Our small community decided to do a small celebration for Mother Mary on her birthday. I mentioned in my previous blog that we had a small meeting with some of the small community leaders as to what and how we're going to celebrate this special day.
Most of the community members are Catholic and it has been a practice in my community for members especially the kids to pray the rosary in the early evening. A few days before the celebration, the kids in our community are practicing some songs and they were really nice to listen to. Also, it's nice to see the kids in our community enjoy doing something together despite the pandemic.
We live a bit far from the main road, so most of the people interacting are just inside the small community. There are a lot of kids here and it's really enjoyable to watch them play and do stuff together. They all get along pretty well and I guess it's an awesome thing. In addition, they love being involved in community programs as well as being given a responsibility.
In this post, I'll be showing some of the preparation as well as the small program we did for this special day. :)
We did the celebration yesterday, September 8... It's around one in the morning now. Anyway, let me show you some of the preparations we did before the event. :)
In the evening of September 7, papa and Kuya Joseph inflated these balloons. We decided to do it this way since it's more budget-friendly. They inflated around 30 plus balloons that night and another 20 plus the next morning. I was tasked to write Happy Birthday Mama Mary on the balloons, so after my class that night at around 11:30pm, I did what I was tasked to do. I had another task the next day, so I decided to finish the first batch earlier.
My papa assisted me in doing so. He handed me a balloon one by one and arrange it afterwards. The next day, another community member, took the balloons and designed it in our Purok. The also prepared some beautiful flowers for the altar and the kids helped in cleaning the place.
That's my mama visiting the purok. Our purok leader and some kids were inside when we went there. :)
It has been rainy the past days, but yesterday was really fine. It was sunny, but windy, so it wasn't very hot. It's the perfect weather. <3 After checking and visiting the purok, we went home to continue with the preparation. :)
My next task was to make a poster which we can use during the program. I like painting, so I enjoyed this task. It took me almost two hours to finish it, but I'm so happy with the result.
I will be sharing the whole painting process in a separate blog. For now, let's focus on the other preparation and activities!
While I was painting, other community members were packing some popcorn and snacks for the kids later. Mama was the one making them. These were the people preparing with us in our house. ^^
Other members prepared the table and as you see, there are some sliced bread and a Filipino noodle dish called bam-i on the table. These were prepared by other community members.
I also assisted mama in preparing some cheese flavored French Fries. She cooked them and I mix in cheese powder and prepare them in these mini cups. We also ordered boxes of pizza for everyone to share.
In the afternoon, kuya Joseph came home with print outs of Mama Mary's pictures that we can decorate and place in the purok as well. And finally, papa prepared the grill but we're not cooking anything in it. Instead, we're using it for the program later on. :)
Now, let's start with the program. :)
In their blue and/or white outfit, the kids gathered in the purok preparing for the rosary and singing of songs. The adults stayed outside while some older kids are supervising the smaller ones inside. After praying and singing, they all gathered outside to make their wishes. :)
They initially prepared their wishes or prayers or messages in a piece of paper. Each of them will then read their wish and burn them in the grill. We believe that when they write their wishes and burn them, it'll eventually fly up to the sky carrying their wishes.
I took several pictures during the activity. Of course, the adults were assisting them as they did it. ^^
These kids really touched our hearts. Their messages and wishes were so selfless. Most of their messages were of thank you(s) that despite the current situation, they were able to stay with their family. They were grateful that even though life is hard, they can still enjoy it as it is. Their wishes were also mostly for their parents or siblings. They also wished for everything to go back to normal, so they can go back to school again.
Our community doesn't belong to the rich and most are not even in the middle class. We are struggling day by day, but we always try to find joy and ways to continue living in a positive way. These kids are awesome and I really love them. Each of them has a story... some are from a broken family and other complicated situations, but they still shine despite everything.
I and my family are really happy to be able to help them in the littlest of way that we can. I'm very happy that our small community are now united and are helping each other day by day. We might not be well off, but we are rich in love and support from everybody.
The final activity was singing Mama Mary a happy birthday and eating time. It's really nice to see smiles on these kids' faces. I can't wait to spend another time like this with them. This is indeed a special occasion, and I'm glad that everyone enjoyed with a happy heart and a happy tummy.
After eating, everyone helped in the after care. They cleaned the whole place before going back to their houses. And ohh, it was very cute... they went to our place and said Thank you!!!. I want to give more to these kids someday, so I'll do my best as well. ^^
It was a successful celebration and I'm very grateful to everyone in our small community to make this possible. I hope everyone stays healthy and happy forever. <3 <3 <3