From magic shows to song and dance presentations, Lapu-Lapu City’s indigent children had a ball at their annual Christmas party at the Hoops Dome. (Taken from Lapu-Lapu City Hall’s Facebook page)
Having been abandoned at birth, there is little wonder why 20-year-old Paul Niño Alvez chose to care for abandoned children.
For a decade now Alvez spent Christmas parties with children at Lapu-Lapu City Hall’s Homecare for Children Center where he used to stay after his father died and his mother abandoned him due to poverty.
At 18 years old, Alvez looked and found his mother, who regretted her decision and wanted him to come home.
But Alvez decided to stay in the center and pursued a vocational course specializing in welding.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza joins 5,000 indigent children (center and right) during their Christmas party at the Hoops Dome. ?Photo by Norman Mendoza
“Sige ko huna-huna didto sa balay sa akong mama nganong gibiyaan ko niya, makahuna-huna lang ko og dautan (I always thought at my mother’s home why my mother abandoned me, but my thoughts will only lead me to something bad),” Alvez said.
Now Alvez is working at the center as part of his Alternative Learning System and looks forward to pursuing further studies.
In the meantime, he said, he enjoys spending Christmas parties with the children at the Homecare center, some of whom were victims of violence and harassment or were children in conflict with the law.
About 100 of these children joined 5,000 indigent children from 30 barangays in Lapu-Lapu City for an early Christmas party hosted yesterday by the City Social Welfare and Development Office at the Hoops Dome.
The children were entertained with magic and acrobat shows and parlor games and took part in song and dance presentations.
They were later treated to lunch and received toys and gifts from Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials.
In a speech, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said she will hold another Christmas party for the children at the Homecare for Children Center sometime this month.