Articles

Visitors

New Year has only just begon, but we’ve had already a lot of visitors. First Jan Oosterhof, who gave a course First Aid for the third time now. The course was for children and staff en we’ve learned a lot about wound bandage, mouth to mouth resuscitation and cardiac massage. After the course everybody received a certificate. Jan, thank you so much. It was nice to have you here at Bahay Aurora and we hope you’ll come back often.

Then Edna and her husband en children visited us for 2 days. They planned activities for het children from early in the morning till late at night. The karaoke was a success, the children liked it very much.

Also Marvin came along. He lived with us for many years. He brought biscuits for the children. He works for the Minister of Justice in Quezon City now and is happy. Marvin is doing fine and that is great to experience.

Physical Fitness

When most adults think about exercise, they imagine working out in the gym on a treadmill or lifting weights.
But for kids at Bahay Aurora, exercise simply means playing and being physically active.
Kids do exercise when they play baskeball and other sports,running,relays,riding bicycle or when playing tag like a traditional games like luksong tinik,patintero and other kinds of activities.
Every afternoon,children gathered together with staffs and volunteers and Mrs.Arleen Smidstra lead in the daily exercise. She once again promote and introduced the good benefits of exercise to our health aside from eating healthy food.

This Physical health education builds childrens knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes about health. It also teaches about physical, mental,
emotional and social health. It motivates kids to improve and maintain their health, prevent disease, and reduce risky behaviors.

This kind of challenge is to help children de ¬velop active, positive lifestyles. In ¬tegrating knowledge and activity will help convince children that exercise is important to their well-being and increase the chance that physical activity will be ¬come a permanent part of their daily lives.
Once children begin to regularly incorporate fitness into their experience, they are more likely to modify other health factors to complement their healthy lifestyles. Besides enjoying the health benefits of regular exercise, kids who are physically fit sleep better and are better able to handle physical and
emotional challenges. Exercise and Physical

Fitness is more fun at Bahay Aurora

Champion Merlie

Champion Merlie

Track and field is a sport which combines various athletic contests based on their skills, particularly running. This includes sprints, middle and long-distance events, and hurdling.

Merlie, one of the kids in Bahay Aurora and as a representative of their school and of Morong Rizal won on the said sports competition held in Marikina Sports Center last November 3-7, 2014. Merlie together with her competitors were gathered on the said place to practice and compete for a week. She got 2 first place on that competition, one is on 1500 meter-run and the other one was 800 meter-run, and by that she received 2 gold medals that makes her happy.

After the event, as she arrives at the Bahay Aurora, kids were gathered at the porch to greet her and to have some little celebration. By winning on the said competition, her schoolmates and as well as the kids in Bahay Aurora were so proud of her.

We hope that in the future, Merlie will be one of those greatest athletes on that said sport and all kids will reach their goals in life to become a successful person as they will grow old and not to forget where they came from.

Staff Attends A Seminar

Every year, we at Bahay Aurora, make sure that the staff will undergo seminar or training. It aims to enhance the skills and knowledge of the staff in handling children for a better service. It also helps the staff to have network with other agencies with the same services, wherein the staff were able to share experiences and will able to realize that not only them were having problem especially with those difficult children. Eight staff members from Bahay Aurora attended the seminar for Child Care Workers in celebration of the Children’s Month at Ynares Center Multi-purpose Hall in Antipolo City which was attended by one hundred twenty (120) participants, the event focuses on the Child Protection Policies that touches the survival, protection and development. Child Protection Policies was discussed by a representative from Child Right Center, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines.

Early childhood care and development was also discussed and followed by question from the participants.
With this, we can ensure that as a team, we can work hand and hand for the welfare of our children.

Disaster Awareness

Philippines, has 2 season, the dry season which starts in December until May and the wet season at the month of June until November. Depends in the season, how high or low its ability can affect the country that also causes and ended into disasters.
Last week 10 kids and 4 staff-members prepared early to depart to Manila .We arrived very early in the venue and we are the first agency that came in that place as an early birds. When the organizers came, our kids initiated and helped them in putting the chairs and tables.

The program started with a prayer together with inspirational dance number from CRIBS. All kids were randomly grouped so that they can make friends with some other kids from the other agencies and they are guided by the social workers and staffs. Volunteers gave a meaningful message to the kids. Then it followed by the Disaster team that discussed about each types of disaster which are the fire, typhoon, flood and earthquake. They also gave an educational puppet show about these disasters to gain more knowledge and give them helpful tips and information to keep them safe. The drill was practiced outside example is earthquake. They were given also a question and answer regarding to each topic whoever will answer can take home a gift prize.

In the afternoon, the kids played games. Each group presented their own cheers .Their talents in composing song and dance steps came out and they shared it with their co-members and preformed it with confidence and as they knew each other before.

Bahay Aurora kids took many awards and prizes and the smile leave it at their faces after meeting and building new friendship with some other kids.
The kids enjoyed at the same time they improved their readiness, awareness, most importantly they learned a lot on how to deal and how to keep them safe during this time of calamities.

Typhoon Mario can’t break us:

Since PAG-ASA said that it’ll come on Saturday or Sunday, as much as we loved to be at the office on time or as early before our scheduled time, this typhoon caused us some troubles, this is due to flood at some a areas in Rizal where we used to be our ways for us to be at the office. We rented a tricycle from our home up until Bahay Aurora taking other long ways and turns for us just to be at the office, the only thing that comes to our mind onour way there is to be at the office and not to be absent and took care of the children since the weather is not that good. Angel our maintenance had to swim a long track to be able to leave his house and come to work. He was needed because the generator needed to be started since there was no electric. After hours he arrived, fixed the generator and we had electric again. In the night it is too hard to be without. Candles are dangerous so we are thankful he helped us out. (he will be a good candidate for a triathlon !) As we arrived at the office we(staff), the children and also the OJTs helped each other to prepare since the weather is getting worst, we fetch water for drink, candles, flash lights and other necessities, put all clean clothes of the children and other important things at a higher place since we don’t know if the flood will rise up or if it’ll be high again like the past typhoon Ondoy, we are thinking that there’s nothing wrong of being prepared at all times rather than risking all things up and also thinks about the safety.
After we prepared, we gathered all our children from Bahay Aurora since that classes are all suspended we decided to have a movie but unfortunately when all are set, electricity got disconnected so we need to think of other ways for them not to be bored, so we encouraged them to be on a computer room (upstairs) and let them stay but with a guidance of an older person (staff and OJTs).
After all that happened today, still we are all thankful since all of us are safe, stayed happy and enjoyed the company of each other though there is a typhoon outside.

Dance Therapy

Bahay Aurora would like to welcome our new volunteer from Belgium. Kristien Maus will stay till September 12,2014.
A graduate of Dance and movement therapy.

Her goal is to give a good or new experience to the kids by expressing their emotions in dance movement.
She is expecting that the kids will learn something from the dance and movement sessions, that they will be stronger and feel better.
She thinks that Bahay aurora is a very nice initiative and a good place for the kids.

The kids looks happy, and its like a huge family taking care of each other. Kristien, Welcome to the family!
Dance therapy is beneficial to both physical and mental health. It is used as a method of reducing stress, and has been used by various groups of people including caregivers and people with chronic illness. In addition, the physical impact it has on participants includes increased muscular strength, coordination, and mobility, and decreased muscular tension.Emotionally, this form of therapy enables people to gain a greater sense of well-being and self-awareness and provides an outlet for the expression of feelings.

Some experts believe that dance therapy may also insulate the body from disease by strengthening the immune system.

And she’s back!

After few months, ‘Ate Melissa’ a former volunteer of Bahay Aurora came back for a visit.

Except from a suitcase full of ‘stroop wafels’, the kids were surprised of seeing her parents together with Melissa.
Mr. Frank and Mrs. Iris painted bunches of smile in children’s faces.
Melissa for another time, made the kids so happy seeing her after school sitting under the same old mango tree.

With lots of hugs, the happiness was visible in their actions. The kids really had a good bond with her as if she never left and it’s not the first time to meet her parents. For a whole week stay in Bahay Aurora, they joined the kids with their various daily activities especially the exercise, dances and games every afternoon. And of course, to make their stay more memorable with the kids, they had a swimming outing and video-oke’ sing along afterwards.

According to Mr. Frank, their visit was a worthwhile vacation because in return, they received joy from the kids which is indeed more than what they gave. And through this short visit, now they do understand why their daughter was that eager to go back in Bahay Aurora.

The kids were so thankful of seeing her once again together with her parents. Full of gratitude, they made some cards for Melissa and her parents. Simple cards with meaningful messages dedicated for her compassion and sincerity of spreading all the love she has.

Until next time ‘Ate Melissa’ & parents, welcome to the family!

Medication donated

Bahay Aurora received a donation of one box of assorted medicines from our friend Rojan Traders Unlimited,Inc.

Some medicines includes carbocisteine, ambroxol, ascorbic acid, cloxacillin. Last year October 2013 they have promise during our dental mission September 29, 2013 that they are going to donate some medicines for the kids, which it was happen last Monday afternoon.

So after dinner the Bahay Aurora children we’re able to take the vitamins ascorbic acid and some able to help cough and colds and future infections.

The Bahay Aurora staffs we’re very happy and grateful to Rojan Traders Unlimited,Inc. who does not stop in giving medicines and help Bahay Aurora children to meet their health needs. The Bahay Aurora are continue praying and thankful for the people who work and share their life, special gifts and kind hearts to help Bahay Aurora kids and in return

God will bless them a hundred folds.

Memorable birthday

Last week Tuesday (July 29), the staff organized a simple yet very meaningful and memorable birthday celebration. It was for the children who were born on the month of July.

Those children are Merlie who just turned 11, Mary Ann who is now 9 and lastly James, the newest child in the institution who is also 9 years old.Every month we celebrate the birthdays of that month because with so man kids it is simply not possible to do it on the day the child has his or her birthday, 2 or 3 times a week a party is no fun anymore.

We set the tables and chairs up in the basketball court and have party for them. As we displayed the birthday banner, smiles on their faces started to appear that brightened the whole foundation up despite the gloomy weather.The celebration started with a prayer led by Rodel (aka B2) and right after that was a birthday song sung by all of them for the birthday celebrants.

Happy Birthday means ‘Maligayang Kaarawan’ in Filipino/Tagalog.

Ate Rowena prepared the food that the children really enjoyed eating.

Merlie, Mary Ann and James were very thankful as they received individual gift from the staff of Bahay Aurora.