Weekend was quite full.
Saturday, I returned to the place which taught me everything I know about volunteerism today - Ugnayan ng Pahinungod - in my university.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a text message from the program coordinator of the streetkids program asking whether I was free to host the activity. Saying yes to these guys isn't difficult, but because of how erratic my schedule could be sometimes, I just told them to make me a last resort.
The event was a dance interpretation contest of the epic The Maiden of the Buhong Sky. O ha! I didn't even know that epic existed. When I asked what it was, one of the volunteers gave me a thick book entitled Epics and in it were several Philippine epics which probably date back to the time I dunno when. Our culture really is rich, huh.
Going back to the contest, four streetkids institutions were competing - Kaibigan Outreach, Childhope Asia, Tuklasan-ERDA and Bahay Musika. I'm familiar with the first two instis. The last two are new to me. Also present to give intermission numbers were YWCA, Sabana-ERDA and Kanlungan sa Er-Ma.
I've worked with these institutions before, but the closest to my heart is YWCA. I worked with the kids several years ago for a dance competition and we won 1st runner-up. Not bad considering their instructors did not have an idea what they were doing. After that contest, I would celebrate my birthday with the kids and my friends. It sort of became a tradition. Been doing it for four years now. I only missed this year because of Ondoy, Pepeng and the trip abroad.
Anyway, the program went well. One insti presented what looked like a skit of the epic. The next insti did an all-dance presentation. Another insti did a combo of a choral recitation and dance, and the final insti did a skit and dance performance.
In addition to the skillful performances, the costumes were also nice. Each insti had their own colorful props and creative costumes.Who says limited resources can stop these kids from having a full-on performance?
After the first performance, I knew that all the others would be just as good. In fact, the performances were really superb that there was a tie between two instis and the judges had to step out of the venue to have a somewhat lengthy discussion.
While the judges conferred, the other instis entertained the audience with dance numbers. The ones that got the biggest applause were the "Eh Eh Eh" and "Nobody." Naturally. If there's one more thing I've noticed about these kids and the instis, it's how knowledgeable they are of the latest "it" songs. I remember that before it used to be Spaghetting Pababa, and then there was Ocho Ocho. Nyerks, I'm getting old. Haha!
Once the intermission numbers were done, the most awaited moment arrived. Kaibigan Outreach emerged as the champion. What was notable though was that all the kids were extremely happy once their instis were called, unmindful of whether they were the 4th placer or the champion. Kids really are different.
In the evening, I joined the Pahinungod gang for the birthday celebration of Marian. We went to this restau near her house and had a good dinner, followed by karaoke and some beer. Really good pre-gimik gimik. Hehe! I was having a great time with my fellow volunteers, but I had to go ahead and head home to change for Malate. It was a night of celebration. It was the day of Pride March after all. Woohoo!
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