyed the sight of their ates and kuyas showing off their dance moves.
The second hula hoop challenge was the “Hula Pass Through.” The seven teams arranged themselves by height and spread out to form straight lines while they held hands. The goal was to get the hula hoop from one side to another and back without using their hands. As they were playing, the members helped one another to get the hula hoop across. Others cheered for their team while waiting for their turn.
After lots of fun, Pastor Rene was asked to lead the prayer before meals and thank the Lord for a wonderful morning. Ates and kuyas then distributed rice and chicken meals with mixed veggies to the kids and they ate together while staying in their circles. After eating, the volunteers lined up in front of kuya Mario’s kart to get ice cream for the kids. For a while, they bonded even more before proceeding to the last parts of the program which were the picture-taking and gift-giving.
As soon as the children have received their gifts, they immediately threw hugs to their ates and kuyas before saying goodbye. The volunteers themselves were very happy to have spent the lovely morning with the kids. In a short span of time, they were able to share themselves and their blessings and feel the Christmas spirit as if they were children once more.
