End-of-year Camping

The final activity of BarkadahaNZ for 2012 is family camping scheduled for 27-29th December at El Rancho in Waikanae. Aside from the opportunity of enjoying each other's company, it was also the perfect opportunity to update the group on what had transpired for the year, and what the future held for the group.

The kids and grown-ups alike enjoyed the company and the facilities. Thank you El Rancho!

Here are a few photos from the event:

We wish everyone a meaningful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2013, from the BarkadahaNZ family!

Christmas Carolling 2012

BarkadahaNZ have been busy this joyful month of December.  After the 'Merienda' project which was unexpectedly popular, we now have our 3 nights of Christmas carolling.  This was supposedly not going to push through, but some of the parents got into the Christmas spirit and planned on a couple of carolling practise sessions and decided to push through with it even if only a couple of kids come on board.  And what a surprise we have!  More than a dozen kids joined in, and we're fully booked!  Today is the last day of Carolling, and both the kids and the grown-ups are having a blast.

Merienda Time, part 2!

Proceeds to benefit BarkadahaNZ's projects and activities. To order, please visit our Facebook Group or contact Tita Cory or Tita Tina, details in the poster. Salamat po!

Christmas carolling practise songs

Bonifacio 2013

The Philippine nation begins a year-long commemoration of the life, works, and achievements of Andres Bonifacio culminating in the sesquicentennial of his birth on November 30, 2013.

Spearheaded by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines with the support of the uniformed services, cultural agencies, local government units, and non-government organizations, numerous activities, publications, and events are lined up for Filipinos to remember and celebrate Bonifacio, Supremo of the Katipunan and one of the most enduring and admired figures in our pantheon of heroes.

Visit the Andres Bonifacio Sesquicentennial website to learn more

Order today! :-)

Please click on the above photo to view the bigger image.  To order, please leave a comment with your email address so we can contact you for delivery/pick up details. Salamat po!

BarkadahaNZ goes to Ulingan

On 23 September 2012, BarkadahaNZ visited Ulingan in Tondo, as ably represented by the Gawe family.  They are currently in the Philippines for vacation, and they alloted some time to visit the kids in Ulingan.

Tita Cory wrote in the Facebook group:

I have a lot to share after our visit to the Ulingan community yesterday morning but I am just too emotional right now. But i am also feeling very inspired and motivated and most of all humbled. It was quite life changing and Nicole and Matthew will probably feel this most. There is a lot to share but I will contend myself with photos for now and to tell you that what we are doing and what we want to be doing as Barkadahanz for Ulingan is as life changing to them as it is to us. We are so proud of Barkadahanz!

Thank you Tita Cory for sharing!

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.

Please help send me to school

From 18 August to 17 September 2012, BarkadahaNZ is fundraising to sponsor some kids at Ulingan in Tondo, the Philippines, to school.  Part of the funds will also help subsidize the cost of shipping boxes containing clothing, books and toys for the kids.

Please help in this worthy cause.

Donate by electronic banking to:
ASB Account No. 12 3223 0160240 50
Reference: ULINGAN
Code: your surname 

For further inquiries, please contact:
Cory Gawe (04 4774251 / 0210 296 9846), or
Nick or Tina Ballesteros (04 477 4069) 

We are also accepting good quality clothing, books and toys for the kids the rest of the year.

Proceeds will be coursed through Project Pearls.

Maraming salamat po.

Mini Olympics

What to do when the sun is out at winter time, when we rarely see such a glorious day as this?  Hold a mini-Olympics!  Tito Ricky and Tita Pinkee decided to ring up the group and have a notice posted at the Facebook group so we can have a get-together this afternoon.  Short notice, yes, but sometimes it's the unplanned activities that turn out successful, such as this one!

Photos from today's activity:

The boxes are off to the Philippines!

We were given a good opportunity to send the boxes to the Philippines at a good price.  There was one hitch: it needed to be ready by Wednesday, and it was already Monday.

The box was nearly full, we were confident it can be done.  But two boxes?  In two days' time?

Tita Cory and Tita Tina took the reins and began calling up friends while the message calling for donations were posted here and on Facebook.

Nearly there!

Thank you very much to all families who have supported the Ulingan project.  It is as much your project as it is ours.

The balikbayan box is nearly full... nearly ready to go!

We are aiming to send the box tonight, so if you have some items to donate for the kids, please see how you can help.  We are also accepting monetary donation.

A number of stuffed toys have made their way into the box.  We're sure the kids will love them!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Kathleen's family and Russell's family for their donations.

Clothing for Ulingan

Thanks Meya and Ponsi for the clothing you have donated for the Ulingan kids!

We are currently accepting toys, clothes, school supplies, and books, as well as monetary donation.  Find out how you can help.

Goodies for the Ulingan kids

Thank you, Riona and Neeca, for giving your pre-loved clothing, books and toys for the kids at Ulingan! I'm sure they will love hugging the stuffed toys, reading the books, and wearing nice clothes!

The Ulingan Project is ongoing. Your support is needed, be it in kind or by donating. Learn more about this project.

Salamat po!

Fundraising for Kids at Ulingan

Do you have good quality kids' stuff you no longer need?

Please consider donating these items for the kids at Ulingan.

We are trying to collect items which we can send to the kids (in behalf of Project Pearls) in time for Christmas:

• toys (not battery operated please) 
• children’s books (pages/cover intact, no scribbles) 
• clean clothing (suitable for Manila climate)

Ulingan is a slum community in Tondo, Manila (the Philippines) where families eke out a living by making charcoal from discarded bits of wood and selling bits of scrap metal. Project Pearls, a not-for-profit organisation, is helping the kids by providing basic necessities and education. But there is still much to be done. For more information please visit www.projectpearls.org.

Drop-off point is at 163A Broderick Road, Johnsonville, Wellington
(Nick & Tina Ballesteros – 04 477 4069)

Another way to help is by donation. We are raising funds to send these items to Manila. Money left over will go to Project Pearls’ scholarship programme. Any amount will surely help.

Please donate by electronic banking to:
ASB Account No. 12 3223 0160240 50
Reference: ULINGAN
Code: your surname

For further inquiries, please contact:
Cory Gawe (04 4774251 / 0210 296 9846), or
Nick or Tina Ballesteros (04 477 4069)

In behalf of the kids at Ulingan, maraming salamat po.

(all photos by Project Pearls)

Term 2 2012 Holiday Programme

It was a fun day with the BarkadahaNZ kids who joined the 1 Day School Holiday programme.

Thank you for letting your kids join and to Tita Tina and Tita Weng for helping out. The kids had a go at craft making using recycled materials. The boys cooked adobo and pancit for everyone.

The younger ones made polvoron and yema. It was not part of the plan but during their free hour the kids formed a band-Filipino ingenuity at its best, always thinking outside the box. We were impressed!

114th Philippine Independence Day activity

(The National Historical Commission of the Philippines and Rock Ed Radio present this fully animated music video of the Philippine National Anthem. ARNOLD ARRE directed and animated. RADIOACTIVE SAGO PROJECT performs)

On the occasion of the Philippines' 114th Independence Day, BarkadahaNZ chose an activity that is more inclined towards thinking and sharing our ideas about what independence and freedom means for us.

Tara na't maglaro! (let's go and play!)

For this activity, we thought about sharing with our kids the games that we played in our day. Indeed, the kids of today have so much more that compete for their attention, mostly of the electronic kind. And it's not so different in the Philippines as it is here. It is just sad to think that today's generation might be missing out on the great games that occupied us on many weekends and summer breaks. It was loads of fun, it encouraged interaction, enabled us to soak in the sunshine, and was convenient form of exercise!

The weather did not cooperate unfortunately, so we held the activity in an indoor venue. We started it off with the popular Tumbang Preso, a game which required a medium-sixed can, a pair of slippers per kid, and any number of players. Here is a short video explaining how the game is played:

The rules were quite easy to follow and soon the kids got the gist of it.