TA Goes to The Chosen Children Village
By J Darell M. Sapin, Web Development Supervisor
It is always better to give than to receive – that has always been true to me since I started giving Christmas gifts to my godchildren. It just warms my heart to see the little angels’ faces light up.
It all started last July 2014 when our IT and Web Director, Jeff Enriquez and I talked about conducting our own CSR. The first one I thought of was the Chosen Children Village Foundation (CCVF) since it has been very close to my heart since my first visit four years ago.
Last December 21, 2015, we gathered 20 boxes of donated Milk Magic products and set out for the Chosen Children Village Foundation (CCVF) in Lalaan II, Silang, Cavite. AC and Marvin from the IT and Web Department, as well as Zyra, Ayen, and Teresa from the Experience Department accompanied me on the trip. We were greeted by the cool and refreshing climate of the place. It was entirely different from the hot weather in Alabang. We were given a brief background on how CCVF came to be and the success stories that have happened in the village. One of our new found friends, Charlie, suffered from hydrocephalus and a walking disorder as a child, but is now healthy and able to walk without crutches.
CCVF is a non-profit organization that aspires to provide a permanent home for abandoned, neglected, and surrendered children / adults who are mentally and physically challenged. For security purposes, we were not allowed to take solo pictures of the children. CCVF admits that the foundation provides early intervention to children between one to nine months old and those who cope with multifaceted delays. Through its adoption program, CCVF places children in permanent homes locally and even internationally. Children who don’t get adopted grow up in the village and are trained at The School for Chosen Children to maximize their potential to become productive members of society.
As our donations were unloaded, we were warmly greeted by Ms. Che Naval and her colleagues, the teens and young adults of CCVF as well.
We played a few games with them, namely basketball and volleyball. The CCVF team was very happy, and so were we.
We were then given an hour to freshen up before dinner time. While we waited for dinner, TeamAsia visited the children in the different cottages within the village.
A bell rang that meant dinner was ready. We proceeded to the dining hall where we were greeted by the children. We saw the boxes of Milk Magic beside the gifts under the Christmas tree.
CCVF welcomed us and thanked us for our help in ensuring the continuity of the foundation.
The children prepared a short song and dance number to show their appreciation for the support that TeamAsia has given. It was so much fun that even our very own AC and Ayen joined in their performance!
It was a heartwarming experience to spread the love and joy of giving back to our community. In her welcome speech, Ms. Che mentioned that hopefully our visit will not be the last. We went home feeling fulfilled knowing that we are not just a world class integrated marketing communications company but also a champion of CSR.
Hope you enjoyed reading our experience. For the full album, you can see it here. To know more about CCVF, you can check it out here.
(Photo credit: Ms. Teresa Espino)
