The Third Big Day

If you can't imagine how pens and pencils inspire children...

just look at their smiles.

The Beneficiary


Having been one of the beneficiaries of the Social Involvement Coordinating Office (SICO) of the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) in their feeding program, Barangay 31-D was selected as the beneficiary for the third distribution of Pens of Hope in Davao. It is an urban poor community with a population of 7,860 located in Boulevard, Davao City.

Barangay 31-D, Boulevard, Davao City

According to their Barangay Secretary, Chona dela Cuesta, about 60% of the population are under extreme poverty level. Because many of the residents are laborers, drivers, carpenters, fishermen and workers earning below the standard minimum wage, average income of each family ranges from Php 3,000 - 4,000. Due to financial constraints, many children lack school materials and some even drop out of school.

The Distribution

The alumni and existing SICO volunteers welcomed about 130 children at 2:30 in the afternoon on the rooftop of the Barangay Hall on December 28, 2009. After the opening prayer led by Karl Pregon and opening remarks given by Jeremiah Caballero, Ianne Aquino facilitated several games for the kids. Though the venue was a bit small and the weather was hot and humid, the children still energetically played...

Hep Hep, Horray!
Hala Utong
Paper Dance
Bring Me
The donated coloring materials were used as prizes for the impromptu art contest. The ten interested kids chosen to join the contest were given a piece of paper, a pencil and an eraser and were instructed to illustrate what Christmas means for them. Dan Guillano of Beyond Art's Sake and Angie Maestrado, a Davao-based artist/blogger served as the judges of the contest.

Entries for the Art Contest
When pens and pencils were distributed after the games, every face bloomed happiness. It was a kind of expression brought not only by the material gifts but also by the kindness that still exists in this world. Donating writing materials may seem a very simple act but for children who are deprived of this basic need, it already means a perfect Christmas present.

Beneficiaries waving their pens and pencils
To end the program, the children cheerfully sang 'Salamat' for all the donors who in their own ways have brighten the spirit of Christmas. They also received snacks before they were sent home.
Ang nagsindi nitong ilaw
Walang iba kundi ikaw
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Acknowledgement


Many thanks to all those who never fail to support our project
  • To all our donors for being generous enough to donate pens and pencils to our beneficiaries. (See list here.)
  • To SICO for identifying the beneficiary.
  • To Barangay 31-D officials for allowing us distribute writing materials in their community.
  • To Jeremiah Caballero, Barangay 31-D SK Chairman, for coordinating with the barangay officials.
  • To Seth delos Reyes of Sunstar Davao for dropping by and taking a few pictures.
  • To Ana K, JP, Rohel, Mabelle, Jen A and Sham for helping in the collection of writing materials.
  • To all volunteers (Ianne, Cark, Laurice, Diana, Hazel, Karl, Charmaine, Jeremiah, Dan, Angie, Kikit, Lorna, Liyah, Mailah, Ping and Step) who were present during the distribution.

Pens of Hope in Davao Volunteers
More pictures here.
MARAMING SALAMAT PO!

7 comments:

  1. hi kit! so glad to see the smiling faces of the children! meron bang scheduled 4th, 5th, succeeding distributions?

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  2. you would never know the extent of how a simple thing can make one happy...

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  3. hi ak. baka sa june ang 4th distribution. when mo uli k? baka pwede diay makaapil mo next time! :)

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  4. Kit thank you so much...^_^
    For making me part of the project...^_^

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  5. Galing! Nice project you have, tuwang tuwa talaga sila sa ginawa nyo. Bait naman. God will your hearts for what you've done.

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  6. I find it amazing that I ran into this site while breezing through the image results of my search for a black and white image of the Ateneo de Davao logo.

    Anyway, I can't believe how happy I am right now - looking at the kids' pictures of unfathomable bliss.

    Thanks for having us Ms. Kikit and the gang! We're looking forward to joining the next distribution. Even if it's in Mars, count us in. :)

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  7. wow naman.. maka happy na experience.. thank you pens of hope!

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