856 Ate Kim and Ate Jelica Celebrates with UNO Kids

Written by Board Member, Ate Charmain Tan
It was a holiday today as we celebrated the life of the Father of the Philippine Revolution, Andres Bonifacio. We spent our holiday morning with the kids of Barangay UNO, who live around Malate, Manila. It was the joint birthday celebration of Ate Kim and Ate Jelica, who turned 25 and 26 last November 27. For the past years they have been spending their birthdays celebrating with friends. This year they wanted to do something different. Instead of being the recipient of presents, they wanted to be the ones to share their gifts. They are nursing graduates of St Paul Manila and were familiar with the area. Together with their friends and family they celebrated with the energetic kids of UNO. They filled the place with red and white balloons and a Happy Birthday banner.
We started the day with Kuya Glenn and Kuya Aaron asking the volunteers to introduce themselves to the kids by doing a 5-second dance move. Even if some of the volunteers were why at first they all ended up being a good sport. The kids welcomed all of them and cheered as they danced. We then grouped the kids and volunteers into four. They got the chance to know one another by sharing their hobbies and favorite sport. The volunteers mostly enjoyed reading while the kids enjoyed playing Pinoy games like sipa and patintero. After knowing one another they were all ready and excited to participate in the games. They all wore their party hats and had their game faces on.
The first game was Tic Tac Toe. There was a huge 3×3 grid placed in front and each team were given different colored towels as chips to be put on the grid. The players would place the towels one at a time until they formed a straight line. The team that formed the most line within the allotted time won that round. At first the kids got really excited as they ran to the grid at the same time but eventually they got the hang out it and were able to follow the instructions properly. Groups 1 and 2 competed first. The winner competed against the winner of Groups 3 and 4. In the final round Group Friendly Dog won. The kids of this group were really smart as they kept blocking the other team from forming a straight line while at the same time forming as many lines as they could.
The second game as Pass the Paper. Each member was given straws. They had to get the paper from the chair using their straws and transfer it to the other end of the line. Some of the kids did really well as the papers were stuck to their straws tightly and they were able to run fast to bring it to the other end without dropping the paper. Some of the volunteers had a hard time and it was funny seeing the ates kept trying to make the paper stick to their straws. The kids followed the instructions really well and nobody tried to cheat. Whenever the paper fell they would do it all over again. It was good teaching as the kids learned proper order and honesty.
After the two games everyone got to enjoy the fantastic magic show of Kuya Kobe. He started with doves flying out of pouches and all the kids shouted as they ran to try catching the doves. He also did his polka dot umbrella trick and the drawing board trick where he drew a face and the mouth and eyes on the board were moving. He called on Sean to help him with his magic. He gave a wand to Sean which kept breaking. All the kids kept laughing as Sean tried his best to hold the wand straight. He ended the show with Dessa holding the other end of the flying table. As Kuya Kobe is jack of all trades, he also did a balloon twisting workshop. He made sword and other shapes which the children enjoyed. Some of the kids wore the sword balloons on their hips and head as bandanas.
After the fun-filled morning the kids enjoyed their hearty Chicken Joy. They also got to have puto for dessert. We gave out storybooks to the winners of the games. Ate Kim and her friends gave out school supplies in colorful envelopes and the kids happily opened them at once. As Ate Kim thanked us for making the day possible we also thank Ate Kim, Ate Jelica, and all their friends and families for spending the morning with us. To show their appreciation the kids of UNO, led by Kenon and Dessa did their signature group dance for their ates and kuyas. The volunteers enjoyed the performance as they cheered for the kids and took videos. Ate Kim and her friends said it was a day well spent and they look forward to volunteering with us in our upcoming Christmas events this holiday season.

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