Written by Vice President for Internal, Charmain Tan
It was an afternoon of firsts as it was our first time partnering with both CCT Waterhope and Cathay Pacific. For this morning’s event our sponsors were from the departures department of Cathay Pacific. Their group chose to spend their off days bonding with the kids of this community. CCT stands for Center for Community Transformation. It is a Christian group that focuses on poverty and social injustice. It currently operates in 49 cities all over the Philippines. Waterhope in Gamban Pasay is a collaborative social enterprise that addresses the social needs of its communities. One of its goals is to provide safe, clean, and affordable drinking water to the communities. CCT Waterhope was launched in August 2010. It is operated by Waterhope’s NGO partner CCT.
We started the day with an ice breaker. Some of the volunteers spelled their initials using body language and kids cheered for their favorites. The rest of the volunteers then introduced themselves.
It was a full house and full morning as there were a good number of kids and volunteers and there were lots of activities prepared. The kids first had face painting of their favorite characters. They had so much fun that some of the mothers even had their toddlers’ face painted.
We had a couple of fun games to start the day. The first was a contest of the loudest cheer for all the groups. Then we had the facial expression game. We gave a specific emotion and the groups were supposed to show it through facial expression. The group that had the best and most convincing expression won. In the end group 4 won both of the games. The ates and kuyas were so energetic as they bonded with the kids.
We then had the bubble show where the kids watched in awe as our Bubble Man created different sizes of bubbles. The kids were so delighted they were trying to pop the bubbles. To culminate his show he created a huge bubble where a kid and volunteer were able to fit inside. We called on a couple of pairs for a chance to be inside the balloon.
It was followed the baking workshop. The kids were taught to make pastilles, tortilla wrapped dessert, and mini chocolate cupcakes. The kids had a chance to do the baking by groups. The kids showcased their talents as they took time decorating the cupcakes and doing the tortilla dessert. They had a chance to enjoy and share their work with their friends.
We then had our lunch and gift giving. The kids were given gift packs and school supplies. Winning teams got to bring home lots of prizes. The volunteers also prepared a candy buffet to the delight of the kids. They also gave other essential items, like groceries, to the center.
