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To show their love and appreciation to our hardworking and caring house mothers, The Rising Youth (TRY), together with other Virlanie children and young adults, organized a surprise Mother’s Day celebration last May 12, 2019.
TRY, Virlanie’s young adult organization, led the surprise and called for the participation of all homes. “Dati binibigyan lang namin ng greeting cards yung mothers tuwing Mother’s Day, pero yung mga bata gusto nila talaga gumawa ng something special at mag-give back sa mga mothers (We used to just give greeting cards to the house mothers every Mother’s Day. But this time, the children really wanted to give back and do something special for them),” said Mark Anthony Calubid, Virlanie’s Independent Living Program beneficiary and TRY’s adviser. Mark added that the real challenge for them was doing the surprise all in one day. “Walang idea yung mga mothers kung ano gagawin. Nag-inform lang kami na dadaan kami sa homes. Ang plano namin ay 30 minutes per home (We just informed them that we will visit the homes. The mothers had no idea. Our plan was to do the surprise for 30 minutes per home.)”
A program was tailored to each home, which included song and dance numbers, games, and other fun activities. But what made the surprise more touching and memorable was when the children, including former Virlanie children and the mothers’ real children, gave their special messages to the mothers.
The reactions of the mothers were priceless. Seeing the children organize such an event brought the mothers to tears. “Masaya kami kasi natuwa yung mga mothers at naiyak pa sila sa tuwa. Naparamdam namin na na-appreciate namin sila, kasi alam naming lagi silang pagod at stressed (We’re happy that the mothers were happy. They even cried tears of joy. We were able to show them how we appreciate them, since we know how often they get tired and stressed),” said Mark.
Get a glimpse of the surprise celebration by browsing the photos below: