Written by Vice President for Internal, Charmain Tan
Last Saturday the U! Happy Events team held an event at Bahay Tuluyan to celebrate the birthday of Kuya Martin’s daughter Gabby. Bahay Tuluyan, meaning House of Welcome, has been one of our partner beneficiaries for a few years now. It is our first event with them this year.
We started the day by pairing of the kids with the volunteers and divided them into groups. We did our traditional Get To Know activity where the members get to share things about themselves with one another. This is a way for the volunteers to know the children better.
After that we did a series of interactive games using the hula hoop. First, the groups were to think of a group name and come up with a group cheer. Prizes were given to the group with the best cheer. We chose Group 1 as the winner since they were the most energetic and have the most participation from both the kids and the ates and kuyas,
The first game was Hula Relay. All the team members formed a line and held hands. They had to run the hula hoop through all the members without breaking the link. The fastest group to get the hula hoop through all the members wins. This activity aimed to develop the agility and body coordination as the participants had to pass the hula hoop through their bodies with speed and efficiency.
The second game as In and Out. In this game the teams had to figure out how many people were to be inside and outside of the hula hoops. The numbers were given in simple mathematical equation and they had to mentally calculate the answer to get the number of people that were to be inside. For instance the teams were given the equation 7 minus 2. The answer is 5 therefore, 5 people were to go inside the hula hoop while the remaining members stayed out. This activity enhanced their mental skills as the kids were to quickly solve the math equations. It also developed coordination among members as they had to quickly decide who among them went in and who stayed out.
The last game was Pass the Gesture. Before the start of the game everyone was given certain gestures that corresponded to a specific action to be done with the hula hoop. For instance, “high five” gesture corresponds to raising the hula hoop upward and “right handshake” gesture means raising the hula hoop to your left. The first person in line was given the gesture which was to be passed on to the next person until the end. The last person in line holding the hula will raise the hula according to the gesture that was passed on. The first team that raises the hula correctly wins. This developed the children’s ability to remember the gestures that matched the corresponding action. This activity also taught the kids the importance of being able to pass the gesture accurately all the way to the last person.
After the games each team had a representative for the Hula Hoop showdown. The kids showcased their amazing Hula skills as they were able to twirl the hula hoops using different body parts – arms, limbs, waist, and neck. After the showdown 3 of the kids led the prayer and the kuyas and ates had the chance to share a meal with them. We also did the profile exchange, where the volunteers and kids were able to exchange personal information. The volunteers got to write their messages for the kids.
The day wouldn’t be complete without the gift giving. We gave out story books and prizes to the kids. The kids sang a Happy Birthday song for the birthday celebrants Ate Gabby and Ate Jar and they in turn gave the kids their personal messages and wishes for them. Gelean, one of the kids, did an An acappella performance of the song Skyscraper. As we said our goodbyes the kids gave big hugs to the ates and kuyas and the smiles that we would remember them by.
