A Day of Smiles and Hugs With The Angels

“Happiness doesn’t result from what we get, 

but from what we give.”

 ― Ben Carson

The 1st distribution of 6th Back to School Gift Giving Project at Brgy. Tugbok last Sunday was a huge success. Around eighty children received school bags and school supplies from their ates and kuyas who have been supporting them for the past six years. 

The beneficiaries for our distribution last week are:

1.) Kids from the Providence Home of St. Joseph

2.) Kids from Padre Pios Home for Children

3.) Community Kids from Brgy. Tugbok

As already mentioned in my previous post, the project’s head is Naprey Almario of Behind The Rolling Chair. He is the one responsible for gathering donors all over the Philippines to share their blessings so that the children may receive materials for the upcoming school year. 

Aside from the giving out of school materials, one of the highlights of the event was the “free haircut” given by Arlene Salon of Davao City. Above is a photo of the sisters from both orphanages with the students and beauticians of Ma’m Arlene together with my good friend Naprey. This distribution would also not be possible without the help of McDo Philippines (for the meals) and Sweet Advocate (for the cupcakes). 

I have been volunteering for this project since 2014. I’ve witnessed how big it has become over the years. More people are helping and more establishments are willing to give their assistance to make Back to School Gift Giving Project successful. I can say that everything is really worth it. Seeing the smiles of the children is truly heart-warming. I love how they keep on saying “thank you.” I feel good whenever they hug me back. It inspires me to see them get excited for school with their new bags loaded with school materials. Look at them:

We, the ates and the kuyas of these kids, are really happy to have spent a wonderful day with each other. It was an afternoon full of smiles, laughers, giggles, claps, hugs and most importantly, hope. In our own dialect, I would like to say “Makawala tanan sa kapoy ang smiles sa mga bata uy!” All the hours spent travelling to and from the place was definitely worth it. 

Let me end this post by saying “It’s good to be blessed. It’s better to be a blessing.” Thank you to everyone who has continuously offered their support, assistance and prayers for this project!