Written by: Kuya Glenn, U! Happy Officer
For this morning event, we met Ate Ela and her spirited friends at Meritxell Children’s Foundation – an NGO supporing abandoned, neglected and abused children. It wasn’t long before our volunteers got acquainted too with 15 sprightly young kids from the Marikina-based home.
After sharing some fun and casual information, we got down to business with the Banderitas Challenge. Our 3 groups competed to create the longest banderitas by using some colored papers, scissors and a long string. That’s pretty much all you need to form banderitas so this one boiled down to some swift cutting and gluing action which both young and old enjoyed.
The next game needed a little more creativity and zest with Act-a-Video. Think of it as a live action Paint-me-a-Picture and the festive season sure made it easy to come up with themes. The volunteers and kids quickly put their heads together to portray Christmas carol singers, Noche Buena dinner, holiday shopping and an off-season basketball game. The most inspired interpretation won art packs as prizes.
Resident professional artist Ate Blanca then lent her expertise in a Christmas Hat-making workshop. Through her calmly spoken instructions, she taught the kids how to create holiday head gears using some precise cuts and delicate fixing of colored papers. To no one’s surprise, the kids decided to sport their creations throughout the rest of the event.
For our feature act, JM the Bubble Man took the ‘stage’ for a sparkling bubble show. The next 10 minutes or so was filled with ‘wows’ and more ‘wows’ from the kids. That part was a sure winner.
Lunch time came and so did a hearty children’s-favorite fried chicken meal. The volunteers also handed out school supplies as their gifts to the children during this time. They also donated some household items which could definitely help the children’s home.
Last Saturday’s event was a combination of the new and the old – New Year approaching, new beneficiary partner, new volunteers and the same old spirit of thanksgiving and celebration. Thank U to all who made it happen!
