Written by: Ate Charmain Tan, Vice President – External
It was a stormy weekend but we were blessed with good weather this particular morning as we headed to Cayetano Sports Complex in Bagumbayan, Taguig for an event sponsored by Chubb. It is an insurance company that has operations in 54 countries. Chubb Philippines has been operating in the country for more than 60 years. It provides insurance coverage for property, casualty, marine, financial lines, and accident and health. The company values its corporate social responsibility by creating programs and reaching out to different communities to alleviate poverty and improve education and health. This year Chubb Philippines created a meaningful event for the children of Gawad Kalinga Laura. These kids live in the Gawad Kalinga complex located in Laura Drive Taguig. The adorable kids happily waved and called me as I arrived and they welcomed us with hugs. They were headed by Teacher Irma with the assistance of some of the youth from Gawad Kalinga who volunteer to look after the children during events.
The 55 well-behaved children were waiting eagerly as we grouped them into five. The volunteers were also divided into five groups and they joined the children. They were able to get to know the kids in their groups by talking about their favorite games and their favorite Christmas dish. They also came up with group names namely, Chubby Baby Sharks, Baby Shark, Bang Bang, Kiddie Sharks, and Jingle Bells. Chubb country head Mr Peter Van Ratingen gave the opening remarks to begin the activities.
For the first activity we played the Hula Hoop Relay game. All teams formed a line sideways holding hands with one another. The first person of each team was given a Hula Hoop which they had to pass until the end of the line. They had to pass the hoop over their heads, down their feet, then pass it over to the next person without breaking the link. The first team with the hula hoop reaching the end of the line got a point. It was a high intensity game as everyone was shouting and cheering for one another. The volunteers and the kids laughed as they tried to pass the hoops as fast as they could. Some of the volunteers did it really fast. In the end it was Team Chubby Baby Sharks who one the game.
We then watched a Ventriloquy Show by our favorite Kuya Better. Always a crowd favorite he managed once again to give a very good performance. His puppet Junior sang the ABC song in a funny way. He would replace some of the letters with funny words. The kids kept laughing the entire show.
We moved on to the main event, the simultaneous workshops. There were three workshops that aimed to teach the kids certain skill sets. The workshops were Art Workshop, Baking Workshop, and Fitness Workshop. In the Art Workshop, Ate Nikki taught the kids to make collage from magazine cutouts. They created different shapes like fish and others. The magazine were cut into strips then attached to the main shape. It was then put on colored papers that the kids could bring home as posters. The activity aimed to bring out the creativity of the kids. In the Fitness Workshop, the kids and volunteers had fun learning some physical fitness steps as well as some dance steps. The energetic kids followed the instructor happily as they learned the value of being fit and healthy.
In the Baking Worksop, the kids learned how to make chocolate chip cookies. They were so excited as everyone, kids and volunteers alike, said they looked forward to trying the cookies afterwards. After all, who doesn’t like chocolates and M&Ms? We started by naming the ingredients needed. The kids were impressive as they were able to name almost all the ingredients. We then mixed the ingredients one at a time, starting with the dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients. The kids had fun learning how to measure flour and sugar. The girls in the group did a great job cracking the egg. We then moved on to everyone’s favorite part, the mixing. Everyone got to try using the electric mixer. They were so excited they kept saying “My turn!” We then folded in the Hershey’s chocolate chips to everyone delight. They kept putting in more and more chocolate chips. We scooped out the cookie dough on the baking tray with the help of the volunteers. Then it was time to top it off with M&Ms. The kids got very excited as they kept putting so much M&Ms. The volunteers also had fun making their own cookies and topping them with the M&Ms. We then put in the cookies into the oven and the kids were adorable as they kept watching the cookies rise.
After all the activities everyone got to enjoy their chicken and spaghetti lunch. The kids ate heartily as they sat with their ates and kuyas. Three volunteers from Chubb showed off their dance moves as the kids cheered for them. We then gave out prizes to the winners of the group games. The group that was the most well behaved also got prizes. When the cookies were done baking the kids got to take home their creation. Chubb gave so many gifts to the kids. They gave out toiletries set and school supplies to each of the kids. We then had our group photos taken as the kids happily thanked their ates and kuyas for a great day. Kuya Paul of Chubb gave the closing remarks as he thanked everyone for making the event possible. Through the little things we do for the kids, it is always worthwhile to see the smiles on their faces. We thank Chubb Philippines for giving the children such a great experience.
