Written by: Ate Char Tan, Vice President for External
The best part in celebrating birthdays is when we get to share it with our loved ones and the people we care about. It makes it more special when we share it with children who has to fight to survive. Today was the birthday celebration of Ate Rhea and Kuya Ralph. Their birthdays are only two days apart, with Ate Rhea’s birthday in two days and Kuya Ralph’s actual birthday was today. They wanted to spend it this year by celebrating with the children of Bahay Aruga. Located in San Marcelino Manila, Bahay Aruga provides a home for the children undergoing chemo treatment. These children travelled all the way from the province. Through the help of Bahay Aruga, the parents get to bring their children to their scheduled treatments at PGH without having to worry about travel expenses and because of this the survival rate of the kids have been increasing.
As Ate Rhea and Kuya Ralph’s family arrived with them, they introduced themselves to the kids while at the same time showing off their dancing skills. Their families were there to celebrate with them on their special day. The kids cheered for all the volunteers as the mothers said they all danced well. We grouped the kids into three and the volunteers joined the children. The volunteers got the opportunity to know the children in their groups. They also came up with their group names. The first group was Team Masaya of Kuya Ralph and Ate Rhyme. The second group was Team Cute of Kuya Lorie and Ate Flor. The third group was Team Maganda of Ate Rhea. The kids’ favorite games were the traditional Filipino games like sipa, chinese garter, and others. Most of the boys’ favorite was basketball.
The first activity we did was Pass the Ball. Each team was given two balls. As we played the music the members had to pass the ball around. Once the music stopped the two people holding the balls had to stand up. The first team that stood got a point. It was great seeing the children dance to the music. One of the kid volunteers Ate Brianna was also very energetic as she danced while passing the ball around. Kuya Ralph was also very competitive as he kept trying to hold on to the ball as long as he could and stood up really fast. All teams got a couple of points each. The final round was the winner take all round. In the end it was still Team Masaya who won the game.
The second activity we did was Pass the Shape. The first person in each team would come to the front and we would give them a certain shape. They then had to pass the shape by tracing the figure at the back of the person next to them. The members kept passing the shape until the last person, who then would draw the shape on a piece of paper. The last person had to come to the front with the correct drawing. The team of Kuya Lorie got the first point as he was really fast to come to the front. The other teams then caught up. It was funny that in some of the rounds, all teams got different answers. They laughed when we showed them their drawing vs what the correct answer was. Ate Rhea’s team won the game.
After all the fun we had our Art Workshop by Ate Emjay. Because it is the start of summer she taught the kids how to make lei. Groups were given striped straws, paper flowers, and yarn. The kids got to choose the colors of their straws. The ates and kuyas in the groups then cut the straws into small strips and these would serve as stoppers for the flowers. The kids each got their yarns and starting threading them through straw followed by the flower. They alternated the flowers and straws until they filled up the yarn. The volunteers then helped them connect the ends to form the lei. The kids had fun as they wore their colorful leis and had their group photos taken. Some of the kids opted to do uniform colored flowers while the others did a mix of colors.
After the activities we gave the kids their early dinner. Ate Rhea also gave out board games to the kids of Bahay Aruga. The gifts came in colorful wrapped packages which the children could share. We also gave out prizes to the winners of the games. As we said our final prayer Ate Rhea prayed for everyone to get well. Ate Rhea is based in Singapore and she’s been wanting to share her blessings with the kids. We thank Ate Rhea, Kuya Ralph, and the rest of the family for spending their afternoon with the kids of Bahay Aruga.
