Adopt-A-Child-For-A-Day

Boss Mon wanted us to do something different this Christmas so most of us volunteered for the Adopt-A-Child-For-A-Day. We picked the kids' names from a list days ago. I chose Sarah Dawn Salcedo's name because I like the sound of it. We paid PHP200 each to cover the food and gifts that were to be given to the kids. Earlier this week, found out that the others - like Jeng and Cristy - bought additional gifts for their adopted kids. I ended up buying a Powerpuff plastic box, and put in it some Powerpuff pencils, eraser, sharpener, and scented memo pads. Small package, but at least my adopted kid would get a little extra even though her package won't be as big as the ones Jeng and Cristy's kids would get.

Earlier today, Boss Jun went to the World Trade Center's Christmas Bazaar just to buy his adopted kid presents - he told us he was pressured to do so after seeing the gift bags we would be giving to our adopted kids.

At around 1:30pm, we went the area between the banking hall and the long gallery, that's where the program would be held. Vikki was the only one in our unit who didn't adopt a child so she stayed behind in the dealing room. Her reason for not volunteering? She's not good with kids. She admits she's lucky that her mother lives with her and provides a mother figure for her children. It was a joke in the office that her sons would grow up thinking it was customary that husbands are the ones who do the cooking and what we would call "mothering" of kids in every home.

The kids, who came from Joyville which is being run by the Salvation Army, came late because of traffic. From the moment I saw Sarah Dawn, I had a feeling she wasn't one of those abused or abandoned kids Joyville takes in.

I was right. She and her friend Jenica, who's Jeng's adopted kid, were daughters of Salvation Army members. Their names were just included to pad the list. Maybe there were too many volunteers and too few kids. Some told me my adopted kid looked like some rich kid from Forbes Park. I was a bit disappointed, simply because I was expecting to get someone who was either an orphan or abandoned or abused. Those are kinds of kids who would really appreciate the event and the gifts we'd be giving them. Jeng was disappointed too. She wanted to take back some of the gifts she bought for Jenica and give to more deserving kids.

Dennis, who had sons and wished he had a beautiful daughter, wanted to swap his adopted daughter for the day for Sarah Dawn. I refused, not because I didn't like his adopted kid, but because that kid already knows he is her dad for the day, and she would feel rejection if she gets swapped for Sarah Dawn. Dennis' adopted kid was a real Joyville child - either abandoned or abused. The last thing she needs is another person to reject her.

The event started with party games hosted by folks from Jollibee. Then Jollibee food was given to the kids. A magic show was next and then some picture taking with a fat guy in a Santa suit.

After the program, we brought the kids to the dealing room. Jenica and Sarah Dawn proved to be knowledgeable with computers - which emphasized the fact that they weren't Joyville kids. I found myself teaching Cristy's adopted son, who's a real Joyville child and had not used a PC before, how to use a mouse to play a computer card game.

When the kids left, I announced that if ever we do this again, I'm going to choose a "bakya" name. I told the others I should have guessed that a name like "Sarah Dawn" is an unlikely one to be chosen by a poor family. Jeng agreed with my theory.