The boxes have made it to Project Pearls!

Good news! The three boxes we sent to the Philippines have now been delivered to Project Pearls! We hope that the clothing, footwear, toys, and books we have sent will be of use to the kids at Ulingan.

Photos courtesy of Kuya Juan Villa

We are still soliciting for funds to sponsor an Ulingan child to school.  Find out more

Wikalympics

The latest BarkadahaNZ activity was a celebration of the Filipino language as it coincided with Buwan ng Wika (which falls in August), with the rather witty event name by Tita Cory in conjunction with the  recent Olympics and Paralympics in London.

The kids were divided into two groups for an afternoon of fun competition.  The games were composed of:

• Tula (poem) - an individual event. The Unders 8s were given a simpler poem to read, while the older kids were given a more challenging piece.
• Kanta (song) - group event, with two songs involved ("Kung Ikaw ay Masaya" and "Leron Leron Sinta")
• Tongue Twister - The Under 8's were given a simpler tongue twister, and the older kids tackled a more difficult rhyme.

Balagtasan

August is "Buwan ng Wika" (Language Month) in the Philippines.  It is a month-long celebration of the Filipino language.  The first thing that comes to mind when this month arrives is the Balagtasan, which is a form of debate with two sides of a topic being contested.  However, rather than just being a battle of wits, it is also an art form by itself as the delivery is similar with reading a poem with the presentors wearing a local costume, which is usually the barong for the boys and the baro't saya for the girls.



The word "Balagtasan" comes from the name of Francisco Balagtas, a famous Filipino poet in the 1800s. His work, Florante at Laura, is a topic of discussion in the Filipino subject in high school.

BarkadahaNZ will be coming up with some activities to coincide with Buwan ng Wika, albeit a bit belated.  Understandably there won't be a Balagtasan, nonetheless we will have activities for the kids that will enable them to practice using Filipino.  The target date is in the afternoon of Sunday, 9 September at the Johnsonville area.  Contact us if you would like to join the group and share in this activity.  Free to join.