Written by: Ate Ren dela Cruz, Board Member
The day after Christmas is most likely one which you would choose to spend at home or with loved ones and friends, waking up a little late due to the midnight festivities which likely involved a whole lot of merry-making and food. For ate Macky though, the day after Christmas was indeed shared with loved ones and friends, but with the added company of 30 kids from community-based partner Concern Marikina, on a bright sunny morning to share blessings and love.
We trooped over to Nangka Covered Court that morning, with hearts full from Christmas day happenings and rearing to share joy to the Concern kids. We started off the morning with Getting-To-Know, to ensure that the children would be open and at home with their kuyas and ates who wanted to spend the day with them. Next up, we grouped them into smaller teams for the games, ensuring each team had a volunteer to bond with the children. It was fun and laughter all throughout, as we played Bring Me Art, in preparation for the workshop, and another energetic game called The Replacements.
Ate Macky wanted the children to unleash their creativity, so for that morning we got Da Sig who taught them “Linda Barry Art”, which the kids and the volunteers thoroughly enjoyed. As the kids proudly showed off their artworks to their ates and kuyas, our resident storyteller Rich, came up and gave them a lively story which the kids and kids at heart were delighted to hear.
After much fun and entertainment, the volunteers made sure to serve meals for our kids, and ate with them which provided more bonding time. For the last surprise, ate Macky and the rest of our volunteers game the children grocery packs to bring home to their families, to get them ready for New Year Media Noche! We capped off such an awesome day by taking photos, and asking the children to hug their new ates and kuyas as a sign of gratitude for choosing to spend the day after Christmas with them.
