Ako ang naSAGIP

Thursday, May 21, 2009 Spicy Trekker 0 Comments

(12th Int'l Kids Village)

The last three days were my most memorable summer outing of 2009. Zambales w/ the KBs was great but it felt different with this outing with the SAGIP kids from the Payatas GK Site.And until now everytime I remember them I can't help my eyes to water with joyful tears

We, the Singles for Christ of NB3B chapter, sponsored 26 kids to the 12th International Kids Village at Sta.Cruz, Laguna last May 1-3, 2009. We were suppose to be nine volunteers from the NB3B chapter but it turned out that Cathy & Dolf and two other mysterious persons weren't able to come. So the final Daddy and Mommies for the three day activity were Kuya Ronjie, Ate Wenna, Ate Cha, me-Ate Domz, Ate Joan and Ate Shiang, who is our great organizer and main connection to the Sagip kids.

I know how it feels like to be a big sister and how it is to be a substitute mother. I have my own younger siblings who I care so much and I'd do things for them that my parents weren't able to do for me like watching school presentations, getting their report card and other things that you know your siblings can do but because you care about them so much, it's ok if you do it for them.

With the IKV invitation, I challenged myself, "Would I do the same treatment to a stranger?". I know myself to love kids in general but don't know if I can handle all types of kids

in a day.

I've encountered these kids before on my visit to their home at the Brgy. Molave

GK

Site.

I was fond of Jayjay and Crystal for their activeness in singing "Deep Deep". When I entered the bus, the kids were all noisy and since all seats at the front were full, I chose to sit at the back of the bus where I know all of the hyperactive noisy kids are and where the fun usually happens. I sat beside Mark Kyle who I mistakenly thought as quiet but it turns out he jokes around pretty strongly and was just forced to behave because he's beside an adult.

 

 

At the back of the bus, two kids caught my attention: Nathan, who can't stop talking (and actually shouted at my ear to wake me up) and always has his pillow fallen because he oftenly stands(or you might call it as dancing) at his seat; and Jayjay, who is the oldest among the boys and jokingly boasted how rich he is and claims that he owns all the huge properties we've passed by on the road. Kirsten & Yanna were teasing him to pay the tollgate!

I found it quite funny realizing that kids are indeed fond of asking several times, "Ate, malapit na tayo?" (Are we there yet?). We arrived very late(3:30pm) at the convention and failed to register the kids to any workshop. There was an ongoing mass but our kids got bored and brought out their pen and notebook,sat at the wet grass and started drawing. When they got bored again, they ran for a slide. The sky turned dark and we sat on the grass near a post light and ate our McDo dinner. (You have to brace yourself for having McDo food for the next two days!)

There was a time when two of my kids want to go the CR and six other kids tagged along with us. The CR was quite far from the event site and here's where the problem started. Since I still can't memorize their names & faces altogether, I had a hard time keeping them close together when we crossed the parking lot and walking back to the event site. I had my two hands held by Buboy and Moimoi, my mineral water stuck to my right waist and my beauty kit tucked in my left armpit.  It turned out that the eight kids I was holding became four when we went back from that small passageway. So here, our Ate Shiang went mad why we all broke into groups and she found out that Kirsten was missing and found her crying.

Our second day, since we don't have any workshops to attend, we placed the McDo cartons on the track field and sat on them while we watched the kids play on the grass. Some were playing luksong baka and limbo rock; the hyperactive ones went for a run around the whole

tracking field; Bethany & Aina kept tagging along Kuya Ronjie & insisted to ride on his back; the others were hanging on the soccer goalie/base (whatever that's called); Crystal, Christelle and me went for a ma-taya-taya on the grass (and as you guessed I CAN'T catch any of them and quit after having short of breath); the three other Ates (Jo,Wenna & Cha) were beauties sitting on the side and can't stop taking pictures of themselves (call it vanity for short); and here's little Moimoi having his own world staring at a frog down below.

The whole afternoon was spent on long queuing lines of the ground booths. There were three booth categories: LEARN, LOVE, and LEAD. My most favorite booth was LEARN about music where the kids sang "Chada" and "Paketomi..tomi papa...Eyeye(2x) Aya!".

I hid the horror (to myself) of having to sleep in a banig and having a wet towel to warm me during the night. Because I wasn't prepared and expected that the school sleeping quarters to have automatic sleeping accomodation, I didn't bring any pillow, blanket and sleeping mat. I think it was around 10 yrs. ago where I last slept uncomfortably. But as they say, where PAIN IS, there GOD IS. So I just thought that I'll endure this coldness and backache because I know that having this experience with the kids, I get to see God's love through them.

 

There are quite a lot of things that happened in IKV but I just have to end this because I'm in a bit of a hurry to end this (it's been a month to post this!).

Visit my photos page to see my days with the kids: 

http://donique.multiply.com/photos/album/38/12th_International_Kids_Village_w_the_Brgy.Molave_kids

Nathan - the ADHD kid, he wanted a smooch when they left and that's when I felt like I'm really going to miss them

Jayjay - he looks like a bad boy but a nice and helpful big bro to the core

Moymoy - he often gets lost because it's quite hard to read him since he has his own "world" and makes weapons out of anything he founds on the ground. He spends most of his time drawing on our first IKV night. He's so innocent that he'll believe everything that you tell him.

Buboy - the expert in salagubang catching. The reason why I spend most of my time with the boys because he's always running around and doesn't stick with his buddy Moymoy.

Mark- my bus seatmate who I thought was quiet but great in throwing jokes out to his friends. We played all his Conan games at the bus.

Tantan - he drooled over my right arm at the jeep rode home

John Carlo - ha!not Tiuseco..hehe...the cutest softspoken little kid who always likes to be held and be hugged. My baby in the Sunday mass together w/ Bethany.

 

 

 

Makmak - the Arab looking handsome kid who already thinks maturely like JJ. The kid who requested to get half rice.

 He's also very helpful to the elders.

 

 

Nazel and Carmina - my "dalagitas". They're the oldest girls in the group and I remembered through them how I was then in Grade 6 - getting "maarte" with looks, whispering about crushes and yet plays like a kid. Mina likes her hand to be held while we're walking and Nazel seems to be all grown up already. We escaped the group (bad Ate!) and treated them blue snow ice. We walked and talked about their lives until their tongue and lips went blue!

 

Bethany - she's strikingly a pretty kid and hugs me often at our last day. She insisted to sit beside me and Mark at the bus but gives up and went back to her seat. We played...I forgot what that hand clap game was called. "Artistahin" because she can sing and dance very well.

Aina - Ms.Senyorita. "Ate pahawak..ate patali...Ate papila...Ate..!!!" Fashionably conscious and always has sexy clothes. "The chick of Kuya Ronjie" She always likes to stick w/ any Kuya and Ate.

Jolina - "artistahin" too since she's rumored to be the greatest dancer among the girls. We were beside each other on the banig and I hugged her soccer ball pillow. She & Clariss used my iPod when we were bored during the Saturday night.

Clariss - a quiet pretty girl. I seldom see her smile not until I talked to her and invited her to watch the program of talented kids at the stage. We even wanted to join the contest on the stage but it requires only parents and their kids.

 

 

 

 

 

Other kids: Badet, Kyle, Krystal, Kirsten, Kianna, Aries, Christelle, Axel (jackolord raw sabi nila sa bus)Nino, Krystal, Marvin (marathon runner), and the salagubang catcher lead w/c I forgot the name - Brian pala!