the kids are alright

 

I’m on a high.  It’s because of the last gig I attended.  ATD (--> click to see the link) is an NGO supported by France.  An organization that  was more intimate and more upfront than the other NGOs I've been to.. hardcore to say the least… that shoot up my mojo to keep on doing what I really love doing.

 

 

My friend Nhamay and I went up to meet Mon to go to Pandacan where the office and the area we’re supposed to go were stationed.  We attended the second to the last leg of the summer event which was focused on giving the street kids learning experience in a very fun way.

 I met Guy (pronounced as “gii”) and Anna, full time volunteers from France and Switzerland.  They were very soft spoken and very attentive.  Some volunteers that arrived were fresh grads from Ateneo, and some ladies from around Pandacan who have been supporting the event for months.

 

When we got to the area (by the way – the location was just a pavement near Nagtahan Bridge big enough to park 5 cars) – the first thing we did was to spread out the banigs we brought along so we could all sit and do our thing with the kids.

 When we arrived some kids were there already, excited to see what we have brought along.  I was given a heads up that the kids wholl going to be there might get annoying – BUT surprisingly almost all of them were well-behaved.  Seriously – 40++ kids could have made me go crazy with the running around but there was no running around that happened.  They all just sat down and quietly read th children’s books  ATD brought along.

 

 So the first event  was for the kids to choose what children’s books hey like and read it to themselves.  I sat down with a girl who was already starting to read her chosen book when I asked her to read it to me.  I focused on one kid at first.  We got to finish three books and these are what I learned from her: her name’s Monica, 10 years old, with 5 brothers and 3 sisters.  Her father’s a carpenter / painter while their mother takes care of them.  And that they will be living in Laguna this coming December.  And that she wants to be a teacher (as well!) when she grows up.

 

The second event was the book reading of two volunteers for all the kids.  While setting up the mic and the speakers, I did to Monica (and the other kids around) some of the things I know I am good at:  complimenting her reading, giving her encouragement and showing her all the positive things of being a teacher someday.

 

 The last event was segregating the kids with ages 3-6, 7-9 and 10-13.  Mon, Nhamay and I got assigned to Technology (ages 10-13) and we taught the kids on how to operate a digital camera and on how to upload the photos in the laptop.

 The other activities for 3-6 / 7-9 was more fun: the volunteers provided recyclable materials and taught the kids on making improvised toys – like toy microphones, toy telescope and letter holders.

 

Seeing the kids very, very happy with their new toy that they created themselves was already rewarding.  ATD even taught the kids to be resourceful and to continue enjoying children’s books in the age of PSPs and network gaming. 

 

Everyone didn’t mind the scorching heat and the smell of the kids while they hug you, because you really wouldn’t get to think of it when you’re with them.  Your focus was to make them feel important and that’s it.  You don’t volunteer to feel good about yourself.  Volunteering is taking your time to make effort and do productive and proactive things than to just lay around and do nothing.  Volunteering is like getting your first-hand information that you wouldn’t get to experience if you just read on it in the internet.

 

This was FUN. The kids are all right. =)

*photos from Ms. Tracy Cruz