Youth Activities

A warm welcome from the BSJ children

Upon arriving to the Barangay San Juan Community, we were warmly welcomed by its residents. We first thought that the village was merely a house, but as we passed through a narrow passageway,we saw several houses around a large courtyard.  We introduced ourselves through activities such as ‘Red Light, Stop Light’ and a local game called ‘Patentero’. The kids were more than delighted to talk and play with us.

We learned that the court that we played on holds many sports, such as basketball, badminton, volleyball and soccer. Sport competitions are not rare and they provide entertainment to the entire BSJ community.

Young kids playing at the Mini Arcade

One of our hosts singing

Getting into the music

Two bubbly teenage girls brought us  around the village and described their daily activities. We discovered several kids (all aged below 12) crowding behind two game screens, enthusiasticly encouraging their peers. Opposite the arcade was an open spaced Karaoke bar where our hosts sang a few songs. We were surprised by thickness of the Karaoke book and the variety of modern K-pop, English and local Filipino songs. Intruiged by the Karaoke machine, we decided to sing a song ourselves. Furthermore, a song was only worth 5 pesos, a great deal for singers like me. Our version of “My Heart Will Go On” proved to be popular amongst the neighborhood.

Like most Filipino teenagers, they hung out as a group of male and female friends, locally called as “Barkada”. They taught us to “Dougie” and do the “Ocho-ocho”. Giggles erupted as we attempted to imitate their dance.

They later invited us to a relative’s house where we talked with the mother and socialized with our two hosts. The mother explained the reasons why their home was bare: a fire incident had occurred a couple of months ago. It was very devastating to realize their losses, and the only object they managed to salvage was a 10inch television.

Although they were faced with such a horrible incident, the villagers were vibrant and lively, showing no signs of sadness. Living standards were low, yet, they were grateful and optimistic for what they have and can only hope for a better tomorrow. Now, we can see why Filipinos are defined as one of the happiest people in the world at the GIN Conference.

Deziree (Chinese International School HK) and Lisa (American International School of Guangzhou)