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.