Celebrating Axel's First Birthday with the Kids of Bahay San Rafael
A milestone is defined as "an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development." Determining a milestone depends if that change is major enough to be celebrated. At that point, one can say that a great achievement has been made, just enough to move forward to the next step. Whether that stage can be considered as a major change or not depends on the person/s in that journey.
My small family of three have just reached a milestone when my son turned one year old. It's unbelievable how fast time had passed. But a baby's first birthday celebration is definitely a significant development that deserves a huge celebration.
My small family of three have just reached a milestone when my son turned one year old. It's unbelievable how fast time had passed. But a baby's first birthday celebration is definitely a significant development that deserves a huge celebration.
How our plan came about
It was never our intention to throw a party for our son's first birthday. We never considered it since personally, my husband and I were never much into parties. We had agreed to spend our baby's first birthday differently and in our own way. We can let him decide to have his party when he's a bit older, probably around 7 years old (This is just because of the notion that kids these days are having some sort of grand birthday celebration at this age). In addition to this, the 14th of April 2017 fell on the Holy Week, specifically on Good Friday which meant we cannot go for something too extravagant.One thing we were certain was that we wanted to share our blessings to children who are in need. Somehow, we knew it would be something that our son would appreciate that he knew he did on his first birthday. At a young age, hopefully, he'll understand the important meaning of sharing.
Initially, I wanted to visit young cancer patients and do some sort of a mini outreach. I have family members and friends who are cancer survivors that is why helping them hits home for us. However, there was this concern of possibly exposing these cancer patients to whatever sickness we may bring to them AND risking my son by bringing him to a hospital. I did try to contact Philippine General Hospital's Cancer Institute but I was just too busy to keep contacting the contact person who was not really responding to my text messages and was also not answering my calls.
Eventually, my mom suggested to visit Bishop Ted Buhain's orphanage for special children located at the San Ricardo Pampuri Center in Amadeo, Cavite. This solidified our plan to spend our Holy Week in Tagaytay which turned out to be a good decision since it was also an escape from the summer heat. Communication and agreement on our visit was easily established with the help of my mom even if it was already a bit of a late notice.
Visiting the Orphanage
Going to Bahay San Rafael Orphanage was the first in our agenda on the actual day of his birthday. In preparation for our visit, we bought some basic needs for the kids such as towels, towelettes, briefs, shirts and some toiletries. We also added some art materials such as pencils, sketch pads and crayons. They were all placed and segregated in canvas bags, ready to be given individually to the nine boys in the orphanage. For the food, we brought Jollibee spaghetti and burger steak since we needed something easy to chew for some of the kids. We also brought a cake which Axel can blow figuratively (he can't blow the candle yet haha!). And we cannot believe we forgot about the drinks!
When we have arrived there, we found out that our contact person was not there. The guard directed us to the orphanage home and advised that there were other brothers who can assist us.
Upon reaching the actual venue, there were about three children who spotted us. They were friendly and accommodating, immediately leading us to a spot where we can bring our stuff. It was as if they were expecting us which was not surprising since we have informed ahead of time that we have announced ahead of time of our visit.
Bahay San Rafael has a very homey feel with trees and different kinds of plants surrounding the house. It is the kind of place you would feel secure, definitely a safe haven for special children who no longer live with their parents.
We started setting the stuff we brought on the table while my mom parked our van. I did not know how to act at first but Joseph, one of the kids was already assisting us to settle down. Another one started calling the other kids from the house.
Johnny, the oldest in terms of the length of stay in the orphanage happened to be a schoolmate of Mark, a family friend of ours who came with us. Having them chat somehow broke the ice. Mark was the one who started asking around about the kids and I would have follow up questions.
Having Axel as a natural entertainer also helped. Somehow, he warmed up easily with the kids. One of them started playing with him and he just went along. They liked having him there.
One by one, the other children started coming out from the house except for one who we were told was having tantrums. But there was no brother yet to assist us and my mom was still looking for them. However, the kids knew their way around and turned out that they take care of each other. Some of them do look like ordinary children while some have visible disabilities. What I have observed from them was that whatever the others lack are filled with the more capable ones. I could not help admire these children for their own selflessness.
When my mom finally returned with Brother Roger, we opted to do the usual blowing of cake for the birthday boy. Well, Axel could not do the actual blowing yet, Joseph did it for him. He was the same kid who first approached Axel and even carried him. My baby was at ease with him which was very heartwarming.
At some point, I had to excuse myself since Axel was already sleepy and wanted to nurse. We situated ourselves on the swing nearby the venue where the kids were. When he fell asleep, I left him with his papa and went back to the celebration.
Most of the kids were already eating their burger steak and spaghetti at that time. Some of them though could not eat on their own so the other kids needed to finish first in order for them to help those who need helping. At that point, I think we were lost of we could come and assist as well. We were still a bit unsure on how to move and interact with some of them.
My mom appeared to be warming up with the kids. One of them spotted the sketch pad in our DIY loot bags and got excited. We instantly handed over the bags to them as three kids settled down to the tables to start drawing.
Unfortunately, we forgot to include sharpeners so we had to ask the help of one of the brothers to sharpen the pencils with the knife used for cutting the cake. My mom tried it out sharpening as well since one of the kids wanted to use a pencil as well instead of the crayon. She seemed to have enjoyed doing it for them.
The mood had definitely lightened up and we started joking around as well. It was getting easier to make conversations with the kids and the initial fear we had slowly subsided.
While some of the kids got busy with drawing, Emman, one of the active ones even showcased his talent with his singing prowess. My mom truly enjoyed taking a video of him singing and even sharing photos and videos with them.
While the rest of us enjoyed mingling, I could not help but be amazed by Brother Roger, one of the brothers who was feeding one of the kids with no arms and legs. He had been patiently doing it for quite some time.
Johnny also started sharing another talent of Emman. Apparently, he could make a bag out of straw. Johnny encouraged him to show and sell his bag to us.
His handiwork impressed me of course, I did not hesitate to buy the bag. We will take it as a souvenir from our visit. We were also asking him where he plans to spend the money and they were joking about buying Starbucks (it was only P50 though but we're pretty sure it's so much more for these kids). My mom and I convinced him to save it or to use it for creating more bags which he can sell.
The three kids namely, Joseph, Jeff and Dino who were into the sketch pads still kept on drawing. My mom and I could not help pat our backs for making the right decision of going for the sketch pad instead of the coloring book. It definitely made them express their creativity more.
Joseph, who had been one of the more eager kids had even drawn for us which he gifted as our take home. He even made Axel a birthday and we were extremely touched. It was one of the most special birthday gifts he could ever receive.
Here are some of Joseph's drawing which he gave us. I would have to find a way to preserve and keep them so that my baby would still be able to look back at them when he grows up.
Throughout the remaining duration of our stay, we just listened to the stories of these kids. Johnny was one of the oldest kids there in terms of age and length of stay at the orphanage. He told us how some of the kids came about to where they were now. Sadly, one of the kids just recently passed away according to Brother Roger.
Our objective that day was to share and hopefully, be a blessing to others. By simply spending a bit of our time with them, somehow, we got to brighten up their day. But it felt like we ended up gaining more than what little we were able to give.
Sharing something, no matter how small or big to someone else is never one way. We were reminded then and there that when you share something good, you unintentionally get something better back in return. These children may never know it but we have achieved something from them that cannot be bought by any monetary amount. We left the place with our hearts full and our souls nourished.
Thank you, San Ricardo Pampuri Center and Bahay San Rafael for welcoming us! 💓
When we have arrived there, we found out that our contact person was not there. The guard directed us to the orphanage home and advised that there were other brothers who can assist us.
Upon reaching the actual venue, there were about three children who spotted us. They were friendly and accommodating, immediately leading us to a spot where we can bring our stuff. It was as if they were expecting us which was not surprising since we have informed ahead of time that we have announced ahead of time of our visit.
 |
| The road going to Bahay San Rafael Orphanage |
Bahay San Rafael has a very homey feel with trees and different kinds of plants surrounding the house. It is the kind of place you would feel secure, definitely a safe haven for special children who no longer live with their parents.
 |
| Vision, Mission, Goal and Ethos of Bahay San Rafael Orphanage |
We started setting the stuff we brought on the table while my mom parked our van. I did not know how to act at first but Joseph, one of the kids was already assisting us to settle down. Another one started calling the other kids from the house.
 |
| Give away loot bags and food for the children |
Johnny, the oldest in terms of the length of stay in the orphanage happened to be a schoolmate of Mark, a family friend of ours who came with us. Having them chat somehow broke the ice. Mark was the one who started asking around about the kids and I would have follow up questions.
Having Axel as a natural entertainer also helped. Somehow, he warmed up easily with the kids. One of them started playing with him and he just went along. They liked having him there.
 |
| Axel with his papa and his new friend, Emman |
 |
| Group photo with the kids of Bahay ng San Rafael Orphanage |
When my mom finally returned with Brother Roger, we opted to do the usual blowing of cake for the birthday boy. Well, Axel could not do the actual blowing yet, Joseph did it for him. He was the same kid who first approached Axel and even carried him. My baby was at ease with him which was very heartwarming.
 |
| Happy Birthday, Axel! |
 |
| Joseph and Brother Roger playing with Axel |
At some point, I had to excuse myself since Axel was already sleepy and wanted to nurse. We situated ourselves on the swing nearby the venue where the kids were. When he fell asleep, I left him with his papa and went back to the celebration.
 |
| Axel's nap time with his papa |
Most of the kids were already eating their burger steak and spaghetti at that time. Some of them though could not eat on their own so the other kids needed to finish first in order for them to help those who need helping. At that point, I think we were lost of we could come and assist as well. We were still a bit unsure on how to move and interact with some of them.
My mom appeared to be warming up with the kids. One of them spotted the sketch pad in our DIY loot bags and got excited. We instantly handed over the bags to them as three kids settled down to the tables to start drawing.
Unfortunately, we forgot to include sharpeners so we had to ask the help of one of the brothers to sharpen the pencils with the knife used for cutting the cake. My mom tried it out sharpening as well since one of the kids wanted to use a pencil as well instead of the crayon. She seemed to have enjoyed doing it for them.
The mood had definitely lightened up and we started joking around as well. It was getting easier to make conversations with the kids and the initial fear we had slowly subsided.
 |
| My mom just formed a bond with Jeff! |
While some of the kids got busy with drawing, Emman, one of the active ones even showcased his talent with his singing prowess. My mom truly enjoyed taking a video of him singing and even sharing photos and videos with them.
While the rest of us enjoyed mingling, I could not help but be amazed by Brother Roger, one of the brothers who was feeding one of the kids with no arms and legs. He had been patiently doing it for quite some time.
Johnny also started sharing another talent of Emman. Apparently, he could make a bag out of straw. Johnny encouraged him to show and sell his bag to us.
 |
| Emman's handmade bag made of straw |
His handiwork impressed me of course, I did not hesitate to buy the bag. We will take it as a souvenir from our visit. We were also asking him where he plans to spend the money and they were joking about buying Starbucks (it was only P50 though but we're pretty sure it's so much more for these kids). My mom and I convinced him to save it or to use it for creating more bags which he can sell.
The three kids namely, Joseph, Jeff and Dino who were into the sketch pads still kept on drawing. My mom and I could not help pat our backs for making the right decision of going for the sketch pad instead of the coloring book. It definitely made them express their creativity more.
 |
| Dino found something peaceful in drawing |
 |
| Jeff showing off his work to my mom and Joseph still busy with his masterpiece |
Joseph, who had been one of the more eager kids had even drawn for us which he gifted as our take home. He even made Axel a birthday and we were extremely touched. It was one of the most special birthday gifts he could ever receive.
 |
| The sweet Birthday card from Joseph |
Here are some of Joseph's drawing which he gave us. I would have to find a way to preserve and keep them so that my baby would still be able to look back at them when he grows up.
We also have a photo of Jeff's drawing. According to one of the brothers (there were two of them who assisted us but we forgot the other brother's name 🙁), it was his first time to draw something with an actual image. We'd like to think it's a good sign of his development.
Departing the kids not empty handed
We stayed with them there until passt twelve noon and eventually said our goodbye's. But we did promise to come back and visit them again which we plan to do when we have the chance.Our objective that day was to share and hopefully, be a blessing to others. By simply spending a bit of our time with them, somehow, we got to brighten up their day. But it felt like we ended up gaining more than what little we were able to give.
Sharing something, no matter how small or big to someone else is never one way. We were reminded then and there that when you share something good, you unintentionally get something better back in return. These children may never know it but we have achieved something from them that cannot be bought by any monetary amount. We left the place with our hearts full and our souls nourished.
Thank you, San Ricardo Pampuri Center and Bahay San Rafael for welcoming us! 💓
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