Children’s Festival of RAFI goes to 4 towns in Cebu
1:10 AM
Vernon Joseph Go
Every October for the last three years, children from child-focused institutions in Metro Cebu look forward to a day of fun, learning, meeting new and old friends, and sharing their talents as they take part in the annual “Children's Festival”.
The Children’s Festival is organized by the Dolores Aboitiz Children's Fund (DACF) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) in celebration of the National Children's Month in October.
The Children's Festival offers an opportunity for indigent children to experience fully their childhood after they have been deprived to do so due to less favorable circumstances that force them to focus on surviving rather than living and playing.
This year, after holding the festive event for children in Metro Cebu last July, RAFI will bring the Children’s Festival to four towns in Cebu—San Francisco, Camotes Island; Pilar, Camotes Island; Oslob; and Barili—where a total of 2,000 children will experience the fun and learning brought by the event.
Anabelle Fajardo, DACF deputy executive director, said that the constant increase in the number of participants and sponsors for the last three runs of the Children’s Festival has inspired them to upscale this initiative by holding it twice this year—one in Metro Cebu and the other in the towns of Cebu Province—to accommodate more children and capacitate more partners to replicate the activity in their own communities.
“Bringing it to the municipalities outside Metro Cebu hopes to address the clamor of the partner organizations since there are no similar event organized for the less fortunate children offering them opportunities to enjoy, learn, and experience fully what it means to be a child,” Fajardo added.
The towns were chosen based on their response to childcare programs as well as their competencies under the expanded Green and Wholesome Environment that Nurtures Our Cebu Program, a joint development program of RAFI and the Cebu Provincial Government, which aims to make Cebu a livable place.
The Children's Festival in the towns shared the same goal with the same event held last July—to help less fortunate children cope with their different vulnerabilities in a healthy way and regain a positive self-concept in developing their full potentials.
Themed “Maayong Pamatasan, Bahandi sa Kabataan”, the festival is also designed to introduce values and characteristics through activities that promote leadership and citizenship, cultural preservation, integrated development and values education.
RAFI partnered with the towns’ local government units (LGUs) in spearheading the festival and have entrusted to the LGUs the selection of the children participants.
“Participants are pre-identified to ensure a systematic organization of the event and monitor that children from the depressed and far-flung communities of the towns are equally represented and given opportunity to participate,” Fajardo said.
With this year's Children's Festival in the towns being a pilot run, the event will cater to about 500 children aged 8 to 17 years old in each municipality.
The event features learning stations to educate the children on various topics relevant to their age group with special emphasis on character building. These stations include Hataw Kabataan Station (culture and heritage), Kabataan para sa Kalikasan at Kalusugan Station (integrated development), Kabataan para sa Bayan Station (leadership and citizenship), and Kabataan at Kagandahang-asal Station (values education).
Another feature of the Children’s Festival is the Celebration of Talents that serves as a venue for the children to bring out their talents and develop their self-confidence. Winners will be given gift certificates and provided with a learning visit to a mall and the opportunity to learn how to budget and buy with their gift certificates.
What started as an activity to launch the DACF has not only become an annual activity that vulnerable children in the city look forward to but will soon become a life-changing experience for children in the towns of Cebu as well.
The Children’s Festival was first initiated in October 2007 and participated by more than 400 children coming from 12 child-focused institutions. In 2008, the festival was participated by 620 children from 17 child-focused institutions. In 2009, the number of participants grew to 1,628 children from 17 child-focused institutions. Last July, more than 300 children from 21 child-focused institutions participated in the festive gathering.
The Children’s Festival is one of the programs under RAFI’s Integrated Development focus area, one of the five key areas in RAFI’s comprehensive approach to elevating lives and communities. Its other focus areas are Leadership & Citizenship, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, and Education.
For more information about the Children’s Festival, please contact 418-7234 loc. 510 and look for Belle Fajardo.
The Children’s Festival is organized by the Dolores Aboitiz Children's Fund (DACF) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) in celebration of the National Children's Month in October.
The Children's Festival offers an opportunity for indigent children to experience fully their childhood after they have been deprived to do so due to less favorable circumstances that force them to focus on surviving rather than living and playing.
This year, after holding the festive event for children in Metro Cebu last July, RAFI will bring the Children’s Festival to four towns in Cebu—San Francisco, Camotes Island; Pilar, Camotes Island; Oslob; and Barili—where a total of 2,000 children will experience the fun and learning brought by the event.
Anabelle Fajardo, DACF deputy executive director, said that the constant increase in the number of participants and sponsors for the last three runs of the Children’s Festival has inspired them to upscale this initiative by holding it twice this year—one in Metro Cebu and the other in the towns of Cebu Province—to accommodate more children and capacitate more partners to replicate the activity in their own communities.
“Bringing it to the municipalities outside Metro Cebu hopes to address the clamor of the partner organizations since there are no similar event organized for the less fortunate children offering them opportunities to enjoy, learn, and experience fully what it means to be a child,” Fajardo added.
The towns were chosen based on their response to childcare programs as well as their competencies under the expanded Green and Wholesome Environment that Nurtures Our Cebu Program, a joint development program of RAFI and the Cebu Provincial Government, which aims to make Cebu a livable place.
The Children's Festival in the towns shared the same goal with the same event held last July—to help less fortunate children cope with their different vulnerabilities in a healthy way and regain a positive self-concept in developing their full potentials.
Themed “Maayong Pamatasan, Bahandi sa Kabataan”, the festival is also designed to introduce values and characteristics through activities that promote leadership and citizenship, cultural preservation, integrated development and values education.
RAFI partnered with the towns’ local government units (LGUs) in spearheading the festival and have entrusted to the LGUs the selection of the children participants.
“Participants are pre-identified to ensure a systematic organization of the event and monitor that children from the depressed and far-flung communities of the towns are equally represented and given opportunity to participate,” Fajardo said.
With this year's Children's Festival in the towns being a pilot run, the event will cater to about 500 children aged 8 to 17 years old in each municipality.
The event features learning stations to educate the children on various topics relevant to their age group with special emphasis on character building. These stations include Hataw Kabataan Station (culture and heritage), Kabataan para sa Kalikasan at Kalusugan Station (integrated development), Kabataan para sa Bayan Station (leadership and citizenship), and Kabataan at Kagandahang-asal Station (values education).
Another feature of the Children’s Festival is the Celebration of Talents that serves as a venue for the children to bring out their talents and develop their self-confidence. Winners will be given gift certificates and provided with a learning visit to a mall and the opportunity to learn how to budget and buy with their gift certificates.
What started as an activity to launch the DACF has not only become an annual activity that vulnerable children in the city look forward to but will soon become a life-changing experience for children in the towns of Cebu as well.
The Children’s Festival was first initiated in October 2007 and participated by more than 400 children coming from 12 child-focused institutions. In 2008, the festival was participated by 620 children from 17 child-focused institutions. In 2009, the number of participants grew to 1,628 children from 17 child-focused institutions. Last July, more than 300 children from 21 child-focused institutions participated in the festive gathering.
The Children’s Festival is one of the programs under RAFI’s Integrated Development focus area, one of the five key areas in RAFI’s comprehensive approach to elevating lives and communities. Its other focus areas are Leadership & Citizenship, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, and Education.
For more information about the Children’s Festival, please contact 418-7234 loc. 510 and look for Belle Fajardo.
