Written by Core Team Leader, Alexandra Reyes
It was a great day for everyone especially for Ate Claire who chose to spend her special day with the UNO kids at Bahay Tuluyan in Manila, It was an Arts and Crafts workshop and the kids were all so eager to start working with their hands and make beautiful things.
We had a total of 23 UNO kids and 13 volunteers with 3 kid volunteers as well, which were divided into 4 groups. Each member got to share their names, how old they were and what they want to be (or what they are currently doing). After getting to know each other, we started with our first activity- Balloon Twisting with Kuya Rico. We learned the basics of balloon twisting. From here, we were taught how to make a sword, a flower and a dog. Itās amazing to see how these kids can easily follow instructions and do things well. In fact, Kuya Rico said the kids were talented because balloon twisting isnāt easy. The usual workshop for balloon twisting takes 3 hours but the kids at UNO were able to get it in just 30 minutes! There was even one Kuya volunteer who couldnāt quite get it and the kid volunteer was the one who helped him do the final steps. Its true, no matter what age, we all learn from each other. I must say, all the kids (and even the adults) really had fun twisting their balloons, hoping it wouldnāt pop.
Our second activity was Bookmark Making. Our art teacher was Teacher Klara. She taught us how to make a bookmark using different colored papers and design them on our own versions. This was a fit activity since a lot of the children loved to read books. Each one showcased his/her creativity and enjoyed decorating their own bookmarks, with the help of the Ates and Kuyas. The bookmarks they made will definitely encourage them to get hold of more books to read.
After the two activities, everyone ate their lunches over fun-filled conversations. Gift packs were then given to the kids by the Ates and Kuyas present. Aside from Ate Claire’s birthday, we also had three volunteers who blew candles with her. Check out the cakes! They were then given to the kids for them to enjoy! As always, everyone had a group picture and soon after, had to bid their goodbyes. Like any other day, the morning had to come to an end. But as the saying goes, āThings end but memories last foreverā. This one will surely do…til the next one!
