Welcome to Paaralang Pantao, Payatas!


Paaralang Pantao, Payatas. One last look... before the MOVE...



The last Mass at the Vincentian Centre in Payatas before being pulled down



Teacher Reynaldo



smile Aloy!


Luci's School Cleaning Day


A boy and a tyre


A young girl



Over in Erap City


Telling the Story of Christmas



Come, Lord Jesus!



Christmas Lights are up!



Angel Factory - the place to get an angel's wings



The Christmas hatmaker



Strike a pose!



The 3 kings with Jollybee



Angels with Jollybee



Food Time!


Christmas present. With love from Singapore


A very healthy horse ...


... and a very hungry boy



WHO ME? YES! YOU!

December 2006: Maligayang Ang Pasko

I went back to Payatas and Erap City last December. Someone asked if I ever get bored of going back to the same place again and again... I don't get bored and I hope I never do. If I were a tourist to Payatas or Erap.. sure I'd get bored after a few trips... If I were an observer, I'd get bored too. But I have a purpose for going there. I don't go there to say "been there done that" or to "look look see see"... No time to do that! I think the day I feel numb to the people and the project, then that'll be the day I'll stop going.

When we got to Payatas, the first thing on my mind was to get our script for the Christmas party checked out and eidted. We had already prepared them in Tagalog. Lauraine and Grace helped with the corrections and we started rehearsing our roles. Then there was the headache of the props and the costumes. But by and by, inspiration floated in. In time the 3 kings got their crowns made of cardboard and cellophane. The angels got their wings thanks to the nifty work of Celesther who should open a wings factory in heaven - for angels who need to repair their wings or get new ones! Celesther's a great angel-wing maker and "repairer".. haha Next was to plan the program for the party and what food to get the kids.

Diana did a great job with coordinating star-making back in Singapore.. so we had brought more than a hundred paper stars with us of varied colours. I brought along a handsewn image of the Nativity scene which had been so artistically put together by Catholics from Pakistan. With the Nativity scene, the paper stars and the Nativity story in Tagalog, we conducted a rather successful children's liturgy at both Payatas and Erap. At the end of the story-telling aided by the Nativity scene, the kids decorated their Christmas stars as sign to welcome Jesus.

After staying some days in Payatas, we headed for Erap where we spent the time getting the props and angels' wings ready for the big day.. Christmas party day.. oh yes and putting up Christmas lights too. Tita Letty put some other christmas costumes and we were transformed into angels, kings, mary and Joseph, ready to act out the Christmas story. We managed to order food from Jollybee and Tita was able to persuade the outlet to send us a Jollybee mascot to the party. The kids really loved the mascot and we all went "Boom taratara"!

The Christmas party went very well. The youths gave their all for their roles. They put in so much effort to speak in Tagalog. Poor Papa Joseph (Aloysius) had such a hard time getting the Tagalog right but we loved him for all his effort and 4 step box dance! And we're all proud of Mama Mary (Diana)too. She was careful not to drop baby Jesus! Lucien and Tim were so cherubic. Imagine that! and the 3 kings (tatlo hari, Daryl, Iggy and Sylvester) in their mighty yellow, blue and red paid homage to Jesus. The Japanese put on a most entertaining magic performance. We played "Pass the Present" and had a Christmas tree decorating competition. After giving out the presents and food to the kids, I couldn't believe how fast time flew from the day we arrived till then. It was great to do all we had planned for the Christmas party even though the whole area had no electricity! No lights, no fans and no music yet we we had a great time. Glory be to God.

The day of the Christmas party was also 2nd day of Simbang Gabi. We were able to make it in time to the little chapel of Erap City. This is no concrete chapel. The roof of the chapel is canvas held up by stong wooden poles. The chapel is small; not enough to hold the Simbang Gabi crowd that had flocked there religiously the night before. Because of the blackout, we were not sure if the celebration would take place. Eventually more and more people came. Shortly after 745pm, the opening hymn was sung. In the dark, the people sang with all their hearts. The choir had to squint over the lyrics which had been written on Manila paper as it lay on the ground. This way all the choir members standing aournd the paper could see the lyrics. A litle boy was responsible for holding a lit candle close enough to the paper. The lector had to share a dimly-lit candle with the priest. Then we remembered that we had come with modern technology. The choir, the priest and lector were very appreciative of our gadgets. A bright little torch from Celesther and my Sony Ericsson k750i's light that is bright enough to light any street.

After the Eucharistic celebration, we made out way home in the darkness; still no electricity. It was time for dinner when we got back tot school. I like Jollybee's Chicken Joy but this was one Chicken Joy too many. Because we had ordered in bulk, we had Chicken Joy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At dinner I was sure I was not going to have another fried chicken for the rest of the trip. "What would be great to have right now, is Hen Lin!" I told the rest. The others agreed. It did not matter to the new ones what kind of food Hen Lin sold as long as it was not chicken. I was thinking of century eggs and siew mai, when the door opened and Charlene popped her head in. "Did you order Hen Lin?" I went out to see what she meant. I was sure my heart stopped for a moment. Right at our doorstep, was a Hen Lin delivery man! Unfortunately, the delivery man had no food from Hen Lin to offer. In fact he was there to collect a deposit for the next day's party! It turned out to be a misunderstanding and the he soon left. While we were sorting out the situation, the lights came on! Everywhere, residents were cheering and clapping, as though Christmas was already here!

I end with this. I want to thank my dear friend, Jay, and Tita Letty for always welcoming us and for giving us (especially the newer youths) the opportunity to share the spirit of Christmas with the kids from Payatas and Erap City once more.