1017 Adam Celebrates with Gawad Kalinga Laura, Taguig

Written by: Ate Charmain Tan, Vice President – External

It was great to see Ate Ces and her family once again as she arrived in Manila to celebrate her son’s birthday with us. Last year Adam celebrated his basketball themed birthday party with the children of Center for Community Transformation (CCT) at Active Fun. Flying all the way from Florida, the family chose this time to celebrate with the children of Gawad Kalinga in Laura Drive, Bagumbayan Taguig. We have visited their homes numerous times in the past and the children always give us a warm welcome every time we visit.
As Ate Ces and Kuya Issah arrived with their family as we introduced them to the children who were eagerly waiting to get to know their ates and kuyas for the day. Thanks to Teacher Irma these children are always well behaved. The volunteers talked about their favorite childhood games. Most of them enjoyed playing the games tagu-taguan, sipa, luksong bakal, habulan, and agawan base. The kids excitedly raised their hands when their favorites were mentioned. In line with the Christmas spirit the volunteers also sang their favorite Christmas song. They sang Joy to the World, Silent Night, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and Ang Pasko ay Sumapit.
The kids were divided into five groups and the volunteers joined their teams. They had some time to get to know the kids better by knowing what their wishes are this Christmas. The groups also game up with Christmas themed group names. There were Team Rudolph of Ate Ces, Team Santa of Ate Cielo and Ate KJ, Team Namamasko of Ate Tin, Team Christmas Tree of Kuya Joven and Ate Yan, and Team Jingle Bells of Kuya Issah. Some of the gifts the girls wanted to have for Christmas were Barbie dolls and Hello Kitty items. The boys on the other hand wanted to have sports related items like baseball gloves and soccer balls. Some of the kids said they pray for world peace and it was heartbreaking as one of the kids said she wished for her mommy to be back.
As the groups were all ready for our activities we played our first game, Ball Relay. Teams lined up in pairs with the balls in between them. We gave instructions prior the start each round where the balls were to be played. The pair had to go to the end, around and back without touching or dropping the balls. For the first round the pairs had to be back to back with the balls in between them. It was exciting as the teams cheered for each other encouraging the kids even when they dropped the balls. It was fun to watch as some of the ates and kuyas were carrying the kids. In the end Team Jingle Bells of Kuya Issah won the game.
The second activity we played as Dress Me Up Relay. Each team was given two articles of clothing, either of the skirts, cardigans, or scarves. The first person had to run to the chair at the far end of the line and wear the two articles of clothing. She then had to run back to the team and pass on the clothes to the next person in line. The ates and kuyas had to assist putting on the clothes on the kids. It was so funny as some of the boys were wearing bright colored cardigan and scarves. Teams were very competitive as the volunteers did their best in helping the kids to change clothes. In the end Team Santa won the game.
The third activity we played was a Math Trivia game. Each person was given a rubber band. Kuya Joms then gave out questions that had numerical answers. When the team figured out the correct number, they then had to link that number of rubber bands. The first time that linked the correct number of rubber bands got a point. Some of the questions were “How many dwarves are there in the Snow White story?” and “How many months have 31 days?” Some groups did really well as they kept coming up with the correct answer really fast. In the end it was again Kuya Issah’s team who won the game.
After all the fun everyone got to enjoy their lunch. After all you can’t go wrong with friend chicken! Clarence from GK Laura led the prayer as they all sat in their tiny colorful chairs in the learning center within the complex. The volunteers also enjoyed their lunch with the kids. We gave out prizes to Clarence for leading the prayer and also to the winners of the games. We then sang a Happy Birthday song for Adam as he adorably sat in anticipation of blowing his birthday candle. Ate Ces also gave out toiletries kit for each of the children and they excitedly hugged the gifts. We thank Ate Ces, Kuya Issah, and Kuya Adam for sharing their blessings with the children. We wish them a safe flight back to the US and we look forward to seeing them again next year as they return to Manila.
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