HAPI Awareness? what is it?
Creating HAPI awareness is top priority in marketing and promotion for a society to flourish and grow. There are different ways in HAPI promotion but in this location, Zumba is the HAPI way, and of course, charity.
How can we create something new in a far-flung barangay in Cebu? One was to engage ourselves with their existing programs or intertwine HAPI in their “zumbathon,” a dancing mechanism for these housewives and lay people to lose weight, keep active and fit, yet, get some enjoyment from the said activity which involves a lot of dancing. Zumba is actually an aerobic fitness program featuring dance movements inspired by various styles of Latin American music. This event is powered by Aerumba Dance Fitness: :https://www.facebook.com/WEdanceAS1/
On August 4th 2019, a HAPI Zumbathon made its way to Consolacion, a far-flung city in northern Cebu, Philippines. It was a well-attended occasion despite the rain and the unstable weather condition? Why? because, it was also a celebratory “zumbathon” for one of the original HAPI members. A celebration of life, her 51st birthday, of Agustina Torres, my very much beloved and courageous sister. She loves dancing and being an LGBT, this is her way to combat depression and mental issues, and the stigma around it.
As my way of thanking her, every natal day, I send her more than enough to celebrate her birthday. This time, she suggested giving away some of her abundance to the poor people in Consolacion via zumbathon.
While it is a form of charitable giving, they wrapped the gifts with dignity, so it will not come out as doling out. Most winners of the “zumbathon”, a dancing contest, were regular mothers or habitues who join regularly to dance as their past time. They were very happy to receive kilos of rice with canned meats, fish and other goodies.
To top it all, they were all asking what HAPI was all about. While most of them are not well educated, they did understand that HAPI means “happiness” and ” human or human being”, in their native language which is Cebuano, ” kalipay sa tawo”. (happiness of a human being in English).
While we do zero in on education, HAPI still believes in art and culture as means to create awareness, without much ado.
Won’t you be happy to learn about HAPI while dancing and getting some gifts from the celebrant? you bet! Until next birthday celebration in HAPI-Cebu.
