Loving the Unloved at Anawim

February is the month of love, but it doesn't mean that it's just for couples. My colleagues and I found a way to express our love in a different way, by sponsoring an outreach for the benefit of Anawim Lay Missions Foundation Inc.

Anawim is actually a Hebrew word for "The poor of the Lord" or "God's poor", an apt name for the center that is now the home of over 50 abandoned elderly plus a few orphans and physically and mentally handicapped persons. Founded by Bro. Bo Sanchez, this place is located in Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal. In order to pull off this activity, we decided to have a raffle for a cause and sold tickets to family and friends to raise funds. Then we just contacted Anawim, planned our logistics and we were all set.

So on the 18th day of February, we set off for Anawim. Once we got there, we had a short orientation with the caretakers, and discovered that most of the residents were already suffering cases of Alzheimer's, some were suffering from dementia and we were also advised not to dig up their histories too much as they would be in denial of the fact that they have been abandoned by their families. It was a sad briefing, to say the least, and an eye opener to those of us there. So, we wanted to do our best to make the few hours we had with them count, to make them forget their troubles and at least be able to entertain them with songs, games and fun.

As soon as we got to the assembly area, our ever prepared emcee Boggs Buguina was game as ever! Without missing a beat, she caught the attention of our lolos and lolas in the audience. We started off with a prayer, and then played some games. They said they were tired so we indulged them by playing a few rounds of Pinoy Henyo ourselves. They were entertained at watching us try to guess the words and some were actually helping us out by reading the answers out loud. Afterwards, it was their turn and they joined in on the fun by playing Hep Hep Hooray. Then, we serenaded them with some videoke songs, only to be put to shame by one lola who sang several songs in a row in Spanish! And without the need of written lyrics, she knew those songs by heart. There was even an amazing performance where Boggs was outdanced and outmatched by one lolo who showed us how to boogie! Boggs was already out of breath by the time the song was over, and our lolo didn't even break a sweat. If this was a contest, we wouldn’t stand a chance of winning against them.



[caption id="attachment_405" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Our happy lolos and lolas"][/caption]





In the end, we all settled down by having lunch together. We couldn't keep them for long as they needed to rest, but we were happy to have been able to go out to Anawim, interact with our lolos and lolas and spread God's love to those who have no one else to take care of them. And in those moments, however brief, we were able to let them know they are loved.

Aside from being able to spend time with our lolos and lolas, and the hearty meal we served everyone at Anawim, we were also able to donate P7,036.55 worth of goods and P6,000 is cash. If you would like to donate to Anawim, you can check out this website for more details - http://anawim.com.ph/donations.php .







Photo Credit: Thanks to Ley Castillo!