842 Ate Edah Celebrates with Bahay Aruga

Written by Board Member, Ate Charmain Tan
Today was my first visit at Bahay Aruga, located in San Marcelino Manila. It is a free halfway house for children undergoing treatment for cancer.
It was the 25th birthday celebration of Ate Edah. She did some outreach activities in the past with her school organization. She is now in her final year in Medical school and she wanted this birthday to be extra special. She wanted to celebrate with these children who are battling cancer.
As we started the day’s activities, Ate Edah introduced herself by talking about her favorite food and game. She likes playing patintero and loves to eat fried chicken. Her friend Kuya Mon also introduced himself to the kids. He loves eating amapalaya and he loves playing Pokemon Go. He then led the kids into singing a Happy Birthday song for Ate Edah. They gave shirts to the children that had a beautiful message. It said: “Warrior: I will stay strong. I will fight. I will win. Ate Edah loves you.”
As the kids happily changed into their shirts we grouped them into two. The volunteers got the opportunity to get to know the children. They talked about their favorite song to dance with.
After getting to know one another we watched the Bubble Show of Kuya Allan. The kids shouted in delight as they tried to catch the bubbles. The bubbles kept getting bigger and bigger until the kids got to go inside the bubble with Ate Edah and Kuya Mon.
We then got to watch the spectacular magic show of Kuya Rico. He showed us the usual favorite, which was doves coming out of pouches. He also did the umbrella trick where polka dotted umbrellas kept popping out from fabrics. The kids watched in awe as he continued his card tricks, which kept getting smaller and smaller until we could barely see it. Kuya Rico then asked who wanted to see more birds and the kids all raised their arms shouting “Me!” In the end Kuya Rico came out with another dove as the kids cheered. As the final act he did my favorite trick, the flying table. He asked the birthday celebrant Ate Edah to hold the other end of the table as it flew above the children.
If it’s not enough activity for the day we had the balloon twisting workshop. Kuya Ronel gave out different colored balloons to everyone. To the children’s excitement they popped some of the balloons even before the workshop started. They learned how to make sword, dog, and heart. Kuya Ronel made an adorable pink heart wings that one of the girls wore on her back.
After all the fun Ate Edah gave out cut smiley pillows for everyone. The kids were excited and hugged the pillows. They also received different colored tumblers. The kids then got to have their hearty lunch which they got to enjoy with one another.
It was heartwarming to be able to bring smiles to these children. At such a young age they have to be strong to fight the challenge that’s given to them. We are grateful to Bahay Aruga for providing free care for these children during their difficult time. We also thank Ate Edah for bringing joy to these children.

Add a comment

*Please complete all fields correctly

Related Blogs

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop