No Trick, All Treat

I CAME AS A WITCH, complete with a black dress, pointed hat, black nail polish, and ready to give that wicked smile.

     Lydia came sooooo out of character – with that white mask accented by a light blue violet afro. Very much like a creepy clown …

     Sonny and Charisse came as themselves and prepared to give the kids of Cottolengo Filipino and Payatas a happy Halloween.

 

SONNY and Charis (above) in animated conversation

with Fr. Martin (extreme right) of the Payatas

Orione Foundation, Inc. and a member

of the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation.

With them is Sonny’s sister, Clocel.

(Below) Sonny tries on Lydia’s afro wig for kicks.

     The event was the traditional Halloween Trick or Treat that Mina Tecson mounts each year. Mina is the big-hearted lady behind Pinagpalang Kamay Association, Inc.  or PKAI. Last year, our high school batch at the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) joined her Trick or Treat for the first time and it was held at the Corinthian Plaza neighborhood.

     This time around, Mina – who is described by Benz Guerrero, a friend and colleague at the Cottolengo Filipino Board of Trustees, as “the lady who doesn’t say ‘it can’t be done’” — brought the annual Halloween party to the next level. 

     For starters, the venue was a popular events place, Fernwood Gardens, located in Quezon City. Owner Al de Veyra was kind enough to lend the place and had it transformed into a barn with a western saloon accentuated by scarecrows and skeletons in the form of floating balloons and almost real ones in apple boxes.

    

THIS IS the entrance to Fernwood Gardens (above)

and the big man you see is owner Al de Veyra, who

definitely has a big heart, as he lends

the place for a Halloween Trick or Treat

for some 150 kids from Cottolengo Filipino

and Payatas. Bottom photos show

the stage decorated with white skeleton

balloons and more skeletons in apple boxes in

other parts of the place.

 

    There were pony rides and, for the more adventurous kids, bull riding machine rides. There were sandboxes where the kids had fun tossing horseshoe rings into a metal target stand and fishing was allowed in the garden’s lagoon. Some kids, however, were disappointed when they had to return what they caught back into the water.

    There were no tricks except those performed by the clowns and the fashionista dogs.

  

 

     There were treats galore from generous benefactors, including Jollibee, Kusina ni Kambal and my very own high school batch, who donated 150 loot bags containing a sweet assortment of goodies and coloring books with crayons, reading books, pencils and some fluffy toys.

     No doubt, it had all the trappings of a blockbuster Halloween party.

 THAT’S LYDIA (upper photo) – no longer a creepy

clown – distributing the much-awaited bags

of goodies and educational items (above)

to the thankful kids (below). Bottom photo shows

two little girls from Payatas giving

me their best smiles for posterity.

     But making the event truly meaningful was the expression of appreciation from people in attendance and the children themselves.

     Fr. Martin of the Payatas Orione Foundation, Inc. said that it’s not enough to say God loves these children, adding “dapat maramdaman ng mga bata ang konkretong pagmamahal.” He thus cited the event as a concrete example of God’s love and went on to thank everybody who shared their time and resources.

     He likewise informed us that the help they give knows no boundaries. Aside from the children of Payatas, also in their care are a bunch of Badjao kids from Muslim families, who left areas of conflict in Mindanao and settled in Quezon, one of the communities they are supporting.

    Fr. Stefan and Fr. Julio of the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation, who are the people behind Cottolengo Filipino, echoed Fr. Martin’s sentiment and gratitude (Fr. Martin is also from the same congregation). Fr. Stefan cited that those who have less in life are loved more by God and the event clearly showed that.

     Sonia Santos, a member of PKAI, also took center stage to thank everyone who made the event possible, including God, “for the good weather.”

FR. ESTEFAN (above) of Cottolengo Filipino

and Fr. Julio (below), who has been reassigned

to Payatas, express their warm thank you’s

to Mina Tecson, the lady behind the event,

and all the donors for coming up with

a blockbuster Halloween party. Beside

Fr. Julio is Benz Guerrero, a member

of the Cottolengo Filipino Board of Trustees.

     Lastly, there was one expression of gratitude that put tears in my eyes. The boys from Cottolengo Filipino, namely Darwin, Gosen, Joey, John, Kenneth and Renan, did a simple interpretative dance of Nikki Gil’s touching song, “Glowing Inside.”

    

     Some of the words went "thank you for the love you give to me … I’m glowing inside with your love shining through …" and my heart simply melted as they tried to articulate such words through their hands and smiles. It may not be perfect but it was the most touching “thank you” I have ever witnessed.

 

A TOUCHING thank you from the boys of Cottolengo

Filipino. They include, from left, Gosen,

Kenneth, John, Renan, Darwin and Joey.

     

     In ending, I'd like to say that reuniting with my high school batchmates has really given me “Mother Teresa moments” even if I am nothing compared to this remarkable woman who has said “it’s not how much we give but how much love we put in giving.”

     And if I may add, my batchmates and I are truly blessed – we are among family and we are independent, as in we can think and move on our own. Well, okay there are some aches and pains and sometimes we forget this or that as a sign of not-so-young age. But I hope that through Cottolengo Filipino, we are able to substantiate our utmost gratitude for God’s grace by being a blessing to others.

MORE MEMORABLE moments with the kids, together

with Fr. Estefan (above), and (below) Mr. de Veyra,

Ms. Guerrero and the volunteers. Lydia

and I also had fun during these photo-ops.