In mid-May, the team visited Cauayan in the mountains of Negros Occidental. We noticed that the children were playing with a contraption made of pieces of wood and bamboo connected to a wheel. It was the only toy in the village.

We couldn’t get that image out of our minds and decided we had found the recipients of a recent donation of toys from Singapore. We asked for a list of all the names and ages of the kids, found an appropriate toy for each child and sent a box of toys to Cauayan.

Another box of toys from another donor went to some of the children of the Ata Manobo Tribe in Kapalong, Davao del Norte. In addition to that, Kapalong also received a box of Bears of Joy from SM City Bacolod. We are grateful that SM City Bacolod has been donating these teddy bears through us for many years. We have been able to donate teddy bears to children at various NVC project sites in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Now all of the children in Kapalong and in Cauayan each have a toy of their own.