Well, through the Expat group, Friends of Mindanao I learned of and visited a wonderful and different concept for a well needed charity. This is Balay Sa Adunay Pangandoy or Home of Those who have Ambition.

There is a man, Dennis T. Mabayao who as a seminarian worked doing ministry work at the Davao City Jail and Rehabilitation Center. There he had an opportunity to meet many young boys who, for different reasons were in custody at this facility. Because of poverty and peer pressure, these boys were arrested and incarcerated for crimes, including stealing, drugs or even gang murder.

Dennis realized these boys, once their sentence ended would have no decent life. The pressures that drove them into a young life of crime would be even worse since they now have a criminal record. With this realization, Dennis had a dream that he put into action. With the help of a church organizations support at first, on November 3, 2004 he opened the home. They started with about 14 teen-aged boys, which is the capacity of their location. They were given the land and built a home for the boys.

These boys live in the home, go to local schools for their education and at the home receive spiritual and life skills training. The boys have strict rules of their schooling, studies, and chores at the home. They know if they break these rules, they will be asked to leave the home. Dennis is a kind and loving man but is strict to keep the boys on a straight road to a better life. Dennis had a radio show and an herbal supplement business, but gave this up to be able to have the time needed to run the home. With giving his life to the home and the boys, he expects the best in return.

Presently there are eight boys staying at the home. Two are college students, five high school students and one elementary pupil. They hope they can accept more boys in the future but now their financial resources are limited. The home can accommodate a maximum of 14 boys.

The emphasis of the home is on education and formation. They constantly monitor the boys to make sure that they attend their classes and do their assignments. At the home, the boys must be present for morning and evening prayer and do their scheduled assignments, such as cooking, cleaning, washing and caring for the pets and plants. This all helps to instill a sense of order and discipline to their character.

They regularly conduct group and individual counseling, life skills training lectures, school, and home visitation to observe their performance. They try their best to balance the programs and services so that they can achieve their objectives as stated in their manual of operation: “To provide education, to provide spiritual and human formation and to provide life skills training programs.”

These boys, without the home and the education would probably continue their life of crime, since they will be back in the “unwanted” part of the population. Many street boys who live a life of crime lose their lives due to gang turf wars or vigilante killings.

At the home, to earn income they thought of raising pigs but the location prohibited this type of business. They then tried growing vegetables for sale, but that was not a profitable enterprise. They now have large holding ponds breeding tropical fish and cages for the breeding of parakeets and lovebird pet store distributors. They also have a selection of plants and clay pots for sale, which were donated to the home.
Dennis and his dream are wonderful. Most people look at the cute little faces of the young children and their hearts go out to them, but the older children are ignored and forgotten. With the poverty, broken homes, many older boys end up in crime and then forgotten. Dennis is a man with a dream he turned into reality. He took these boys and gave them a chance to get their education and self-esteem back so they can become productive citizens with a future. However, this dream comes with a price. The support of the home and the feeding and schooling of these boys need the help of others to keep this dream alive.

If you would like to help, use the PayPal donation button on my site. Just leave a comment on the donation that your donation is for Dennis and his dream and the money will be forwarded to him.

alay Sa Adunay Pangandoy or Home of those who have ambition, registered in the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission as Non Stock, Nonprofit organization with SEC Reg. NO. CN 200827995

Please help Dennis continue his dream and give these and future boys a chance in life. Let us make these “forgotten” boys have something they will never forget, that there are people who care. Let us also give them a Christmas they never thought they could have and a future life with Dennis.

Help Dennis and Donate to his Dream

Then as we are supposed to do is go to the dentist every 6 months for checkups and teeth cleaning. At the dentist he might recommend treatments with a hygienist for scaling and gum treatments.

Here in the Philippines I have noticed there is no thought for preventative medicine.
For medical a yearly checkup with blood tests, x-rays, and general diagnostic examinations many problems can be contained, cured and or controlled with early diagnoses.

High blood pressure is a big problem. No wonder with all the fried foods, high salt intake and a diet of rice and fish, meat or poultry with low or no vegetables.  Filipinos have a need for salt, Soy sauce, MSG and even salt on fruits.

With teeth, they let the teeth go until they are so bad, the only thing the dentists will do is extract it. If they can afford it, they will get a partial bridge. This is a shame because so many Filipinos have beautiful smiles and many carry a toothbrush and tooth paste and brush their teeth after every meal.

Unfortunately many do not follow this regiment and let their teeth go. It might be cleaning and or diet but you see many children and adults with decayed teeth or missing teeth. It is a shame when you see a cute child or a nice looking adult until they smile or open their mouth and you see decaying or missing teeth.

I realize the ones with the missing or decayed teeth are because of poverty, but the others with the false teeth have the means to have saved their teeth. All it takes is bi-yearly visits, x-rays and preventative care and treatment.

In my research I tried to find if there is any free medical or dental available in Davao. Unfortunately I could not find any except one. The one found is Family Circus Children’s Ministries. This organization is a gives vitamins for pregnant women and free dental care for children over the age of 5. Visit there site for more information.

Many working Filipinos receive PhilHealth medical insurance or they can purchase coverage themselves. This insurance mainly covers hospital inpatient and outpatient services. But for regular checkups I do not think there is coverage.

With all my Filipino readers I am hoping there will be more information and corrections to my information.

Field of Dreams was started by Lawrence Field from England. He started the Foundation, purchased the land and had built a well constructed facility to house 30 boys. There are 5 dorm rooms, each housing 6 boys in each. Each room has closets for the boy’s things, CR consisting of a vanity with sink, a shower room and a toilet room. The facility also has a kitchen, dining room, day room for studying and a game room for the boys to play. There is also an office and a guest room plus housing for the staff. The building was built in a Courtyard design so there is a large open area for outdoor activities and there is also basketball hoop for the kids to play the most loved sport here. There is also a large area where they plant bananas for sale and a small piggery and chicken coop.

The boys are either orphans or from homes where the family is so poor they cannot take care of the child. The boys range in ages from 4 to 16 and attend local public schools.

Each time I had visited Field of Dreams the staff were always so nice and the boys are very loving and respectful. They are being raised well and are always clean, dressed well and when you see their bright eyes and big smiles your heart swells with the love. Most of the children have not learned much English yet but no words are needed as the come up to get to know you.

One of the Expat groups I belong to, Davao Area Expat Assoc. helps out each month with a sack of rice and some medicines that might be needed. But with the economic crisis the foundation in England has not been able to raise any money to continue to support the Boys Home.

They need approximately 2000 pesos ($40 USD) per boy per month to keep the Home in operation. Unfortunately the Board of Directors has not been able to find corporate sponsors locally to endow the home and they are trying to find other ways to raise money. If they could find endowments with a guaranteed donation each month, they can continue to do their good work.

It would be a shame if the Home closed and the boys would be back on the street with no place to live. The home is giving these boys a chance at a better life and with the assistance of DAEA and the others that visit this home are teaching them there are nice foreigners living here that care.

Because of this, on May 3rd they are having a fund raising at The Buffet Palace on McArthur Hwy in Matina. On that day there is the Prize Fight of Manny Pacquiao versus Ricky Hatton on a large wide screen TV. If you are in Davao and interested in attending, click here for all the information.

Also if you are interested in supporting such a wonderful organization you can leave me a comment or email me through the “Contact Me” tab on top and I will forward you the email of the Director of Field of Dreams.

I personally enjoy a game of Poker. In my life I have played as a kid with my friends, as I older gone to a friend’s house for a poker game. For a while we even had a monthly poker game. In those games it was dealers choice, 5 card draw, 7 card stud, even stranger games like Hi-Low, 7 Card No Peek

Well now the big thing is Texas Hold-Um. This is a game where you get 2 down (hole)cards and 5 community cards are dealt up in the middle of the table and the players bet based on a 5 card hand using one or both of their hole cards. You can see this on TV where they have televised poker tournaments. While still in America I used to also watch “Celebrity Poker” where famous actors, singers, TV stars would compete for their favorite Charity.

There are a few Casinos here in Davao. Most are connected to a Hotel. I know of Casino Filipino at the Grand Regal hotel in Lanang and a Casino at the Mt. Apo Hotel. There might be more, but I do not know of them. They have Slot Machines, Texas Hold-um Poker and a lot of Baccarat tables. There might me more that I do not know since I was only in a Casino once and that was just to listen to the entertainment.

Recently a poker club opened, Metro Card Club. They have a schedule of events, open “cash” games and tournaments.  I do not know all the tournaments or the names, but they have a Free tourney for women where they can win free entry to a money tournament and some days a tournament where the buy in is only 250 Php ( approx $5 USD) and first place pays 8,000 Php (approx $170 USD)

Well, some of the members of the Expat group I belong to, Davao Area Expats go to Metro Card Club. They have offered all Expats with their companions to a Free Tournament. They are offering complimentary food, beverages and a no buy-in tournament on February 27^th at 6 PM. There will be a prize pool of approximately 20,000 Php ($425.00 USD). One half of the prize fund will be donated to Field of Dreams Boys Home, which is a charity DAEA supports.

Last Evening, one of the members offered a training evening for the wives/girlfriends and members who had not experience with poker or Texas Hold-um to learn the game, the betting and the strategies of the game.

It was a fun and informative evening. I will report back how Elena and I do at the Tournament and if a gambling addition hits our house

As I have mentioned in past articles the DAEA has a connection with the home to help and support in our small way. This trip was to give the boys a Christmas Party.

A little History of Field of Dreams:
The home was started by an Englishman Lawrence Fields. He started a foundation, The Childhope Foundation with its sister charity Field of Dreams.

Their objective is to provide a haven for homeless children in third world countries. Initially, we are concentrating on building an orphanage in the Philippines. The chosen location is on the southern island of Mindanao, close to the major City of Davao, and is in a semi-rural area known as Tugbok.

It was decided to be called a Boys Home since some of the boys are not orphans. Some are abandoned, some are from families too poor to care for them. Some were street kids with no place to go.

They purchased 1.9 hectares (almost 5 acres) of land for the home. The purpose of the chosen location was an area with good road access, easy mains water and electricity connections and is level fertile land. The location is ideal in that the children’s home will be within 100 yards of a primary/secondary school.

There should be enough money to operate the orphanage for two years. From that point onwards we have to think in terms of a degree of self-sufficiency, combined with sponsorship, and fund raising activities to maintain the facility.

On the property behind the housing facility there is an area for farming, a piggery and raising of chickens. They have recently planted banana trees. Besides growing and raising food for the home, they will sell to the local markets to help support the home.

Unfortunately a lot of the Foundations attempts to get donations has declined due to the world’s economic depressions.

With the board of directors attempts I am hoping they can find some corporation to endow the home to cover their monthly costs of operation.

With all the problems in today’s lives, these boys are always clean, well dressed in clean clothes and in good spirits.

The home has a staff of about 12, with house mothers, cooks and other staff to take care of the home and the boys. Some of the house mothers are graduates of Social Work.

The boys share dorm style rooms with 6 children to a room. Each dorm room has a vanity with 2 sinks and there is a toilet room and a shower room.

There is also a Day room, dining room, kitchen and activity room with a pool table, study tables and a small library.

There is an outside area between the 2 wings of the building for a courtyard and in the back an area with a basketball hoop for them to play.
Because of the distance, we all met in Bankal at the Makro Warehouse store. It is a lot like Costco in the states with a big parking lot. Once there we all car pooled to save on the amount of vehicles and the gas cost.

Back to my story:
Once there we were met by the smiling faces of the boys and the staff. Since the boys only get sweets once a month, so we brought sodas, cakes and chips (crispies for our UK friends).


From a generous benefactor of the group and some help from the DAEA treasury all the boys received a Christmas card and 500 pesos to shop for their Christmas. Each boy was called up DAEA Chairman Gary Dickerson to receive his card.

One of the other DAEA Directors, Gary Aube, who looked a lot like Santa even found an Elf to pose with.

Later Father Tom Martin gave a watch to the 2 boys who had their birthday in December. It turned out Lalaine, one of the Directors was celebrating her birthday that day. Father Tom blessed her but I think she was disappointed she did not get a watch too. (just joking)

This trip I decided to focus my photographs on the boys. Even with their loss of families, they always have a smile for us, comical poses and closeness and hugs. As always we were treated to dance routines from the older boys doing their hip-hop dancing.

Again we were treated by some of the girls from their local school to do dance presentations for us to entertain us. One little girl did the Philippine Traditional dance Tinikling. This is a which involves two people hitting bamboo poles, using them to beat, tap, and slide on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance.

As always, the presentations were wonderful to watch. A few of the hip-hop dancers will do hand stands and somersaults. Also the little girls were so cute in their costumes and smiles always on their faces.

There were other guests in attendance. There were Members of the Board of Directors, mothers and families of the staff and the girls. Whenever they would see my camera, they would pose and smile for me.

After a while the staff brought out trays of some traditional Filipino foods for the guests to enjoy including Lechon Baboy (roast pork) and Bihon (rice noodles with sauce and vegetables) and other items.

As always the time flew by and it was time to get into the cars for our journey home.

I will miss visiting them and look forward for my next trip to visit again. The love from the children and the friendship and hospitality of the staff and the open warmth of the guests I have met there always leaves me feeling so Blessed to have become a small part in their lives.

There are too many photos to post on the blog, so please click on the slide show to see more.

Well a month or so ago, my wife Elena came to me. A good friend of hers, Virgie, called her about a situation that maybe we could help. Virgie’s sister-in-law Nalita has a 20 year old daughter, Estella, who suffers from severe Cerebral Palsy.

The girl’s father, Eleonor works at the banana plantation in Panabo, which is about an hour’s drive north of Davao in Davao del Norte. He is with the security department. Luckily for them, after losing their home the Company gave him a room for his family of 6 kids in the bunk house at the plantation so he can be close to his family.

For all of this girl’s life she has had to be lifted and moved where ever she needs to be. She is unable to walk, use her arms, hand or even talk.

Lately some of the older children have moved away and that just leaves Eleonor, Nalita one son and daughter to be there to take care of Estella.

Virgie told us Nalita would love to be able to get Estella a wheelchair. This way Estella could sit instead of just being placed on a mat on the floor all day. With the wheelchair, Estella could be moved around and could also bring her to Church with is something Estella dreams of. As of now, to bring her to Church, they would have to carry her from their home to the street, then carry her to a jeepney and then carry her to the church.

When Elena mentioned our plan to our nephew Amar, he gave her some money and told his Aunt to buy the girl some clothes and necessities to make it feel even more festive.

As you might know, Religion is very important in most Filipinos life. With all the suffering Estella has endured, going to church is something she really misses.

As I have mentioned in many articles, I belong to 2 foreigner associations. One is Davao Area Expat Association. The group does a lot of charitable work in the community such as Field of Dreams Boys Home and Mother Teresa Home for the indigent.

I went to Gary Dickerson, chairman of the group before one of the board meetings and asked if we could help this family with a wheelchair. Gary agreed at once and brought it up to the board that day. We agreed to check prices and then purchase the chair. At the next meeting, Alan Fell, one of our members and Chairman of the newsletter came to the meeting with a chair that was donated to him by Mike French from Tagum .

Last Tuesday Andy Dixion, his wife Winne, Elena, Virgie and myself drove out to Panabo to bring the chair to the family. Once in Panbabo we stopped at a location on the main road to meet with Nalita so she could guide us to the Plantation. Her husband had also arraigned to be assigned to the front gate and then lead us to their home which is toward the back of the plantation. We drove through many fields of banana trees until we finally got to the housing area.
We removed the wheelchair from Andy’s SUV and we walked down the hill to their home. As we entered, there was Estella lying on a mat on the floor. When she saw us and the wheelchair a big smile appeared and a shriek of happiness was heard by all.

Her brother lifted her up and placed her in the chair. Even though she cannot talk or even move her limbs easily you could see and hear the happiness she felt.

Then Elena started giving her all the clothes she bought for her. We kept saying Christmas came early for her. She was shrieking in happiness and smiling so brightly as each item was giving to her. Then Elena took out a bracelet and put it on her wrist. Estella kept turning her wrist and looking at it with such happiness.

Well it was getting late and we needed to start our trip back. Before we left Winnie gave some money to the family also. We all said goodbye to Estella and her family. Nalita and Eleonor told me thanks and how blessed they felt from our kindness. I told them that we were the ones blessed by meeting and being able to help and to receive such a warm feeling in our hearts to be able to help.

I am so glad, blessed and thankful to be able to help and to be part of a group that wants to help others less fortunate in our new country.

My friend Louis joined me for the trip again. My wife Elena and his wife Venice did not come for health reasons, Elena had a bad headache and Venice had a bad cough and cold.
With the light traffic, we arrived about an hour early. This gave us time to spend with the boys and also George and Lalaine who are directors and most always there.

Soon after our arrival, Father Tom Martin arrived with his caregiver and we all sat and chatted on the front patio. I always enjoy seeing Father Tom and talking to him. He is a nice man and makes you feel at ease with him.

One nice thing I noticed was they printed my Blog about their Anniversary Party and disply it for all to see on their bulletin board.

Next to arrive was Glyn and her son. We talked a little about how we have been and just normal chat. Then a friend from the Expat groups, Andrew and his wife Nida arrived on his motorcycle. Andrew is an avid amateur photographer so after his arrival and introductions we walked around so I could show him the Homes building and their garden, piggery and chicken coops.

There were other ladies that arrived. Dolly Dulalas, Tina Fajardo who brought along her sisters Lourdes Demapanag and Elizabeth Fuentes from Kuwait and another friend Eva Jana.
The boys also invited some of their female classmates and they later did some adorable dance routines for our enjoyment.

Eventually 3 ladies from McDonalds arrived to set up for the boys’ party. All the boys received hats with their names written on them. There was welcome announcements, a prayer by father Tom and then the games.

The girls had some party games for the boys like “pass the balloon” “balloon walk” and some others. It was fun watching all the children playing the games.

At one point, Father Tom had all the boys who were celebrating their recent birthdays come up and after a little prayer for each gave them a Timex watch. I later learned it made the other boys jealous, but as Lalaine told me, they need to learn and their day will come.
When it was time to eat, all the children received a chicken and rice meal from McDonalds and the adults were invited to enjoy a catered meal of Filipino items. There was also birthday cake and bottled sodas.

After our delicious meal, the boys and girls demonstrated their dancing skills and as always we were able to see the older boys doing their Hip-Hop dancing.

As usual here in Davao, the sun goes down fast and we decided it was time to jump into our car and return back to our world.

I will always be happy to continue my visits to the Field of Dreams Boys Home and cherish the warm and wonderful feelings, friendship and closeness I have developed with everyone there.

I also want to give a special thanks to Glyn for inviting me to help celebrate her son’s special day and the friendship we have developed.

The Home is a modern masonry building that is clean and well cared for. It has 5 dorm rooms with 6 beds each. The dorm rooms have a vanity with sinks and separate room for toilet and shower facilities, There is built-in closets for the boys things too. There is a kitchen and activity rooms besides office space. They also have a large area for a garden to grow vegetables and even raise chickens and pigs to feed the home.

Well Saturday October 25th the Davao Area Expat Association was invited back to Field of Dreams to help celebrate their One Year Anniversary.

Elena, my friends Louis and Venice Tamasi and I drove out there. Once there we met with a friend, a retired Priest Father Tom Martin was already there when we arrived. Unfortunately no one else from the Expat Community attended.

Before we arrived, La Fayette Lim of NCCC Cares together with his family(owner of NCCC stores) brought a group of Chinese Youth, about 40 youngsters to visit the center. They had parlor games, bonding, gift-giving and interacting with our boys. Despite the threat of the rain, everybody had fun and even promised to visit them again soon. They wanted to join the program in the afternoon, but the rest of the group seemed to have other appointments elsewhere, so they left just an hour before your group arrived.

When we arrived, all the boys came running out to greet us and to put our right hands to their foreheads to show respect.

At first we sat, relaxed and chatted with the people there. I got to meet again George L. Cabaljog, Executive Director and Lalaine Cabaljog. I do not remember her title but she is one of the Directors.

One little boy Omar came up to me and would come over and stand with me pressing his back to my chest and holding my arm. He was so cute and in such need of loving attention. He would move from me, to Father Tom, then to Louis and back again. Sometimes against one of our chests and holding the hand of another.

There were many guests from the local community. Faculty members of Biao Guianga Elem. School and Biao Escuela National High School. The PTCA officers were also there. Neighbour centers from Padre Pio Children’s home represented by the Sisters and the Directress of The Care for the Elderly, Barangay Council of Biao and the community. The Homes Board of Directors were also there.

The guest Speaker was Mrs. Mila T. Segovia from the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development and The Center Manager of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth. Mrs. Segovia is also the focal person for Persons with disabilities and older persons. The former Head of Regional Center for Drug Dependents. Awarded 1 of 10 Most Outstanding Social Workers of the Philippines. Awarded Dangal ng Bayan, a highest award conferred to Gov’t Employees for Exemplary performance and ethical conduct in Malacañang Palace.

Finally the presentation was to start and we moved in to the courtyard where seats and tables were arraigned. First was a Holy Mass. After that the staff of Field of Dreams did a Doxology. During the song the stereo stopped working, but the Nuns, Novices and a lot of attendees sang to keep the presentation going. It was moving as you will see in the video.

Then Mrs. Mila T. Segovia spoke to the group about her position and the work of the Boys home for the community.

There was some wonderful dance presentations with the boys doing their hip hop talents, boys and girls doing ballroom style dancing and other dance presentations. The girls that danced with the boys were classmates from Biao Guianga Elementary School and the Biao Escuela National High School. The dance was choreographed by Grendel one of houseparents at the Boys home.

It brought smiles to my face and the others attending seeing these young people dancing old style dances without the embarrassment we see in our home countries. As you can see in my video how cute and well they danced.

They then gave out Certificates of Appreciations to a lot of the guests for their assistance and support to the Home. I was called up as the representative of Davao Area Expat Association and was asked to say a few words. I told how wonderful and impressed I was with the home and their staff to see these 30 boys always clean, dressed well and the love and respect they give to all visitors.

They then served a wonderful meal of local foods to all attending. It was nice to see how the staff and the older boys helped and made sure all the younger boys were seated and well fed.

I know with the problems of the economies in most countries, it is difficult to donate and support charities when it is hard to feed your own families, but I wish there was a way to find a company or corporation to endow this home to continue its fantastic work for these boys and their community. If there is anyone wishing to donate, I am sure I can find a way for you to get your donation to the home.

In a land where you see such poverty, beggars and street kids using crime to support their families, an organization such as Childhope-Field of Dreams Children Charity Foundation, their staff can take these displaced children and give them a chance for a better and more quality life.

I commend all the Staff for their wonderful work and the love and guidance they give to the children.

I hope to get my associates from the expat community to make at least one visit a month to just visit and play with the boys to give them the much needed bonding and to show them they are not forgotten.

For the video and photo slide shows of my visit and the visit of the NCCC Care group, please click the links below.

For another article and video of the day from my friend Louis, please click HERE

Childhope Field of Dreams Children’s Home in Biao, Guianga, Tugbok District of Davao City a week ago.

The Field of Dreams Foundation is a registered charity here in the Philippines founded by Lawrence Field. They have 30 boys there from the ages of 3 to 16 years old. The boys are either abandoned or orphaned. You can read more about the foundation at http://www.childhope-fieldofdreams.org/

In a country with so much over population and poverty it is nice seeing someone trying to make a difference in a child’s life

Some of the problems they face are with the economy in England and throughout the world the foundation is having trouble getting donations and also I have emailed them there is no vehicle on their site to accept donations. I hope these will change and I will post any updates.

The Association has decided to help this organization from the donations at each meeting. Besides this since we were also told that the children only get a sweet treat once a month, so we all brought sodas, cakes candies and other treats.

About 15-20 of us drove out there and were warmly greeted by the Staff and the children. In the Philippines there is a sign of respect where a child will take your right hand and touch it to their forehead. This is mostly used for immediate family. Well all 30 children came to each of us and showed that respect.

All the children were well cared for and dressed well. Some spoke English and some only Basaya. As always with children, most were shy with so many strange faces but warmed up to us as the day progressed. The staff were warm, friendly and grateful for us coming.

The facility is made of well constructed masonry structure. There are 5 dorm rooms with 3 double beds, storage closets, vanity with 2 sinks and a toilet and shower room each. There is also a Living room, kitchen and room for the staff. There is a basketball court and a garden for rising vegetables and they also raise pigs, goats and chickens.

One staff there is a Home Manager, Social Worker, 7 House Parents, a cook and 3 house helpers.

From there we walked into the courtyard where tables and chairs were set up. We were then presented with a show of dancing. About 2 weeks before our visit there was a group of American Hip-Hop dances that had a workshop at one of the malls. Some of the older boys were in the workshop. It was amazing that in just 2 days of training and 2 weeks to practice, these boys were doing amazing dance moves.

After the speeches and dance presentations all the children were seated and we given a huge treat. I expect there were a few tummy aches that night, but I did see even the smallest kids packing up some of their candies and putting them away to save for another time. I also expect the day will be remembered by the children and us for a long time.

After that there was another presentation and all our wives/girlfriends joined in. After it was getting late so we loaded up in our cars and headed back. In the car we talked about how wonderful the day was and hope we can help them find a way to continue the great work they are doing.

The following is my first video. I appologize of the quality but I am sure you will enjoy the children and their dancing. Since it was too big, it is split into 2 videos.