Written by Core Team Member, Richard Yatar
Most communities in Metro Manila could always use activities that would help refresh their neighborhood. That’s why our student leaders and delegates from DLSU-International Youth Leaders Summit (IYLS) thought of one great idea in line with this. Together with U! Happy Events, they had school cleanup which was one of the easiest and quickest ideas to throw Nicanor Garcia Elementary School students together.
Before the actual clean up, students and volunteers gathered together to have fun and be comfortable to each other. They were divided to five (5) groups namely Team Fairy, Team Angels, Team Robin Hood, Group Star and Team Encantadia. Everyone was so active and on hyper-mode. Their ates and kuyas were in fact got stressed (the good kind) seeing those kids running around the area, shouting at the top of their voices and dancing to the songs being played. We had two awesome games before the main event: Pass Charades and Act a Video. First game was dominated by Team Angels. It was a close fight actually since Team Robin Hood and Group Star almost beat them. On the other hand, Team Encantadia emerged victorious in the Act a Video Challenge. Just to emphasize, it looked like our ates and kuyas had the biggest trouble dancing rather than our kids – awkward yet fun!
For the highlight, our teams were assigned to different areas around the campus. They were given 30 minutes max to clean their designated areas. They were given a limited number of cleaning materials but in spite of that, they all managed to collaborate with each other and finish the task. With that, the group had proven the power of unity and cooperation. They proceeded back to the assembly place to be refreshed and be energized again – eating time!
Unfortunately, our most of our ates and kuyas encountered some horrendous traffic on their way to the venue but they managed still to have a brief interaction with the kids until the end of the event. To close the ceremony, our kind-hearted ates and kuyas distributed school supplies and gifts to our students to appreciate the good deeds that they made for the day.
As what one of our ates said, “donations don’t have to be money.” Volunteering time is also a contribution and with small actions, it will lead to something positive.
