Some of the kids participating in the Calamansi relay
Just to travel is rather boring, but to travel with a purpose is educational and exciting.
– Sargent Shriver
Last December 17th, Oojra partnered with Wander Pinas, a Filipino travel group that seeks to travel with a purpose one destination at a time, during their annual Christmas outreach. The outreach’s theme was “Patamisin ang Pasko sa Barangay Mapait” (Sweeten the Christmas of Barangay Mapait) wherein “mapait” translates to “bitter” in English. It was the group’s goal to bring sweet smiles to the residents of this “bitter” community this coming Christmas holiday.
Coin relay game sponsored by Oojra
As part of the outreach, Oojra sponsored three smile-inducing games for the children and also sponsored some gifts and prizes for these children. The first game was the calamansi relay where children had a calamansi in a spoon in their mouth and they had to walk carefully around the turning point and pass the calamansi to other participant without it falling all throughout the race. It was really fun as the smaller children struggled balancing the calamansi but you can see that they were very creative to finish the relay.
The second game was the coin race where the children had a coin on each foot and they had to cross the line as fast as they could without the coins falling off. Before the game started, some parents expressed their concern about the small children participating in the game. They said that they were in a disadvantage since they were still small and their feet too small to keep the coins safe. But they were very surprised when the game started. All the small children were very competitive and they sure knew how to play the game so well!
Mystery food game that the kids enjoyed. Who doesn’t love to eat?
One of the smaller children was Jomar and he surely caught my attention during this game. He might have smaller feet than the others but he had a very good strategy to win the game! He lunged forward, creating a big step, that also secured the coins on his feet. He was able to cross the line without the coins falling off. And all spectators were so proud of him!
The third game that Oojra sponsored was the mystery food package game. In this game, each team received a mystery food package and they had to pick one food without knowing what they have picked. They had to eat and finish everything one member at a time. And whoever finishes everything first will be the winner of this game. The kids were too competitive in this game that they ate too fast and weren’t able to drink water to help them chew the food. It was very chaotic but you can clearly see that they were very driven to win the game and get the prize. In the end, everyone won and got a prize for their effort.
Egg throwing game that is loved by the parents!
Aside from these games, there were also games for the parents. One game that everyone loved was the egg throwing/catching game where the mothers were partnered with the volunteers and they had to throw a raw egg to their partner and they have to catch it. In every round, they move farther from each other making it more difficult to catch the raw egg. The pair is out when they break the egg. Like children, like parents. The mothers were also very competitive on this game! Sadly, only one pair can win this game. And the winners really deserved the win! Everyone was ecstatic when they caught the raw egg in an 8-meter throwing distance.
The final game for kids was a traditional Filipino parlor game that is present in every birthday party. This game is called “pasabit” (hang) where candies were loosely hang in a wooden frame. The kids were asked to stand under the frame so that whenever it is lowered down, they can easily jump and grab the candies they want.
After the games, the representatives of each families were called one by one and they received their Christmas gifts from us.
The volunteers enjoying the windy summit of Mt. Mapait. (L-R) Getty, Kevin, Paolo, Lan, Gil, Eunice, Emille, Melai, Pam, Nic, Carmela, Chiki
As the mothers received their noche buena package, children also lined up to receive their snacks and loot bags! I bet they were all hungry after all the games we did.
This outreach is definitely one of the liveliest ones I’ve been to. They were definitely competitive and they really love to win. It was fun because everyone wanted to participate and there was never a dull moment in this outreach. I just love how the residents and the volunteers worked together to make this event successful and a lot of fun and happiness. It was heartwarming to see their smiles. And I do hope that we were able to sweeten their Christmas this year.
