Written by: Kuya Glenn Costales, President
A bright and energetic gathering replaced an otherwise mundane start to the week. We met an enthusiastic mommy Camie and her equally joyful baby Haze who was celebrating her 2nd birthday. They were joined by their family and close friends inside the Manilya Boystown compound in Marikina City. They may have had quite an intimidating task being volunteers to 100 kids but this soon faded as the fun activities got underway.
With colorful balloons lining the ceiling and windows of our function room, our spirited volunteers first introduced themselves to the kids. They did so by courageously mentioning their ‘kalokalike artistas’ to which the kids enjoyed agreeing to (or disagreeing to, couldn’t really tell J). We then distributed them to the 10 groups of kids with our U Happy Core Team lending a hand to make sure each group atleast had 1 kuya or ate.
After making their own introductions, we played the Pass the Ball game. This game featured 4 special symbols/ gestures which the teams had to learn – a cross, a Bible, a heart and a smile. They then passed 2 colored balls as music played in the background. When the song stopped, the persons with the ball raced to stand up and do the gesture being asked for. It was our own creative way of molding together a fun contest with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was then front and center for our pair of talented entertainers. First up was Kuya Koby, our resident magician. As always, he dazzled our participants with his engaging and charming act. Next we met Kuya Better with his (puppet) friend Junior. This ‘perfectly unlikely’ pair really tickled everyone’s fancy with their quirky, witty and zany exchange. It was an amusing end to our activities for the day.
A nourishing meal made their way to the kids and volunteers while we also handed out the prizes to our game’s winning team. Soon after, the volunteers distributed to the kids their parting gifts consisting of pens, papers and other school supplies.
Mommy Camie and baby Haze sure pulled out all the stops for the kids of Boystown – balloons, face paint, entertainers and gifts. It’s always exceptional to see parents planting seeds of love and selflessness for their kids to experience. This family is truly on the right track and we hope to volunteer with them again in the years to come. Happy birthday again to baby Haze!
