Written by: Ate Charmain Tan, Vice President External
Another fun Sunday morning was spent at Hospicio de San Jose, the oldest social welfare institution in the country. It was established in 1810 and can only be accessible via Ayala Bridge. Located in the center of Pasig River, the Catholic-run institution provides a home for the orphans, abandoned, and the elderly. The place was busy as there was another group of visitors giving gifts to the kids. They group was headed by a couple of women who previously grew up at Hospicio de San Jose. It was nice getting to know them as they previously lived there. They visit regularly to share their blessings with the children.
This morning was the birthday celebration of Kuya Danilo. His daughter Ate Danielle organized the event for his father. Joined by Mommy Thelma and 2 other siblings Ate Dianne and Kuya Danilo, the family invited their office staff to celebrate with them. They were all smiles as they arrived at Hospicio de San Jose and were looking forward to spend time with the kids.
The adorable preschoolers and elementary kids were up early and headed to the Sacred Heart Hall. They were so energetic and started running around. They were hugging and playing with everyone. We introduced the family to the kids and they shared their favorite Christmas song. Ate Danielle also did a sample song of Jingle Bells. We then grouped the kids into five. Some of the older kids were behaved but the younger ones were so active they didn’t want to stay put. Some of the kuyas had to carry them for the entire event since they didn’t want to be let go. The volunteers then joined the group of kids. We asked the teams to come up group names: Team Warriors, Team Tiger and Team Red. The other two teams were Team Dodong, which was the name of one of the cutest boy in the group, and the last team was Ate Danielle’s Team Power Puff Girls as all the member were girls. They got to know the kids in their groups by talking about things they like doing for Christmas.
The first activity we played was Bring me Art. Teams were given scissors and papers and they had to cut out the item we specified. Every member of the team had to have a cutout. The first team with everyone holding out their cutouts got a point. In line with the Christmas season we asked them to cut out images like star, candy cane, and Christmas Tree. Team Red scored first but the other teams caught up. In the end it was still Team Red who got the most points as the ates and kuyas did a really good job in helping the kids do their cutouts.
The second activity we played was Pass the Ball. Each teams were given one ball. As the music played team members were to pass to ball around the circle. When the music stopped the person holding the ball had to stand up. The first person that stood up got a point. Some of the teams were very competitive while in the other teams, the kids were holding on to the balls and did not want to let go. It was Team Warriors and Team Power Puff Girls who were competing for the prize. They were alternately scoring as each team tried to beat the other. They were tied before the final round but in the end we picked Power Puff Girls as the winner because all team members followed the rules.
We then got to watch a ventriloquy performance by our favorite Kuya Better. He brought his famous friend Junior and introduced him to the kids. He was just beginning with his performance and the kids were already laughing. Junior sang the ABC song while replacing some of the lyrics. He also made up words to replace the letters. He said some other funny jokes and both kids and adults were laughing so much towards the end of his performance. As we said goodbye to his puppet Junior the kids couldn’t help it but to gather around Kuya Better to check out the puppet.
After all the fun it was time for our early lunch. One of the kids, Jam, led the prayer and all the kids followed. Since some of the kids were really young and the volunteers helped them with their lunch. Everyone also got to enjoy ice cream. The kids kept going back to Mamang Sorbetero to have their second and third serving of ice cream. We then gave out the prizes to the winners of the group games and Jam also got a prize for leading the prayer. One of the volunteers Ate Maica gave out some pastries and popcorn for the kids to enjoy as snacks later during the day. Kuya Danilo’s family gave out school suppliers to each of the kids which they happily held on to. We sang Kuya Danilo a Happy Birthday song and Ate Danielle gave a message to the kids. To show their appreciation the children of Hopicio de San Jose did a Thank You song number. They were so cute as everyone sang, even the younger kids. As we said our goodbyes the kids hugged and thanked their ates and kuyas for spreading the love this holiday season.
