302 Ate Des Celebrates with Kythe

Written by Core Member, Desiree Uy

In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. -Abraham Lincoln

Whenever we celebrate our birthdays, we rejoice for a year added, and therefore we celebrate our lives. For the Kythe kids- as they battle with cancer, every day counts. For the past 4 years, I have been celebrating my birthday with the same UST-Kythe kids. I have seen most of them grow and it is such a blessing to know how they look forward to March, and how they are always excited to celebrate life with us year after year.
So together with my family and friends, along with the kind hearts who donated, we decided to hold this year’s party through U! Happy Events’ Create Your Own Event last March 22. We celebrated the patients’ lives and we made them feel during that day that it was their birthday too. Definitely one of the best birthday parties I have attended.

It was 2 and a half hours packed with games, activities, dance show, picture taking, gift giving, fun, and laughter. The event was jump started with a meaningful prayer led by Ate Beth Gan. This was followed by the sing-and-act activity steered by Ate Chiqui, the party host. This activity has become a traditional part of the Celebrate Life with Kythe party- as we always sing the song “I’ve got JOY down in my Heart” every year. The purpose of this is for the kids to always remember this beautiful children’s song and more importantly, for them to always keep the message behind it. That is, how our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the JOY and hope deep in our hearts, and that no one can destroy nor take it away.

After which, Ate Te and Kuya Glenn- being the game masters- then took over. The kids along with the kuyas and ates were very strategic in playing the challenging cups-and-straws relay. Paint-me-a-Picture was the next game that followed, wherein the groups were very much creative and even funny in ‘painting’ the scenarios presented.

As if the day was not going to end, the kids were full of energy as we all got entertained by the dance number of Jive Dance troupe that followed next. The Kythe kids even went up to the center to learn the dance steps of One Direction’s What makes You beautiful! Their lively spirits—knowing that they are sick and some of them are even a little weak from treatment—just simply amazed me.

One of the highlights of our party was the gift-giving and the blowing of the cake. To make each Kythe kid feel that it was his/her birthday too, we prepared goodie bags full of essential stuff such as toiletries, towels, bandannas, tumblers, school supplies, etc.—plus a personalized gift which we think is apt for him/her. The party commenced with the cake blowing wherein instead of singing the usual “Happy Birthday to You”, we changed it to “Happy Birthday to Me’—so that the kids will own it as their special day too. It was also the moment when we encouraged them to make a wish for themselves before we all blew the candle lights on the cake.
Before the event ended, the Kythe kids presented their gifts to me. The gifts included individual notes and a beautiful happy birthday banner artistically made through coffee art by one of the Kythe patients. It was the first time they did this, and it came as a sweet surprise.
Four years ago, I never would have thought that we would make such an impact to these kids. It is amazing how God uses us to be a channel of blessings to them every year. My utmost gratitude to all my family and friends who donated, supported, and participated in this cause. And to the U! Happy Events Create your Own Event team for successfully organizing the event.

These kids might have thought that we kept on doing this yearly in order to bless them– but the truth is, we are the ones who get mightily blessed by their lives. These kids are fighters, and I salute them in every way. Can’t wait for year 5. =)

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