Hello to you all! We are a group of students from the University of the Philippines Diliman and we worked with Childhope as part of our NSTP CWTS requirement for the Mid Year Semester of 2022.
Our project with ChildHope is entitled “Saranggola: A Play Session”. It is an interactive play program that establishes a child’s ability to make decisions, create meaningful artworks, and dream for themselves. To do this, we had origami kite-making as our main activity. The children themselves created their respective kites and designed them according to their dreams.
Our Experience
Working with Childhope was a simple yet fulfilling experience. It is simple in the sense that we were easily granted permission to interact with the children despite our time constraints. They were quick in responding to our emails/messages and in setting up a consultation. They welcomed our project proposal with enthusiasm, which gave our group a sense of fulfillment already.
During the project implementation proper, ChildHope warmly welcomed us. They also provided assistance as we turn our project into reality. They told us some reminders of what we should do and introduced us to the children. We also appreciated how they let us interact with the children by ourselves as the program progressed.
Meeting the children was the most fulfilling part of our experience. It was fun since their youthful energy gave life to the program. They listened attentively to us while we were speaking and enthusiastically participated in the activities we prepared. Some of the children were quick in following the instructions of our activity. They were independent. However, some of the children required assistance throughout the activity. It was eye-opening to see the diversity of children on the streets. It was also eye-opening for us to listen to the big dreams of the children.
As we end the session, parting with the children was challenging since the place was overflowing with joy and gratitude. Some of the children individually approached us to say their thank yous and goodbyes.
Overall, our activity with Childhope is something that we won’t ever forget. Hopefully, we would be given the chance to engage with them once again.