Written by: Ate Ren dela Cruz, Board Member
They say that among all the countries in the world, the Philippines is likely the country that celebrates the Christmas season the longest. Preparations start in September and reach all the way to January! We at U! Happy love the coming of December as well, because a lot more children beneficiaries are blessed during the season with the number of volunteers wanting to share their Christmas blessings.
One such volunteer group was Ripple Foundation, who were delighted to give back to 30 boys and girls in Boystown last December 29. The joy was evident that afternoon as we asked kuya Eduard and the rest of the Ripple volunteers to introduce themselves to the children before starting the program – so the kids get to know their new ates and kuyas who intentionally went to their place to share their joy and blessings that day. Once the volunteers completed their task, we grouped everyone into smaller teams so the volunteers and the kids could bond even more through games. We played Stack It Up, a game filled not just with excitement and energy but also develops the kids’ critical thinking skills! It was an amazing sight to see everyone so caught up in their teams and wanting to win!
Next up was a special request from Ripple to treat the kids to a display of magic! So we asked resident magician, kuya Koby, to come to Boystown and let the kids and the kids at heart be amazed with his showcase of awesome and funny magic tricks! This was surely a delightful time, and the wonder and amazement was evident in the audience. To add even more laughter and fun, we also got our talented storyteller, kuya Rich, to share an awesome story for the children, complete with funny faces and silly antics! This was definitely a new and exciting experience for the children who were mimicking kuya Rich’s actions full of interest and wonder. Mealtime came right after, which provided more time for the ates and kuyas to get to know the children as they served them food and sat with them in their small groups.
To add to the Christmas celebration, our volunteers also prepared gifts in the form of toys which the kids definitely enjoyed! Big smiles were all across the room as each girl and boy were handed their own new toy. To cap off the fun-filled afternoon we took a group photo, and asked the children to say Thank You to their new ates and kuyas in the form of warm hugs. It was definitely an afternoon to remember. Thank you Ripple Foundation for bringing love and blessing to Boystown!
