Last December 20, FoodPandaPH organized a Merry Panda event at Bahay Maria Orphanage in Makati.
When Mickey of The Food Crawlers invited me to this charity event, I thought I wouldn't be able to make it due to work. But God scheduled three events for me that day (two of which were food-related), so I decided to just take the day off, eat, take photos, and help out. Besides, it had been my birthday the day before, and I've been wanting to do something like this, so I figured, why not join Food Panda's event instead?
Bahay Maria is a shelter that provides a home for children who have either been abandoned or surrendered by their families. During our visit, there were around twenty kids there, but we were told that there are actually over fifty of them, the others were just staying with foster homes for the holidays.
On one hand, it was really nice to have been able to spend time, talk, and laugh with them, but on the other hand, it's sad when you realize that the older ones don't really care anymore, because they already know you're only here for a day and that they'll never ever see you again. They're so used to seeing people come and go; people who do charity events and outreach programs once every year and that's that.
It was really the clowns who did all the work that evening. They interacted so well with the kids; they played games, danced, and of course, did magic tricks. Even we were entertained!
At the end of the night, the kids performed a couple of songs for us. To be honest, I felt very sad and even got teary-eyed watching them. It's not because I felt bad for them (well yes, partly because they don't have families), but they were being taken cared of here and in fact, I've seen how responsible these kids are becoming. They know how to clean up after themselves, they shared, pulled up their own chairs, etc.
But really, what made me sad is how these kids have very little but they still find a way to be happy, while other people (me included) have a lot, but take so much for granted. We can really learn a thing or two from these kids. Thank you for opening your doors and letting us spend time with you last Christmas.
Bahay Maria is located at 95 Amapola Street, Bel Air 3, Makati City.
