Sentinel Times columnist and news contributor John Bello (3rd from right, in jacket), Lyndon Gonzalez (2nd from right), Hermelita Ranque ...
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| Sentinel Times columnist and news contributor John Bello (3rd from right, in jacket), Lyndon Gonzalez (2nd from right), Hermelita Ranque (right) and Howell Sabularse (in red, 5th from right) pose for souvenir photo with some winners of the raffle prizes. (JOHN BELLO) |
LUCENA CITY – Fanah Robles, on important occasions such as her birthday, veers away from the usual birthday party celebration with family and friends and instead opts to do it with children from a depressed community.
Last Dec. 28, she did it to hold a christmas party for the children of the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village in Purok Atis 1, Bgy. Mayao Crossing.
Robles, a city government employee detailed at the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, enlisted the support and magnanimous spirit of her 2 high school batchmates, Howell Sabularse and Hermelita Ranque to bond and give christmas cheer to the kids and their parents.
Sabularse is teaching at Interglobal College Foundation Inc. while Ranque teaches at Mayao Crossing National High School.
“Gusto ko sila pasayahin. Sabi ko kasi after my operation, yun yung give back ko kay Lord kasi second life ko na po ito. WaLa lang, gusto ko lang po share,” Robles said in her Facebook message 2 days before her plan of hosting a Christmas party for the kids in the GK village.
Robles, who was operated on for an ovarian cyst last Oct. 31, disclosed that she helped during the construction phase of the GK village as a Youth for Christ participant. When pressed for other details of her community engagement, she declined.
“Nahihiya talaga ako, kuya, at ito naman ay yearly ko ginagawa at hindi ko po kasi ina-announce,” she texted this writer whom she had asked if he could chip in to help and solicit for Christmas goodies and raffle prizes for the kids.
This writer asked a media colleague, Lyndon Gonzalez to help and together we brought to the venue some 10 gift packs for raffle prizes generously provided by Mr. Webster Letargo, chief of staff to Gov. David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez.
Robles, Sabularse and Ranque also solicited for prizes to be given away along with those contributed by the village residents themselves.
At the multipurpose hall of the Gawad Kalinga Village on Thursday, over a hundred kids and adults gathered, laughed, danced, played and whooped it up at the various parlor games hosted by Robles, Sabularse and Ranque.
This writer and Gonzalez were asked to draw the names from a receptacle for the winners of the raffle prizes which were given after every games. Young participants excitedly gathered around Robles who kept moving around and throwing various coins, candies and goodies while Sabularse acted as master of ceremony and Ranque with some parent-volunteers kept the flow of the games going and in order.
Later, party foods were shared and eaten together by all the participants after the games, raffle prizes and gift-giving were done.
About 80 families occupied Gawad Kalinga Village in Purok Atis 1 whose houses were built thru donations and self-help efforts or bayanihan of the residents.
Allan Palmes, 49, a pedicab driver plying the routes of Ibaba-Ilaya Fishing Port in Bgy. Dalahican, said most of his fellow residents here are trike drivers, carpenters, dried fish vendors, and store keepers who started building their houses in 2006 and 2007.
He said that Robles has twice held her birthday celebration in their village with the kids.
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