Written by: Ate Charmain Tan, Vice President – External
Birthday celebration is usually a reminder for us to appreciate and be thankful for what we have. Kuya Jameson celebrated his birthday this September 27 and every year he celebrates with the people working in his company. This time he wanted bring together his office personnel and reach out to the marginalized children of Nayon ng Kabataan. Nayon ng Kabataan is a government owned complex that provides a home for the abused, neglected, and abandoned children. It is located in the DSWD Wellfareville Compound in Addition Hills Mandaluyong City. There is a huge lawn area and basketball court where they can hold activities. There are about 135 children currently living in the center. All 135 kids were invited by the Sy family in their celebration. Aside from his office personnel Kuya Jameson was joined by his wife Ate Janelle and their two adorable girls, Ate Jade and Ate Janna.
It was a challenge gathering 135 kids from different age groups. Some of the teens wanted to stay with their friends and didn’t want to go with another group. After a little pep talk the kids warmed up to each other and formed into groups. The 40 volunteers for the day joined the different groups. They got to know the children by learning what the kids wanted to be when they grow up. Most of them wanted to be policeman, architect, teacher, doctor, and others. They also came up with their group names. There was Team GAP, because one of the girls was wearing a GAP sweatshirt. There was Pag-asa ng Bayan, Team Dab, Baby Shark, Team Kabogabol, and others.
For the first activity we played the Beach Ball Relay. Each team formed a line in pairs and were given one beach ball. The pair had to put the balls in between them side to side as they ran all the way to the end, around the chair and back to their team. Pairs were not allowed to hold the balls and once they pair finished they passed the ball to the next until it reached the last pair. The first team that finished first got a point. Teams were very competitive as well as the ates and kuyas. They cheered for the kids as everyone ran so fast. Chairs got toppled over, kids were sliding on the floor, and shoes were flying all over. It was so funny watching the kids losing their shoes halfway through. For the second round we asked the pairs to stand front to front with the balls in between them. In the end it was Team Kabogabol who won the game.
The next activity we played was the Hula Hoop Relay. Teams formed a straight line sideways and everyone was linked together by holding hands. One hula hoop was given per team and members had to go through the hula hoops without breaking the link. The team woose the hula hoop reached the end first got a point. It was fun watching all the kids and volunteers go through the hoops. It was easier for the little kids go pass through the hoops. It was a challenge as some of the volunteers were tall. In the end Team Gap won the game.
After the activities we got to enjoy the magic show of Kuya Mac. He did popular tricks like lighting candlesticks simultaneously and boxes that kept coming out of a brown bag. He also got a child volunteer to assist him in his tricks. He asked the kid to hold his wand but the wand kept breaking in half. The kids laughed at their friend on stage as he tried hard to keep the wand upright. For his final act he made a table fly off ground. We also watched a ventriloquy performance and the kids laughed as the puppet sang ABC song in a funny voice.
The kids enjoyed their barbecue and spaghetti snacks with the volunteers. The winners of the games got to go to the gift table and pick their prizes. Each of the kids received baon packs from the Sy family. They gave a lot of school supplies like papers, pencils, paints, and other items to the center for the kids to use. The center also received truckload of toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, soap, and other everyday items like laundry detergent, dishwashing soap and many others. The kids did several group performances as a way of thanking the volunteers. We sang Kuya Jameson a happy birthday song as the kids hugged and thanked the volunteers for all the gifts they received and for sharing their time with them.