Written by: Ate Chynna Salazar, Core Member
Zuree is a beautiful young lady who just turned 3 and while most kids celebrate their birthdays with grand themed parties, Zuree’s tita Cassie thought that it would be best to celebrate it with the kids of the Manila Boystown. It was also a way for their family to bond, celebrate and give back to those in need. Manila Boystown is an orphanage for the homeless, abandoned forgotten and voluntarily surrendered children, teenagers, and senior citizens. Last Saturday, April 28, we were joined by Zuree’s family – her Dad, her titas and her lolo and lolas – and a total of 50 4-8 year old boys from the Manila Boystown Kids.
It was around 2:30pm when the kids started coming out from their houses, and a lot of them have just woken up from their afternoon naps. As they started coming in, energies started rising and excitement was evident from the kids as the ates and kuyas let them settle down to start with the activities. As the kids settled down, the hosts asked the ates and kuyas, Zuree’s family, to introduce themselves to the kids and to join the kids’ groups. There were 5 groups that had 9 kids each. Every group had to introduce their group name and what games they liked to play and had to do a group cheer. After all these, the games started.
The first game was the Caterpillar relay. Each group had to line up and run around a chair back to their group. When they got back, they are supposed to have one member attach to them by holding their backs and must run again around the chair, then back again to their group. This continues until the last group member has attached to the back of the running line, appearing to be a caterpillar. The kids loved running and working together with their groups and the energy just kept getting higher and higher as the afternoon went on. The next game was Guess the Song wherein each group had to guess the song playing and run towards the host to shout out the title of the song. Not only was this a game, but it also became a venue for the kids to show of their talents by dancing and singing to the well-loved songs “Baby Shark”, “Dahil Sa’Yo”, and “Hayaan Mo Sila”.
After a lot of running and active fun, everyone settled down and got to bond over a delightful meal of penne pasta and chicken popcorn. As the afternoon dwindled down, Zuree and her family gave each kid preloved stuffed toys and bid the boys goodbye.
Throughout the whole event, Zuree and her family interacted and played with the boys actively and really spent their time getting to know them and being present. The love and generosity in this family’s hearts were very evident and they really did give happiness and joy to the kids of the Manila Boystown Kids Home.
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