Group picture at the end of the event. Some kids had already left.
Hi Hive,
Last Sunday was Easter Sunday and it was definitely a kids day at Garden Village in Moalboal, Cebu.
Ongoing preparation
A few days prior, Thomas, a 77 years old American who is one of the residents of the place, mentioned that he had prepared a special occasion for the kids living nearby. He had already done so last Christmas and it was a great success with more than 40 kids showing up.
Food is ready
Several weeks ago, he got the message out that the children who wanted to participate should draw something related to easter and then come to the Garden Village at around 11am to submit their arts. Cash prizes would be handed over to the best ones. This time, his expectation was about 70 kids.
Thomas making sure everything is in order and ready
On Sunday morning, parents with their children started waiting outside the gates as early as 10:30 which is very unusual considering that Filipinos culturally tend to be late.
By 11am, Thomas, or uncle Tom as the kids call him, helped by Brian, another American resident of the place started collecting the drawings. They divided them by age category so as to reward a few in each age group. About 60 to 70 drawings were collected.
While Thomas and Tony, a German resident, went through the entries and tried as best as they could to pick the winners, the kids were given some snacks by Brian and other volunteers. Each were given a plate with a bread, a typical Filipino hotdog on a stick with marshmallows and a drink, either orange juice or iced tea.
Thomas and Tony
Lorie helping serve the food
Ate Amy helping pour the drinks
Happy kids
Happy kids
The food went down quickly and they started queuing again so they could be handed over a box tied with a ribbon. Inside was a doughnut.
Then it was time for the contest rewards. Thomas and Tony, after going through all the drawings, decided that they would reward every kid. In order to keep the idea of a competition they simply divided the drawings into two categories. One would get a php100 (USD 2) prize and the other php50 (USD 1).
Thomas with all the drawings
Brian, once again helped with announcing the winners while Thomas handed out the reward. You could see the smile on every kids face. The cash amount given to the kids may sound low but for their families who for the most are living below the poverty threshold, it is a good help.
Wait, it's not over yet, Thomas had one more thing planned for the kids. He had arranged for some small baskets containing candies and chocolate to be prepared and so it was time to distribute them from the boot of his car (or trunk of his car depending of where you're from 😋). All the kids lined up again and received their gift.
That's it, the event didn't last long but the kids were happy and that is what is important. It was all thanks to uncle Tom who sponsored everything, from the food to baskets to cash prizes. A big thank you to the various volunteers as well.
One last thing before I end this post, below is a picture of Thomas with a 3year old child he recently prevented from being handicapped for life. A few months ago, he saw him in pain and wincing every time he would take a step. When he enquired the reason with his parents, he was told that the kid fell from a tree 3 weeks prior but they couldn't do anything about it as they couldn't afford the doctor. Tom decided to take him to the hospital to have him checked and that he would cover the bill. It turns out that the leg was broken and needed a cast. I can't imagine how much pain the kid was in during those 3 weeks. Luckily, no extra damage was done and after almost 2 months and 2 casts, the child could walk again and he is now running.
The HBD reward of this post will be entirely donated to @whoaretheyph for the next #WATP features.
Lovely initiatives guys, it always warms my heart when I see something like this. Thomas is such an amazing person. Wishing you guys at WATP all the best and here is my little contribution :)
@tipu curate 5
Thank you very much for you support. It's very much appreciated.
Yes, Thomas is a nice person to be around. He actually set up his own charity to help the kids of the Philippines so this is definitely not the last time he does this.
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