Written by: Ate Char Tan, Vice President-External
Today’s event was a memorable birthday celebration of Ate Ning. Her best friend Ate Mel wanted to surprise her with a meaningful celebration with the children of Kuya Center and the neighboring communities around Araneta. Kuya Center provides a temporary shelter to the street kids. Most of the them stay here for six months to a year. They learn basic values and their rights as children as the center works towards their reunification with their families or finding them a home for the long term.
Ate Mel worked hard to make sure Ate Ning didn’t have a slightest hint of the surprise celebration. Ate Ning was teary eyed as the children welcomed her with a Happy Birthday song. Together with them was Ate Ning’s husband Kuya Ferdie, brother In law Kuya Harry, and friend Kuya Nante. They work as accountants in a multinational firm and has become good friends. They introduced themselves to the kids and talked about the work they do.
The children were grouped into five and the volunteers got to know the children in their groups. The kids shared what they wanted to be when they grow up. Most of the boys want to be soldiers and policemen because of the television show Ang Probiinsyano of Coco Martin. The girls want to be lawyers and beauty queens. The groups also did their group cheer which the kids worked hard for. They were rehearsing while waiting for the volunteers to arrive so they were all ready to perform when we started the program.
The first team was Team Pangarap of Kuya Ferdie and Kuya XP, who cheered “Hindi kami magpapatalo, cute pa din kami”. The second group was Wonder Kids of Ate Mel and Ate Bel. The third group was Team Mira-Kids of Kuya Nante and Ate April, who also did a “cute” related cheer saying “kahit matalo cute pa din kami.” The fourth team was Team Ning Ning of Ate Ning who said “hindi kami magpapatalo masaya pa rin kami.” The last group was Team Cute of Kuya Harry and Kuya Alvin. Led by the kids, they did a series of cheers and dances and showed off their dance moves. Kuya Harry also did a great introduction of the kids in his group. Hari ng Himpapawaid was Ace, who want to be a pilot. Harry ng Karagatan was JP, who want to be a seaman. Taga-sagip ng buhay were Clifford and AJ, who want to be doctors. Louie, the kid who loved to sing and dance was their future artist.
The second activity we did was the Banderitas Challenge. Teams were given different kinds of colored papers, strings, scissors and glue. The challenge was to make as much bandertias as they could within the given time. The group of Kuya Ferdie had a good strategy as he cut the triangles all together from the crepe paper that was folded sideways. He ended up with a long attached banderitas. The team of Kuya Harry did a great job decorating their banderitas by putting “cupcakes” on the triangles as decorations. Both teams were considered as winners and we gave prizes to the kids of both teams for a job well done.
The next activity was Balloon Workshop by Ate Divine. She made balloons as the kids guessed what they were. Those who guessed right got to keep the balloons. She made huge flower bouquet, machine gun, sword, dog, and many others. She also made some headpieces which the kids wore around their heads.
The next activity we had was Accessory Workshop by Ate Nikki. Each kid was given strings of colorful thin yarns that were knotted together. A round board was attached at the ends of each string. Ate Nikki explained the process on how to weave the strings alternately to form the bracelets. The kids were all very attentive and they were really focused on their projects. They got to choose from different color combinations and got to keep their bracelets with them.
After the activities it was time for everyone to have lunch. The kids got to enjoy pasta and chicken for their early dinner. We then gathered all the kids to the cupcake table where we laid out 40 cupcakes for Ate Ning’s birthday. The cupcakes were decorated with different colors and topped with festive candles. They kids were so excited with the cupcakes as they gathered around Ate Ning sang a Happy Birthday song. Ate Ning was again teary eyed as she thanked everyone for celebrating with her. Ate Ning then gave out snack packs for the children and they fell in line excitedly as they got to try out the cupcakes. The kids picked which design they wanted and Ate Ning hugged and kissed each kid as she gave them out. Some of the kids were cute as they finished the icing at once. We then had our group photo as thanked Ate Ning, Ate Mel, and their friends and family for sharing their blessings with the children of Kuya Center.
Written by: Ate Char Tan, Vice President-External
