Anghel Liit 2^nd Christmas Gift Giving in Payatas: December 12, 2004

My officemate Celia Sevilla was frantically texting and calling pala while I was in UP CAL and UPIS with Pinky last Saturday kasi Sunday Dec 12 ang gift giving of Anghel Liit Foundation Inc. in Payatas. Sus! E nag-dinner pa kami ni Pinky sa Multipurpose Hall and naki-bonfire and fireworks pa sa basketball court with host Class 79 of the UPIS Alumni Homecoming. Buti naglaba na ako ng konti nung umaga!

Hatinggabi na ako umuwi nung Friday kasi nag-party with my IT friends in government. We had a fun costume party for the CIO Forum and the Press sponsored by Microsoft held at the Friends Bar in El Pueblo, Ortigas Center. Ate Glow emceed, Parliament Syndicate provided the music, and Microsoft gave away lots of valuable prizes.

Kaya siempre, tanghali na ako nagising nang Sunday! Hangos almusal, ligo, bihis, sakay sa jeepney to Batasan Hills, and nag-special trip ng tricycle (P30) to the basketball court in Barangay Payatas.

Buti at di pa nagsisimula ang program. Maayos nang nakaupo at naghihintay ang audience. 45 students ang beneficiaries ng "Baon Mo, Sagot Ko" project of Anghel Liit, Inc in coordination with Barangay Payatas schools. They all came accompanied by parents and siblings. Naka-display na ang mga parols na entry ng parents sa contest. Naka-display na rin ang christmas cards na entry ng students sa contest. Naka-assemble na ang mga goodies sa plastic sandobag supots. All smiles kahit maagang nagsigising ang Anghel Liit members na nagluto ng spaghetti at nag-prepare ng cheese pimiento sandwiches na siyang party fare. Nagbalot din pala sila ng mga gifts for the games.

While waiting, I went through the Christmas card messages. They were all handwritten notes of appreciation to Anghel Liit Foundation Inc. All the cards will be sent to our sponsors. The parols were made out of recycled materials, pinagbalatan ng kendi, corrrugated cardboard boxes, Nido milk cartons, ganun.

Nagsimula ang program with a prayer. Then a welcome address by president Rhodora Sanchez of Anghel Liit. She also introduced us Anghel Liit members to the audience, who all smiled widely and clapped heartily.

A group of beneficiaries danced enthusiastically. Colorful Santa hats ang costume nila. Yung parents pa ang todo asikaso sa pagsusuot ng hats nila. After their number, I looked at the hat closely. Made out of plastic Breeze laundry soap packages pala with white cotton pasted on, how creative!

There were solo song numbers of other beneficiaries, too. Yung isang group na dapat sasayaw, hindi mapatunog sa sound system ang accompanying music nila.

There were games galore. The 'longest Merry Christmas' game had everybody counting the seconds that a contestant can hold his hum. The 'trip to Jerusalem' game required children to sit on the laps of mothers and not on chairs. The mothers who had to squat throughout were also awarded prizes.

The "Catch the 5 peso coin in your mouth" game was even more hilarious when the parents were made the contestants. Do you know how this game is played? You put the 5 peso coin on your forehead and using only facial muscles, you move the coin to your mouth!

We took a lunch break. The spaghetti, sandwiches and Zesto drinks were distributed by the members to the audience. We ate the same meal. Sus, ang generous ng serving ng spaghetti, hindi ko halos maubos. Pero ubos agad ng mga bata! Masarap! Nag-resume na nga ang program, hindi ko pa ubos yung share ko.

More games. The "Bring me" contest asked for a five centavo coin which nobody can produce, 2 gray hairs from a father's head, P500 peso bill, a toothless person (meron!), the youngest baby (8 months old), a complete family (2 sets) and so on. What I noticed in this crowd is that when they receive a gift wrapped package, they just feel the package to guess what is inside, then they carefully put it aside without opening it yet. I suppose they want to preserve the surprise for later. Maybe for Christmas Day?

It was time to announce the winners of the contests. The parents were asked to explain the message of unity in their parols (lanterns). The winner parol was actually a belen made of brown carton box strips woven like a mat with grass pasted on. Very creative! Unity starts with the family, explained the leader of the group. They were very happy with their P2,000 prize. May pang-Christmas party na kayo, biro ko sa kanila.

The children were called in groups and given one small can of powdered milk. The emcee made a mistake. Only those with Christmas card entries are entitled to the milk. The children who did not have entries dutifully returned the milk they have already received. Those who were about to but realized they were not entitled to voluntarily fell out of line and quietly took their seats. I was amazed at the honesty and the discipline!

The other group was finally able to dance their very spirited number. I could see the parents coaching at the back by doing the same moves. Oh, there was also a dance number from the parents themselves. Nakakatuwa ang pagka-game nila!

The incoming president of Anghel Liit was introduced to the group. She had a very brief message and even looked embarrassed at the attention.

Gift giving time! Each of our beneficiaries received a small supot of candies and toys. Each family received a big supot of goodies, including a big can of powdered milk donated by Nestle, with Dec 2004 expiry date. No problem, they will still be good till a month later, and will certainly have been consumed by then.

We closed the program with a prayer.

Picture taking time. They posed. We posed together. We posed.

Merry Christmas, all!

We carefully tucked everything away, and went home with the president, had lunch, had a discussion, decided to do a planning session later, and went home for a well deserved nap.

I thank Anghel Liit for a most meaningful early celebration of Christmas and I thank Celia Sevilla for asking me to be a member of the group.