Celebrate Halloween: The HAPI Way

By Glemir Sordilla
HAPI Scholar | Member, HAPI-Bacolod

“There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly lit front porch”
– Robert Brault

The Filipino Halloween experience involves watching scary movies, lighting candles for our relatives who passed away, and eating Filipino delicacies exclusively prepared for the occasion. These are all nice and dandy but what screams “Halloween” more than putting on a costume and trick-or-treating?

We are pretty sure that most Filipino kids have dreamed of knocking on doors and receiving candy… so this year, HAPI made it possible for many of them!

HAPI Alabang  (HAPI Kids-Nutricamp) held a small but fun Halloween event on October 22 inside the HAPI-Alabang Reading Room which was open to all children of the community.

Many kids arrived in full costumes and amazed the HAPI officers and volunteers with the thought and effort put into their looks. No one was left out as those who did not come with a costume were also given props to get the Halloween mood going. Everyone happily posed for the photo booth that the HAPI volunteers set up with the assistance of HAPI Pride Ambassador, Steven Cross.

Angie Driskell, one of HAPI’s officers and Ambassador for HAPI Junior, described how fun it was to organize a Halloween event. “Many say it is an ‘evil’ celebration when the truth is it has religious influence and provides a sense of community,” she said. “I don’t see any reason to deprive kids of the opportunity to experience the ‘treats’ of the season.”

The kids were served misua (wheat vermicelli noodles) with a hard-boiled egg for breakfast. Halloween loot bags were given out to approximately 70 children and 30 adults at the event.

The event would not be a success without Mr. Neil Cairns who brought smiles to everyone’s faces with their generosity.

The children of HAPI-Delarma also joined in the spooky fun on October 23 with their own Halloween event. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of everyone’s control, the venue was unavailable and the planned games had to be canceled.

This unforeseen circumstance did not deter the kids and the officers from continuing the promised fun-filled day. HAPI people distributed the delicious breakfast to the children together with the Halloween loot bags. Each kid received chicken macaroni soup, a bread roll with peanut butter, a banana, and refreshing juice. About 30 children accepted the delectable meals and gifts.

Driskell and the HAPI-Delarama officers expressed their gratitude to GO Humanity’s food security program for making this event possible. “We appreciate the support of all our sponsors because they don’t just provide us the means to serve the children delicious and nutritious meals, they help us to make it a memorable experience through the activities we plan along with the meals,” she said.

Driskell also emphasized the importance of sponsors who are willing to lend a helping hand. She noted that children have a lot to deal with (now more than ever), thus giving them memorable experiences is priceless.

With the accomplishment of these two events, organizers promise that there will be more spine-chilling yet joyous activities for HAPI Kids in the following weeks.