Wing Walk for Children with Cancer UK - 12 September 2015

Carmel Lucas, who lives near to me in Wroxham, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia last year at the age of 4.  She spent a month at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge undergoing intense chemotherapy and is still coping with a two year course of the treatment.  Despite this, she has decided to help others with the disease and is making and selling loom bands to raise money for Children with Cancer UK.  She also helps to look after her 3 younger siblings and never fails to amaze her parents with her courage and determination.  Even when she’s in pain, she has a smile that can light up the room. She is truly inspirational and I would like to donate money to Children with Cancer UK on her behalf.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving Page.  Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

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Source: https://www.justgiving.com/

NumberWorks’nWords Tutorial with Little Lights 8 of 12

Math and English skills learned at an early age can serve as the stepping stone for future education. Super thanks to our partner, Number Works ‘N Words for offering fun-filled Math and English activities to 16 kids of The Little Lights Ministry! :)

On our 8th happy session, the children have practiced the following concepts:

Multiplication and Division – Learning multiplication facts up to 10 x 10
Fractions – Change an improper fraction to a mixed number and vice versa
Spelling – Familiarizing with “Letter Patterns” such as “sh”, “-tion”, etc.
Reading Skills – Learning about the Phonics lessons

As one of their tutors that day, I have observed that some kids who were struggling in English were great in Math, while others were better in Spelling/Reading compared to Numbers, but there were those kids who were excellent in both! As the sessions progress, the tutors are then able to continually assess the children’s ability based upon their development in each lesson. As a result, the kids will get the right lessons at the right time, with extra attention in their weaker topics. NumberWorksN’Words and U! Happy Events are working together to identify their unique learning needs and ensure that these needs are addressed.

Help the children of Little Lights reach their true potential and prepare them for success in school by joining us at NumberWorksN’Words, 2nd floor, Fox Square Building, Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan City. :)

Uruguay’s Humble President Offers to House 100 Syrian Refugee Children

Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, over 2 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes and forced to migrate to other areas.

Most refugees fled to Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. Others flocked to cities like Germany and Hungary, hoping to find a safe haven and a new lease on life.

President José “Pepe” Mujica is somewhat of a celebrity to those efforting towards peace. He is well-known as the VW Beetle driving, sandal-wearing, farm-living “poorest president in the world,” as he donates money to charity.

He also lives in a one-bedroom home – even though a recent report indicates his assets to be well into the six-figure range.

At present, both Germany and Brazil have granted immigration visas to Syrian refugees, 10,000 from the former and 2,000 from the latter. Surely more nations will follow suit in the future, as these people have no home to return to.

The United States Pales in Comparison

As World Mic reports, out of the estimated 2.3 million Syrian refugees displaced, the United States has only admitted 31 into the country – and that was in 2013. Perhaps even worse, although 135,000 Syrians had applied for asylum by January 2015, most applications were rejected because of strict immigration laws instituted to prevent terrorists from entering the country.

The Obama administration did announce in February 2014 it would ease up some of the immigration restrictions, and will exempt Syrian refugees “on a case-by-case basis to the ‘material support’ bar in U.S. immigration law,” reported Reuters.

Either way, there are millions of opinions on the issue and no one easy solution. At least President Mujica is exampling to the world the type of leaders we – individually and collective – can attract and vote into office.

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Source: http://www.thecollectiveint.com/

JCI Princess Urduja’s Musicare

JCI Princess Urduja spearheaded Short Hair, We Care campaign. It’s worthwhile advocacy of gathering hair and raising awareness on Alopecia culminated last August 29 in an event dubbed Musicare. It was an afternoon to evening acoustic session paired with quiz night. Six artists participated and performed their best songs for a cause. These were Rita Martinez, Sabu, Ramiru Mataro, Adi Sebastian, Jam Pestano and Alopecia founder, Abby Asistio.

There was also a Cut to Care, Hair to Share: Mass Hair Cutting Session at Greenfield Showroom accross Splice where Musicare was held. JCI Princess Urduja and U! Happy Events gathered even more people to have free haircut as long as they give at least 10 inches of their hair. This happened from 3 to 7pm.

Splice Resto Bar was packed with avid supporters mostly from other JCI clubs in Metro Manila. Some of the core team members and guests of U! Happy Events were also present.

Other partners for Short Hair, We Care include Nuvohair, Lynelle Salon, Reyes Haircutters, Technoholics and Props. The proceeds goes to patients battling Alopecia. It is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attack’s the person’s hair follicles.

A Kid and His Fairy Godfather — Discovering World Vision Philippines

Hitting 30 years old they say is a gift — as society no longer considers you a kid, neither do they treat you as an “adult” adult. The gift is in finding yourself partially “in between”: growing up and coming into terms with maturity.

While most of my friends are getting married and/or are having babies, at this age, I feel I have to do something that is more appropriate, or if I must say — more satisfying, fulfilling and worthwhile.

I consider myself different in many ways, which loosely translates to the fact that I won’t have a kid of my own. I choose not to. It’s true and I’m not sad about it. They always say I can adopt, but I have personally decided to not be obliged. As Jennifer Lopez puts it in American Idol, “It’s a no for me.”

It’s not that I hate kids — in fact, I am in love with them. I love being surrounded by children. And it’s always good to feel and act like a nurturing kuya (big brother).

I’ll be turning 30 in September and have been mentally jotting down my new adult goals/bucket list which includes: traveling to an off-the-beaten path like Istanbul and Cappadocia, learning a new sport, speaking a new language, reading 30 books in a year, and organizing a charity event for children.

I just wanted to do something out-of-the-box as I turn another year older.

And then this happened…

I woke up one day with a sudden great urge to help a kid. And so I did a quick web search how I can possibly join local organizations, how to volunteer for a weekend or how to come up with a mini-event/party to give gifts or feed children in a province of some sort.

While Googling, my eyes stumbled upon World Vision, the world largest institutional children’s charity, and got struck by their catchphrase — “Sponsor a Child Now.” Like winning the jackpot in a lottery, I excitedly mumbled to myself: this is what I’m looking for.

I’ve heard about this program and their Philippine arm before but paid little attention. Maybe I wasn’t ready then yet.

With the objective of helping children (and consequently his/her family and community) through education scholarships, World Vision’s child sponsorships have been around for many years now. Their list of child sponsors even include celebrities and famous personalities which is a testament that — 1) World Vision is a reliable institution; 2) your “investments” really go to the children and their communities; 3) there are still thousands of people with generous hearts.

What’s interesting is that you only get to spend PHP600.00 (SGD18.00) per month. That’s like skipping just a single restaurant brunch on a weekend while your “investments” on the child’s future on the other hand go a long, long way!

The Process

In their website, you have the option to choose a specific town you can help. Every page refresh, you’ll see different profiles of kids you can potentially sponsor.

I knew I wanted to help a little girl.

As a daughter, sister, mother and a leader, I see the big potential girls can contribute to the society (not that I’m undermining the capabilities of boys as they have their own strengths too).

Meet six-year-old Jillian Karylle

I adore her smile and innocent, sweet-looking face. When I saw Jillian’s photo, I jumped from my chair and exclaimed, I want to help this kid — she looks like someone I can be proud of one day!

I immediately clicked the “Sponsor Now” button and keyed in the payment for the sponsorship fees. It was great that I also had the option whether to pay via bank transfers or credit cards.

What Happens After

I immediately received a confirmation email from World Vision right after I made the first payment. The payments will continue until you personally decide to stop your sponsorship and may also take a halt due to other reasons concerning the child.

Within a week, I also received the profile of my sponsored child, a sponsorship handbook which details the path I will take until my kid graduates from high school or college. I was also given a chance to write my first letter to her. As I’m overseas, I wasn’t able to write a handwritten one and relied on email instead. I wrote my letter in very casual Filipino so that she can easily understand it and won’t feel intimidated. I also attached a smiling photo of myself so she can picture who I was.

Praises for the World Vision staff as well (special mention to Berna Sotero – Online Marketing Associate) as they were very proactive in replying back and emailing me regarding the status of my sponsorship.

Life Journey with Jillian

As I write this blog post, I still haven’t yet received any feedback from Jillian’s family. They say it takes about a month or so before I’ll be able to receive a reply letter from them. I hope she’s happy with her new Kuya.

I’ve read in the sponsorship handbook that I can also personally visit Jillian and her family if I want to. I might actually do that in December in time for Christmas.

Like an excited parent, I also look forward to receiving her annual school reports to see where she is at with her studies.

It’s scary to think that somewhere in Batangas, a kid’s life is partially dependent on you.

What will happen if I suddenly quit my ties from her? And if I stop my monthly sponsorship? I may not care at all.

But just thinking that, maybe, a kid and her family already looks up to you as their main source of inspiration for a sense of future. This shakes me back to my senses. I have already started this — and anything I started, I should finish.

As I turn older, maybe it’s just wise to own up to another responsibility in life — with the promise of creating a beautiful vision and future for a little child.

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Source: http://www.randomrepublika.com/

NumberWorks’nWords Tutorial with Little Lights 6 of 12

Say the word Math to a group of people and the room will be divided by those who love numbers, and those who want nothing to do with it. Though this may be the case, there is no denying Math is an important subject to learn especially in childhood, as basic math is used a lot in real life. Fortunately for us, tutorial center Number Works N Words generously sponsored Math lessons for our community-based partner, Little Lights!

Last September 9, we had our 6th visit at the center for a Math session with 25 lively children from Little Lights. The great part about it is that Number Works has a system to get the children learning Math in an efficient and fun way. Each student is screened on their current Math skills so they can check the progress individually. The kids are reviewed, for example on the multiplication table, and then they are called to their own desk with a Computer and paper, where they get to answer the Math problems on the screen and jot down problems they need to review on the paper. Once they complete the problem set, they get to choose a game they could play on the PC! It is definitely a great motivation for the kids, who try their best to beat the time limit for each problem set for a higher level of competition.

It is such a terrific sight when the kids finish well and some are awarded at the end of each session because of their learning and improvement. We’re looking forward to seeing ever greater progress from the kids as we continue our visit with NumberWorksn’Words!

Donation of Mini Bus to Disabled Children’s Charity

Dennis Wise the former England and Chelsea football player, and Steve Frankham, Chairman of Frankham Consultancy Group paid a visit to the Parents Consortium in Hextable on Friday 31st July to donate a 16 seater Mini bus to the charity. The donation was from the Denis Wise and Frankham Group Charitable Trust. Katrina Adams Operations Director at Parents Consortium said “This is a massive donation to us and we are really excited to receive this today. We can now take lots of children out on day trips, pick them all up from school and home. It will save time and money and the most important thing is that the children love it”   The mini bus has a football theme design on the side and does not look like a disability bus. Both Steve and Dennis said they were proud to support such a worth charity.

The  Dennis Wise and Frankham Group Charitable Trust. The Trust (formally Dennis Wise in the Community) was founded in 2000 through a passion of helping others and improving lives by Ex Chelsea FC Captain Dennis Wise and Chairman of Frankham Consultancy Group Steve Frankham.

The Trust was set up to help raise money for children and adults with disabilities and since inception has gone from strength to strength.

The Parents Consortium is a local charity in the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley areas providing services and care to disabled children, young people and their families. Services include support, advice, leisure activities, after school clubs, social and holiday clubs, overnight residential breaks and training.

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Source: http://www.dartfordliving.com/

Certified Positive 2nd Anniversary

Certified Positive (CP) successfully celebrated their 2nd anniversary special last August 21, held at the 11/F King’s Court 1 function hall in Chino Roces, Makati City. The event highlighted a special screening of the film, “Father of Lights” sponsored by Emperor Films being a fund raising activity to fund the E.H.E.M. Initiative (Experience Him Each Moment) wherein 15 NGO partners received 65 biblically inspired notebooks for children:

• Center for Community Transformation (CCT)
• Food for the Hungry Philippines
• Metro World Child Foundation, Inc.
• Christian Action for Relief and Empowerment (CARE)
• Habi ng Buhay, Inc.
• Philippine Campus Crusaide for Christ (PCCC)
• Christian Growth Ministries (CGM)
• Ina-inakay Center, Inc.
• The Navigators Philippines
• Christian Light Foundation (CLF)
• Little Lights Ministry
• Right Start Community Development, Inc.
• Deaf Evangelistic Alliance Foundation, Inc. (DEAF)
• Mission Ministries Philippines, Inc. (MMP)
• U! Happy Events

In spite of the heavy rain, the event pushed through with guests coming in from all over the metro. The program, hosted by Ms. Jerica Anne Reyes, started at 6:30pm with a throwback video presentation of last year’s anniversary celebration followed by the singing of “The Prayer” lead by Mr. Laurenz Jackson of Coro Cantabile choir group.

After a heartfelt prayer, Mr. Ricky Quinsay together with his assistant Acheron Abadilla Aldave, entertained the audience with remarkable magic tricks as an opening act. Following that is Ms. Sarah Olicia, Certified Positive co-founder, who headed the presentation of the 2015 praise report mentioning testimonies and the planner’s international reach.

Afterwhich, she further explained the company’s EHEM Initiative which is to help children know the gospel and the bible through the notebooks illustration and design. Out of 6 volunteer graphic designers, the design of Ms. Gelyn Lee was chosen as the 1st batch of notebooks to be produced. After the report there was an awarding of free notebooks to the chosen NGO Partners of CP. Present in the event was CLF, Food for the Hungry, Right Start Ph, PCCC and U! Happy events to receive the notebooks. Jeff Lucas of YesHeIs then encouraged the audience to join the #goeverywhere movement wherein the gospel will be simultaneously shared online. Next, Ms. Beatrice Tesoro, CEO and founder of CP, launched the prayer journal and presented a video unvailing the design and layout of the 2016 Daily Interact Certified Positive planner for the first time. And finally, the most anticipated part of the event, the film viewing of “Father of Lights” started rolling by eight in the evening. A moving film that left the audience in awe and in tears being reminded of the love of God for all.

The rest of what happened in the event is a raffle draw of CP prayer journals, YesHEis shirts and music album, CP shirts, and two 2016 Daily Interact Certified Positive planners (to be shipped), the official launching of the 2016 Planner and exclusive promo selling of the prayer journals.

Photographs of the event was taken by CP’s official photographer, Mr. Roderick Tan. Lastly, Ms. Beatrice Tesoro introduced CP’s new team members Adrian Santoalla and Lovely Sarmiento then concluded with a short but inspiring closing remark about trusting in the Lord and walking with him in a straight path regardless of its hurdles. The event also ended with a closing prayer headed by Mr. Cornel Bongco, known as the gospel yoyo man.

Another meaningful event in the history of Certified Positive as they continue in their mission to help people walk with Jesus daily.

To God be the Glory!

Interested to know more about the prayer journal? Visit http://certifiedpositive.com/product/prayer-journal/

Be updated with the latest products and events! Visit: http://certifiedpositive.com/

Watch out for the coming 2016 Daily Interact Ceritifed Positive planner. BREAKING BARRIERS! Coming soon!

Children are the Hope of the Nation

“If we are going to know the blessing of God, there is a sense in which we have to work. Look at Caleb in Joshua 14:6-14, particularly verse 12. He asked for the hill country, and at 85 years old, he was determined, God helping him, to drive out the giants from the land that the Lord promised to him as his inheritance and that of his children forever.

“There is kingdom-work for us to do if we have given our lives to the Lord and we say we love Him. There is work for me to do for Him among the impoverished people in the Philippines. If we look to the Lord to bless us, we have to say “Lord, what would you have me do? What would you want me to do?

“If we want the Lord to work for us, we must be willing to work for Him,” wrote Tancho Baes in one of  his Facebook messages.  Tancho, the immediate past president of SBC, had volunteered and was commissioned to lead the national outreach in the Philippines of Canada-based Hope for the Nations.

“Some of the children in our Kids of Hope program… When I look at them, I couldn’t help but wonder what would become of them if there are no intervention and help. We are praying that all these kids will have sponsors so that they can go to school,” Tancho implores potential mission supporters.

Tancho’s team of mission volunteers are based in the slums of Davao City. The volunteers are pursuing multi-pronged programs in creating small livelihood projects for unskilled and unemployed parents, vegetable gardening, leadership training for the youth, and out-of-school literacy program for young children in marginalized squatters in Davao.

To donate to Tancho’s outreach mission, please click on the link below or copy and paste the link on your browser to go to the secure donation page.

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Source: https://sillimanians.wordpress.com/

NumberWorks’nWords Tutorial with Little Lights 5 of 12

Things starting to change on our 5th session. The children of Little Lights now get to answer math computer questions more efficiently- less mistakes and faster. I believe on the next sessions mistakes will continue to thin or even disappear altogether.

The children who wait for their now are called by Ate Pam individually to check on their math table. In the first three sessions they had a paper to guide them. Moving forward they had to memorize.

Ate Pam also started providing prizes to the ones who top the math computer lessons and individual performance in the math table. Join us and be a volunteer. We still have 8 sessions left. We are at Fox Square Building, Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan City.

How One Church Makes A Difference

How do you raise money for The Children’s Society in your church?

We use the fundraising house boxes quite heavily and I am the box coordinator for my church. These are cardboard boxes that our supporters place in their home and collect their spare change in.  I coordinate this by giving other parishioners boxes to fill with any change they have lying about, and getting them to bring them into church so I can collect the money. This is then paid to The Children’s Society. We have about 35 box holders and together they raise about £600 a year.

Last year your church raised even more than usual for The Children’s Society, how did you do this?

We always collect spare change using the boxes but last year our church ramblers group chose to do a sponsored walk for The Children’s Society. The charity chosen changes every year.  Although there just seven people on the walk, they raised £600 so we instantly doubled what we usually raise as a church each year. The church also made a donation to The Children’s Society as one of their missions.

Did any fundraising activity work particularly well for you?

The sponsored walk went really well. The Children’s Society Regional Fundraising Manager provided all the walkers with a goody bag with some treats and leaflets about the work of The Children’s Society and everyone who took part had a really good time.

How did you get the church involved in your fundraising activities?

As a church we’ve been supporting The Children’s Society for years! Longer than I can remember. But now, I find everyone at the church really supportive of my fundraising for The Children’s Society. We have lots of box holders and many young families come along to our Christingle service when we have one.

Will you continue to raise money for The Children’s Society?

Yes, I am collecting the boxes in at the moment! I am going to invite my cousin round one Friday evening to help me count them as it’s quite a big task, so it’s good to have someone to help out. I am also hoping to see if we can organize a Christingle service for either December or January.

What is the best piece of advice you can give for other churches that want to fund raise for The Children’s Society?

My top tip would be to ask The Children’s Society for one of their volunteer speakers to come along to an event or service at the church. We had a speaker come to our Christingle service in 2012 and 2013. It was great for our box holders to hear about the work of The Children’s Society at a service and find out how the money they raise helps children. And I was really chuffed too, because as a result of having a volunteer speaker come to our church, we also got a few new box holders.

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Source: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/

NumberWorks’nWords Tutorial with Little Lights 4 of 12

Ever disliked Math? Experienced Math Anxiety – sweaty palms, feeling nervous when called during recitation? Getting bored and thinking Math is not fun? Believe me, I know the feeling.

But hey, good news!!! NumberWork’s’nWords is here to help us be more confident in working with numbers, learn new math techniques and at the same time have fun. Yes, that’s possible, playing while learning!

NumberWork’s’nWords in partner with U!Happy Events, is running a six week program on advanced tutorials in Math and English which benefited 16 kids of Little Lights Ministry. The first 6 sessions will focus on math and the remaining 6 sessions will focus on English.

Today is their 4th Session for Advance Math and kids from Little Lights came in very excited! Yes you heard it right, VERY EXCITED! They were divided in to 2 groups. The first batch were assigned to their respective work stations with me and Teacher Vines. The second batch is with Teacher Pam for a random recitation on multiplication table.

Teacher Vines selected the program for each kid while I assist them in working with numbers. Seeing these kids think, solve and count reminded me of my struggles when I was little. The difference, I was feeling bad with sweaty palms and having difficulty solving the problem while the kids from Little Lights, they too had difficulty but they were more confident and challenged in solving the equations. You will still see some kids sneaking and counting using number sticks, but they were inhibited to do so. They were encouraged to master the multiplication table to strengthen their foundation.

The Math programs were presented in an interesting and fun manner. It motivates and challenges the kids to solve the problem so they can too unlock the game and proceed to the next level.

Indeed, these children from Little Lights are privileged to experience a new, fun and advanced approach in learning Math and soon, English.

Donating to Children In Need

Absolute Interpreting and Translations Ltd donates 2.5% of its sales of 14.11.14 to Children In Need

As an Approved Interpreting and Translations Company for many Charities across the UK, we learn about children’s struggles and needs from inside. Our everyday business activities consist of many interpreting sessions provided to charities, hospitals, care facilities and other social services, which is why we recognise the importance of supporting children.

The 14th of November this year is a very special day for us. Absolute Interpreting and Translations Ltd are doing their bit by donating to Children in Need 2.5% of its sales in order to transform the lives of disadvantaged children and young people right here, in The United Kingdom.

We call upon our clients and customers to Use us today to do your bits! Every 2.5 percent of the profit generated today will be given to Children in Need

Children in Need aAbsolute Interpreting and Translations Interpreting Booking Team showing their support for Children in Need in Pudsey Cloths

Pudsey Bear has been BBC Children in Need’s mascot since 1985. It is a well-known symbol of safe, secure and happy childhood and the chance to reach all children’s potential.  Our team is supporting the Pudsey Bear’s initiative by wearing our special clothing with pride. We leave you in no doubt of our support!

Our long-standing liaison with a wide spectrum of children charities has made us to believe that participating in today’s event does make a big difference to the Children in Need.

We love to see them smiling like we have done so in the above group photo!

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Source: http://www.absolute-interpreting.co.uk/

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Finance Talk and Games with UNO Kids

It’s always a great treat when U! Happy Events get’s to partner with companies who want to see changes. Today it was a great treat for the kids from UNO who were joined by volunteers from BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas).

We started the day by grouping the kids and volunteers in groups of 5 and we asked the kids and the volunteers to share their names, what their favorite subjects in school are and what they want to do when they grow up. After getting to know each other we got their hearts pumping and brains working by playing some games.

The first game was putting together the puzzles of past U! Happy Events. We then played the games of stack the cups afterwards and the kids and volunteers got in to the game and thoroughly enjoyed the games. After playing some games and getting their heart rate up we took a break and got Kuya JC and Kuya Alex to talk more about their work and savings.

They got the kids to share answers to questions like “how much baon they get everyday and what they do with their baons. A lot of the kids shared that they mostly use of for getting breakfast and/or lunch. Some answers got attention like a P5 champorado and a kid saying he gets P25 and only uses P5 and saves the P20 for buying rice for his mom. We all learned that saving at any age is good thing just in case of emergencies and it’s a good skill to have for the future.

After the talk we had one last game to play with the ate’s and kuya’s, which was dancing with a plastic cone on their heads and hula-hooping for 5 seconds before going back to their group and tagging the next person. This got everyone’s energy up again and ready for their merienda. After the games merienda was served so that the kids and volunteers get to know each other. During this time prizes and gifts were given to the winners of the games and the rest of the kids.

After having the merienda and the prizes given out we did the custumary group photos with the ate’s and kuya’s and the kids. After the group photos the kids then gave their new ate’s and kuya’s a hug and goodbyes. It was definitely a good start to the day for both Volunteers and us U! Happy Events members.

MMQ’s begins the Holidays right with Arts for Charity's Sake!

For two fabulous evenings in September, MMQ premiered its Murder Mystery Theatre Show at the DUSIT THANI hotel ballroom & at RJ’s lounge in the DUSIT basement. As with all MMQ shows, guests were treated to free-flowing French wines throughout the night, along with a Marvelous Theatre Event, FANFARE TO MURDER written by David Moberg, featuring the talents of International as well as Filipino artists such as: Andrew Cunningham (UK) Vaishali Ray (India), Marnie Hurst (Czech Republic), Geraldine Tan (PH), & Directed by Mimi Carter (USA). Through MMQ’s generous sponsors like Etihad, Eastern Carpets, RJ’s, Boracay Hills, Lane Movers Asian Tigers, Le Cellier, & DUSIT THANI, guests enjoyed prizes galore too like spa visits for two, luxury resort stays, elegant tapestries & rugs, vintage wines, & round-trip airline tickets.

As a result of this splendor, MMQ was able raise more than a quarter of a million pesos for Charity, specifically The Ang Misyon Foundation & its Orchestra of Filipino Youth. On a sunshiny October afternoon, the MMQ Board accompanied by several sponsors & friends presented their donation to Ang Misyon Artistic Director & International concert pianist Jovianney de la Cruz. Ang Misyon’s mission is to provide musical instruments, performance, & education to indigenous & disadvantaged children throughout the Philippines. Studies have proven that when children are exposed to art they learn differently & better, hence providing them with a more positive future. So in addition to the funds, MMQ facilitated donations of several musical instruments, including a piano, violins, & a clarinet.  Since its inception in 2007, MMQ has raised millions in funds & services for worthwhile women & children’s charities.  It does this by presenting exceptional & FUN theatre art & events featuring multicultural artists for multicultural audiences. MMQ is a group of multicultural women all specialists in their fields who receive no remuneration but work together to make the world a better place for children’s sake.

For more information about MMQ & Ang Misyon please contact www.mmqtheatre.com, or email mmqtheatre@gmail.com, or call or text +63.927.383.9517.  Friend MMQ on FACEBOOK at “mmq thtr” or “MMQ Theatre & Events Group, Inc.”. MMQ is a multicultural nonprofit ARTS for CHARITY organization.

MMQ is a non profit arts for charity organization which produces theatre and other arts events. These productions aim to promote Expatriate-Filipino partnerships, build Expatriate and Filipino audiences and support women's and children's charities in the Philippines. (c) MMQ 2009.

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Source: http://www.mmqtheatre.com/

Ate Sandi’s Mural Workshop for Ospital ng Makati

Ospital ng Makati once again played host to a vibrant event last Saturday with eager volunteers and kids. Over the last few months, the hospital had become home to a number of mural art created during past U! events.

The kids from the pediatric ward welcomed the friends and family members of Ate Sandi Suplido – a young professional who happened to be celebrating her birthday on the very same day.

Despite having an early start to the morning, around 15 kids gathered at one of the rooms in the pedia-section to meet their new kuyas and ates. Enthusiasm soon built up as the volunteers and kids started getting to know each other.

After a short orientation, the kids and volunteers were grouped into four (4) and were given time to get acquainted. Each one had to tell their name, what they do (for the volunteers), what they dream to become (for the kids) and of course being an art event, their favorite cartoon character. As these were being exchanged, everyone was starting to feel a little more comfortable with their new found friends.

The event carried on to a very unique game – Show Me Your Face. In this game, specific emotions/ situations were being given to the groups. They then had to express it with their faces. It sounded pretty simple at first but with scenarios like ‘super-hot weather,’ ‘freezing cold environment,’ and even a ‘bad case of diarrhea,’ the teams had their work cut out for them. Soon though, a winner came out by having the most dramatic expressions.

The mural art was next up for everyone. Kuya Robby, a professional artist, again had the privilege of working with the kids and volunteers for this event. He has been the chief artist in past mural creations throughout this children’s ward. He again accurately outlined pictures and characters from a popular animated movie. He also gave instructions on how to go about the entire painting activity as the kids and volunteers worked in pairs or groups of 3.

It wasn’t long before the whole room was brought to life with so much vividness. With some of the pairs/ groups finished, they sat down to spend more time with the kids. They were given storybooks which they excitedly read to their kids. The storybooks also became the parting gifts for the kids.

The event soon started to wind down with the kids and volunteers eating together for lunch. With everyone full, the whole group gathered for a final picture with their wonderful paintings as background. Ate Sandi got a surprise as well as everyone wished her a ‘happy birthday’ through a warm serenade.

Thank U! to Ate Sandi and her very cheerful family and friends. The mural added color to the room but it was their enthusiasm that brought them to life

Ate Sandi’s Testimonial

I especially liked the part of the outreach when we got to paint with the kids. I volunteered to work on a red Lightning McQueen car with Ashley. It’s like we were both working on a special project together. We bonded over colors, strokes and little chats about her family and favorite things.

I felt even happier when I looked behind me and saw all my own family and friends, laughing and sharing that moment with the other kids.

I thank U! Happy Events for giving us all the opportunity to do a unique outreach like this and I can’t wait to volunteer again!

Leaving on September 1st for the Philippines - Tanzania Comes After!

Hello there!

By now, most of the preparations through Projects Abroad are taken care of. I have paid my invoice, I have received my tickets by e-mail, I know where I'm going to be staying for my 8 weeks in the Philippines and I've read through the guides. All I really still need are my vaccinations and I'll be going to my GP this wednesday to get them. In just 3 weeks and 4 days (1st of September) on 6:20 pm Danish time, I'll be on the first plane of three that are going to take me to the Philippines. It is quite a long trip with 18 hours and 25 minutes of flight time and a total traveling time of 22 hours and 50 minutes including waiting time at airports, starting from when I leave from Aalborg Airport and ending when I arrive at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. I'll be working on the Public Health project in the Philippines and am looking very much forward to the experience.

However, I still have a lot to do before I leave. I have to move out of my apartment and move my things to a rented storage room as I can't keep my apartment when I am taking a gap year from studying. There is also still a few items I have to buy before I leave but that shouldn't take too much time. The packing and moving can also be done in a day or two as I live in a one bedroom apartment, so the amount of furniture I have is pretty limited.

After my visit and volunteering in the Philippines, I'll be going to Tanzania for another 8 weeks where I'll be volunteering in Dar es Salaam on the medical project. I have no medical experience however, so it will most likely be a lot of observing. It is my hope though that the public health project in the Philippines will give me a little bit of insight in the medical world that might come to use in Tanzania. At any rate, I plan to do my best and show that I am willing to work and learn.

This will be my first time traveling alone and I have only been abroad very few times. I've been to Egypt when I was about 8 years old, I've been on a ski trip in Norway, I've been on a student trip in England (London, specifically), and I've been on a sort of student exchange trip to Mainz, Germany. Each of the trips have been of about one week in length, so it will also be the first time I'm going to be away for more than a week - and I'll be abroad for 16 weeks! It all seems pretty crazy, especially since I first contacted Projects Abroad on the 19th of July - not 3 weeks ago, and I signed up for the projects on the 27th of July - not even two weeks ago. Everything has happened and is happening really fast, and I'm not sure I actually realize what is happening before I'm sitting on a plane on my way to the Philippines.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting with a lot of new people in the Philippines - my host family, the local population, and of course the other volunteers. For any other volunteers in the Philippines who is there during the period from September 2nd to October 26th and who read this, this is me after I graduated on June 22nd after passing a math exam with about 2 hours of sleep that night 

I'll do my best to make blog updates during my trip, however I'll make no promises - I am there to experience new things, after all, not sit in front of a computer to write blog entries. I expect there'll be time enough for that anyway, though.

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Source: http://www.mytripblog.org/

Ate Raissa and Ate Vern’s Belly Dancing Workshop with Habitat for Humanity

What could be better on a Saturday morning of August 15, 2015 than spending your weekend with people close to your heart. I’m happy to partner again with Habitat for Humanity! Their preteens are also happy to be spending the day with some Ates and Kuyas knowing they’ll be learning something new this morning. But the most excited of all is Ate Raissa Marfa and Ate Vern because they were co-celebrating their birthdays! Happy weekend indeed.

The U! Happy Events team arrived very early to make sure everything will be properly prepared. The activity started with the usual Getting-to-know portion as Kuya Harvard asked the volunteers to introduce themselves to the preteens while simultaneously doing a belly dance demo. Kids got to cheer their preferred volunteer who dances excellently.

After a while, the kids and volunteers were grouped to 4 teams and were asked to play the game Dance Showdown. The mechanics of the game is very simple. Kuya Harvard will play a song depending on the type of dance (i.e. Ballroom. Pop, RnB, etc.) and the groups will have to create a dance step for it. Each team will select a leader to be the one demonstrating the dance steps for the members to mimic. It was a hilarious thing to see especially when the teams are all grooving to the beat. There was a time though that the games had a break because all the teams had a hard time creating a dance step for the techno music. I was expecting though that somebody will do a robotic dance to match the music. Nevertheless, everyone had a good time.

Before the start of Belly Dancing class, Kuya Harvard gave a short demo of warm ups so it won’t be difficult especially for the preteens to stretch their bodies and prevent injury in the class later on. A short while after, Ate Jill Ngo, our celebrity belly dancing instructor arrived. Ate Jill teaches not just belly dancing but also other dances like Zumba and modern dance. She arrived with a warm smile on her face, showing how excited she is.

She taught various steps that are easy at first but got a little complicated as the class progresses. Nevertheless, some steps may be difficult initially but everyone participated and enjoyed. We ended to the beat of Jai Ho. After dancing, some of the volunteers strike a pose and took a photo with ate Jill. It made us all tired but good thing the U! Happy core team served meals short after.

The experience in belly dancing was still the topic of conversations over lunch. It’s just delightful to know that the preteens and volunteers found the activity interesting.

Ate Raissa and Ate Vern distributed the school supplies give always she prepared for the kids. The event won’t be possible if not for their kinds hearts so we bought cupcake and sang them a happy birthday. She was very grateful especially when it’s time for the preteens to hug their Ates and Kuyas.

May this event bring inspiration to other Kuyas and Ates out there to participate in various volunteer activities especially in their own communities.