Written by: Kuya Matthew Chua, Board of Director
“Start them young.”, the phrase I often read on social media and hear from people wanting their kids to become what they wanted them to be when they grow up.
It was the afternoon of February 2, 2018 when forty nine (49) students and twelve (12) teachers from The Sycamore Manila came to Haven for Children to have fun with kids. This is part of their annual project called “BLOX”.
“BLOX” is short for “Blessing in a Box”. Teacher Bullet Santos informed me that BLOX is an annual program of the school that is being spearhead by their student government and being implemented by the entire students of the school. It is used as an avenue for students to give back blessings they have received. The program is on its fourth year already and for this year, they’ve decided to partner with U! Happy Events.
Students came in in two batches – the first batch was composed of twenty two (22) grade school students while the second batch was composed of thirty seven (37) junior high school students.
Grade school students arrived first and were oriented by their teachers. They were then asked to introduce their names and share random topics – favorite color, favorite subjects, and what they want to be when they grow up – to fifty seven (57) kids of Haven for Children, who were already divided into five (5) groups. Each student were then assigned to their respected groups. Groups were given time to interact and bond until Ronel, the magician, came in and entertain everyone.
Upon the arrival of the second batch, it’s time for the first batch to say goodbye to their newfound friends. The second batch were also oriented by their teachers first before joining us. We asked them the same introduction as the first batch. And just like the first batch, they were also assigned to the existing five (5) groups. They were also given time to interact and bond with their fellow group mates.
When bonds were established, its time for fun and games! The first game was “Pass the Hoop”. Groups were instructed to create a straight line and to hold hands. The objective of this game was to pass the hoop (in this event, we used a string of straw instead of hula hoop to increase the level of difficulty) from the first person to the last just by using their body movements and not their hands. This game has three (3) rounds and group four (4) won the game.
The second game was “Math Trivia”. Groups were given ten (10) styrofoam cups. The objective of the game was to pass along corresponding number of cups as their answer to the given trivia or math problem. This game also has three (3) rounds and group four (4) won the game again.
Everyone did enjoy the game. I can tell from how each one interacts with the other. I can tell that it wasn’t just simple camaraderie. I saw friendship at work. I saw how happiness was transferred from one person to the next and an atmosphere of joy
were created from that moment. Yes, BLOX was used as an avenue to share their blessings, but the event itself served as an equalizer. It’s hard to tell who are sponsors and who are beneficiaries at this point. All I saw was one big family where happiness, appreciation, and gratitude were seen and felt.
