Written by Vice President for External, Ate Charmain Tan
It was a fun Sunday morning at Active Fun BGC as we celebrated the fifth birthday of Adi. His parents, Saumya and Fransisca, have recently moved to the Philippines from India because of work. They were joined by some of their friends from India and Indonesia. Some of them have been living here for a couple of years now and they say they love it here in the Philippines.
We invited the children of Gawad Kalinga Laura for Adi’s birthday celebration. Headed by Teacher Irma, these children live in the Gawad Kalinga complex in Laura Drive, Taguig. Our partnership with them started in 2014 and we have visited their homes numerous times. The adorable children excitedly waited for their turn as we put their name tags on. It was everyone’s first time to go to Active Fun and they were already pointing at the giant slides and ball pits as they waited for the activities to start.
We first played the Pass the Ball game. Everyone was divided into two teams with a mix of adults and children. Each team was given eight balls. As the music played everyone had to pass the ball around to their right. When the music stopped, everyone in the team holding the balls had to stand up. The first team with all eight members standing up got a point. The kids as so much fun as they passed the balls as fast as they could. Even the birthday celebrant Adi and his friends had fun. The staff of Active Fun had already set up the utensils on the table but the kids were so energetic that the utensils ended up all over the place. Everyone laughed and shouted as they kept passing the balls. Once the music stopped Team B’s members were so fast as everyone holding the balls stood up. Team A got a bit confused at first as the children holding the balls would forget to stand up. Team B got to several points first but as the game progressed Team A caught on with a couple of points of its own. In the end it was still Team B who was the faster team. The boys in their team cheered so loud as they all got storybooks as prizes.
We then gathered everyone around in front as we sang Adi a Happy Birthday song. He was a bit shy at first but when everyone started singing he smiled and sang with the rest of the kids. Everyone cheered while singing. Adi then blew his birthday candle and everyone cheered for him. After the birthday song we got ready for the kids to go in the play area. Active Fun is an indoor playground for kids. The area is fully-padded that makes it safe and for the children. There are giant slides and ball pits. Everyone was so excited as they scattered around as soon as they got in. They jumped into the ball pits and they ran up to try the slides. It was a great venue for the kids to spend their energy.
After an hour everyone was laughing and sweating but they still had so much energy as talked about the adventures they had inside the playground. We guided the children back to the cafe for their hearty lunch. As it was a tiring activity everyone got a chance to rest as they enjoyed their lunch. We also had buko pandan for dessert. Adi and his parents gave out gifts for the children. They gave out school supplies set and also some candies and chocolates for the kids. Active Fun also gave Nido and chocolate drink for each of the kids. It was a great opportunity for the children go to be able to go to Active Fun. It is not everyday that these kids get to enjoy going to places like these. The kids had so much fun playing and bonding with each other. We thank the Swain family for celebrating Adi’s birthday with the children of Gawad Kalinga.
