My Bonita Home for Girls

CEBU, Philippines – On December 22nd, DreamMaker from Houston, Texas sponsored an all-day Christmas event for 82 girls from “My Bonita Home for Girls.” It was held at Papa Kit’s Marina & Fishing Lagoon and Estaca Bay Resort. Most of the girls were victims of abuse and have had very traumatic experiences in their lives.

The event was dubbed “Making of Christmas,” and the children had a run of the house, partaking in all of the activities featured at Papa Kit’s, including zip lining, horseback riding, fishing, jungle obstacles and the hanging bridge. DreamMaker Chief Creative Officer Gregory Patrick and his colleagues visited the Bonita home every other Sunday for a few months, each time with a hundred different pastries that were created for the girls. One of the pastries contained a message that revealed an element of their upcoming “surprise” day, building the girls’ excitement as time went by and finally baring the full details of the Christmas celebration planned just for them.

The girls were joined by three nuns and nine staff from the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart and further assisted by a troop of enthusiastic adults ranging from 10 activity judges for the Olympics, another 10 taking charge of the “Build a Boat and Hope It Floats” Regatta, and two photographers and one camera crew provided by ChannelFix.com and the Rotary Club of Cebu Fort San Pedro. Local DJ Georgio Visitacion provided the rap beats for the 10-team “Write your own Rap” contest. The kids composed a positive message on why each team was a winner no matter what challenges they faced in life.

The Bonita Olympics games included some popular American games along with local games. After half a day spent at Papa Kits, the children were brought a quick 10 minutes away to the sister resort Asteca Bay, where they enjoyed lechon, spaghetti and other kids’ favorites. Then they were off for the Regatta where the kids had 30 minutes to build a boat from scratch, complete with their flag and then raced along the shore; the winner being the boat that sank last! Afterwards – a couple of hours pool time, for which all 82 kids received new swim wear. The Rap contest followed,  each team touting a rap that told their success and experiences on that fine day.

The girls were of ages between 4 to 24 years old – all of them victims of abuse by someone they trusted. Yet despite the traumatic experiences they had, they were wonderfully engaging on the exterior and a true delight to entertain. The sponsoring group was also blessed to have been entertained by the girls’ talents.

The December event aimed to raise awareness for the “My Bonita Home for Girls” in Talamban, Cebu City, while also giving the children a chance to experience a day different than their daily routine.

DreamMaker and its fellow band of merry well-wishers plan to make it an annual event along with spring and summer outings designed to get the kids extroverted. DreamMaker is also committed in sponsoring a mission of trained counselors from the East and West Coasts of the United States to come and spend time with the girls to relieve them of their past traumas.