For two Saturday mornings, April 18 and 25, the level 6-8 students of the CCD program engaged in another outreach activity. The beneficiary was the community of the TAHANAN OUTREACH PROJECTS AND SERVICES (TOPS), located in Sta. Ana Manila area where the children travelled to. TOPS is a pioneer organization dedicated in assisting street children, runaways, endangered and disadvantaged youth, with the main goal of preventing juvenile delinquency. The organization provides direct health, social work, educational, economic and crisis intervention services.
The CCD Outreach event last April jumpstarted the sponsorship of a weekly feeding program for 100 disadvantaged children between the ages of 5-10, for a duration of 6 consecutive months.
Fifty (50) CCD students were assigned on each Saturday of the designated outreach days. They were divided into four (4) groups: Food Preparation, Servers, Decor and Entertainment.
The décor group put up banners and tarpaulins, cleaned and set-up the venue, with all the energy and creativity they had. With great enthusiasm and a cheerful spirit, the food preparation group mixed the milk formulas, prepared ham and cheese sandwiches, hotdogs on sticks. They also helped in the preparation and cooking of pancit and spaghetti, by chopping the ingredients, sautéing, boiling the pasta, mixing, and packing them in Styrofoam containers. After the food preparation, servers eagerly served their wards or “alagas,” the food they themselves prepared, with joy in their hearts and a twinkle in their eyes. The entertainment group made sure to elicit from the children laughter and glee, with games and a simple program. We were heralded by the angelic voices of the childrens’ songs. The children of TOPS were also given ”loot bags” by the end of the activity to complete their fun-filled day. The CCD Committee led by Lia Te, Marivic Borromeo and Katty Qua supervised the event with the help of CCD teachers Aphro Abarquez (who served as host), Rachelle Wenger, Gabby Trinidad, Noel Amaya, Patrick Castaneda, Rolly Macabuag, Mimi David, Marga Gregorio, and our secretary, Leah Azarcon.
In this activity the CCD children somehow reflected Jesus’ attitude of servanthood as he manifested when he washed the feet of his disciples…for ”it is in giving that we receive,” as the prayer of St. Francis aptly states.
The CCD Outreach Programs throughout the year are mainly funded by our Light-A-Parol project, which is held every December. The main thrust of CCD for these outreach activities is to fulfill the “Faith In Action” aspect of its curriculum — to put into action Christian values and virtues taught to them in CCD. In this particular outreach, the children manifested virtues like humility, industriousness, cheerfulness, kindness, generosity and charity.
Santuario de San Antonio Parish 