North Sector members met in front of the Cainta Municipal Office between 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. as agreed. The early comers were entertained by the sight of Cainta women of all shapes and sizes doing their morning dancercize at the Municipal grounds. As more North Sector members trickled in, their color coded shirts became more noticeable: NDA wearing blue, NDC white, NDE red. NDB, NDD & UD members wore any color that fit their mood for the day.
By 8:00 a.m., project coordinator Toby Estrella gathered everyone present and led the prayers and briefing. After coordinating who rides with whom, owners of vehicles that were not used were advised to transfer their cars to a safer area.
North Sector "Felix Team"
In a few minutes, the convoy towards our assigned area, Sitio Felix, Barangay San Andres, Cainta, Rizal started rolling through narrow streets. Along the way, we couldn’t help but notice the signs of the Ondoy tragedy. Murky water lines on the walls of houses, which reached up to chest level, were still visible. We could only imagine how much damage the flood caused the poor residents of the area.
Finally, we spotted the Sitio Felix Day Care Center. We were relieved to see that the area was not as “depressed” as we imagined it would be. The houses were relatively clean, the Day Care Center was compact but well built and equipped with colorfully painted wooden chairs, tables & shelves, and the toddlers were all washed up, tidied, and dressed as if a town fiesta was ongoing. As expected, the sewage and water supply system of the area left much to be desired, thus giving the air a tinge of pungent smell. This was, however, overpowered by the warm greetings of the DSWD volunteers headed by the feisty Teacher Jenny and Teacher Weng, as well as the well behaved and cheerful children.
We helped set up the activity area by transferring the chairs and tables from the Day Care Center to the Ynares Multi Purpose Hall. The men unloaded the boxes of donations that were hauled from Cradle of Joy. The tarpaulin was hung, and the sound system was connected.
To further arm us with strength and endurance needed for the activity, Acting District Coordinator Ruel Morales once again led the NDC volunteers in prayer.
Not wasting any time, our designated glib and witty emcee Aldem Salvana grabbed the microphone, gathered the children and made them sing and dance to warm them up. The today’s staple, “Nobody Nobody But You”, was led by yours truly.
Who's teaching whom? 
Aldem then instructed the children to count off from 1 to 5 in an effort to group them by 10′s. Each team was assisted by one or two NDC members. The team games prepared by Celine Piezas and Letlet Cepeda commenced. First was “Isip-Isip”, a multiple choice question-and-answer game that determined the winner through a process of elimination. Questions asked were biblical in nature. Jake Yap had to step in to intensify the level of difficulty since the mothers present knew all the answers to the puzzles meant only for toddlers.
Next was the “Carolling” contest where teams were asked to present a one-minute Christmas carol complete with choreography. The winning team was a group of older grade schoolers who were excited onlookers, thus, were invited to join in.
The third game was the “Human Parol” where teams composed lantern designs using their own body parts, either in a standing, lying or pyramid position. One team displayed creativity by adding blinking lights to their parol, while another created an intricate star pattern with their arms held together.
Children and parents alike enjoyed the games. Prizes included practical items such as soap, toothpaste, bottles of alcohol, powder, notebooks, crayons, and lots healthy snacks, all costing Php 1,600. No child was left without any prize or token.
After all the games, the children had worked up an appetite and were therefore ready for snack time. They were served spaghetti, donuts, juice and bread products. Although we were told to prepare for fifty (50) toddlers, Elvie Escoto, who cooked and packed the snacks was ready for seventy (70), which was just as well because non-Day Care Center students who were eager observers, numbering an additional twenty (20), benefited from the surplus. This seemed to simulate the gospel on the multiplication of loaves and fishes.
Mission accomplished!
To heighten the Christmas spirit of spreading joy to the seventy toddlers and grade schoolers, the games and snack time were topped by the distribution of loot bags containing sweets and toys prepared by LNP, augmented by Noel & Dulce Echague.
After all the treats given to the children, it was time to honor the five DSWD workers who have been selflessly giving their time and energy in serving the youth of the community despite their measly salaries; sometimes even drawing from their own resources to fill in the inadequacies of the center. Apart from giving the volunteers a token gift, we gathered around and prayed for them to have more strength, perseverance, and to be blessed with material and financial provisions that they themselves need, as some of them were Ondoy victims as well.
We proceeded to turn over LNP’s donations of books, toys, sanitary supplies and appliances through the DSWD workers. Overwhelmed by the show of love and support, one of the volunteer Day Care Center parents led the praying over us, LNP members, for deeper faith in God and devotion to our call.
No event would be complete without photo opportunities and so we aligned ourselves for group shots and started clicking away.
We in North District C donated our resources, volunteered our time and energy, hoping to lend a helping hand to the weakest of the weak Ondoy victims — innocent toddlers of the Sitio Felix Day Care Center. In turn, our hearts were filled with joy at the opportunity to bring smiles to their faces, and to witness the selflessness of the DSWD volunteers who have gone beyond the call of duty, and made serving their full time preoccupation.
- Celine Piezas (NDC), December 19, 2009
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