Written by: Ate Charmain Tan, Vice President External
It was the fun 8th birthday celebration of Kuya Jordan who was visiting Manila. Daddy Sam and fiancée Ate Rona wanted this birthday celebration to be memorable. Daddy Sam and son Kuya Jordan just arrived from Houston and Eva Air had a birthday celebration for Jordan since they were in flight on his actual birthday. For this second celebration they wanted to spend it with the kids of Hospicio de San Jose. Established in 1778 during the Spanish Era, Hospicio de San Jose is located in the middle of Pasig River only accessible by Ayala Bridge. It is the first social welfare agency in the country. It is a Roman Catholic welfare institution that provides a home for the abandoned children and the elderly and also gives scholarships to the youth.
As the adorable toddlers arrived at the Sacred Heart Hall they were all so excited to see the party area. They got the balloons and played with them. They wanted to be carried and gave us warm hugs. We sat with the kids as we played the Pass the Ball game. We gave balls to be passed around while the music played. When the music stopped the children holding the balls were the winners for the round. We did several rounds and some of the kids wanted to hold on to the balls. The volunteers had to teach them to learn to pass the balls.
We all enjoyed the spectacular show of our magician Master Koby of the Salamangkero Group. Colorful sticks kept popping out from the ground and birds flew out of pouches. As the kids shouted “Happy Birthday Jordan!” Kuya Koby made more birds fly out of the cloth. Colorful scarves kept coming out of a triangle mirror. Kuya Koby then brought out lots polka dot umbrellas. As Kuya Koby pretended his show was over everyone shouted “More! More!” He then called Angelous to assist him in his tricks. He put on Harry Potter hat and glasses and gave him a wand. As he held the wand it kept breaking. Kuya Koby would fix it then when he gave it to Angelous it would break again. All the kids laughed as the wand kept breaking. Kuya Koby also called on the birthday celebrant Kuya Jordan to assist him in his final act. He made a table fly over the kids and they were all in awe as they tried reaching for the table.
The next activitiy was Balloon Twisting by Ate Divine. As she made different balloons the kids guessed what they were. When a kid guessed right he got to keep the balloon. She made snail, swan, sword, heart, dog, machine gun, and others. The kids were so excited to get the balloons and they started playing with them.
After all the fun it was time to take a break and enjoy our early dinner. The kids sat in a line while the ates and kuyas got good for them. Since they were all very little the volunteers helped them with their food. They ate so much meatballs and jelly as dessert. Ate Rona also prepared marshmallows and chocolate fondue for the kids. They were so excited when they saw the marshmallows and dipped them into the chocolate. They also had so much fun eating their chocolate sticks.
They afternoon got even better as all the kids got ready for the traditional Filipino Pabitin game. All the kids excitedly jumped and grabbed as much toys as they could. The kids then gathered in front to wish Kuya Jordan a happy birthday. There was a huge transformer cake and lots of cupcakes. The kids received bags full of gifts from Kuya Jordan and his family. They also received party hats and more balloons. After Kuya Jordan blew his birthday candle all the kids happily hugged their gifts and said their thank you to their ates and kuyas.