PMAP models play Santa for a day
January 21, 2003 | 12:00am
When was the last time you felt like Santa Claus? For us members of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP), it was last month when we spent an afternoon with the children of Tahanan Sta. Luisa, a drop-in/welcome center for victims of sexual abuse.
After a year full of shows and shoots, it was a relief to give our feet a break from the catwalk. But it was a greater feeling to know that our feet would be used instead in playing with the children of Tahanan Sta. Luisa.
We couldn’t do this alone. After all, even Santa needs help from his elves. Well, PMAP was lucky to receive a lot of help from certain elves. But they were anything but little!
Ben Chan gave a generous donation which allowed PMAP to grant many items from Tahanan’s wish list  three wall fans, a water dispenser, a rice dispenser and dining plates. But Ben Chan gave us more reasons to say "Hohoho" when he sent 30 Bench gift packs for the children!
The pretty girls of Tahanan Sta. Luisa were also so happy to receive blouses and underwear from Ronald Pineda of Folded & Hung. As the little girls were opening their F&H bags, our eyes couldn’t help but wonder about the fashionable blouses Ronald put inside!
Thanks to the Young Designers Guild (YDG) headed by Dennis Lustico, the children received so many school supplies. Even senior PMAP model Apples Aberin participated through her donation of canned fruits which the kids brought home in time for their special Christmas dinner. They also got some refreshments from director Richard Tann, who gave them cases of softdrinks.
For our part, we prepared our own gift pack  a pail with everything from food and sustenance to clothing and slippers to even soap and tabo. While we were fixing up all the gifts the girls were about to receive, we realized we had so much! We were very excited Santa Clauses that day!
During that day, we rode our sled to Tahanan Sta. Luisa along UN Avenue in Manila. We started the program with a prayer and continued with games, like who could say "Merry Christmas" the longest. It was quite funny how a little girl beat all our PMAP boys! We also played statue dance and gosh, not only were these girls good at acting like statues, they were darn good at dancing, too! They had moves that could outdance any of us girls!
We also played everyone’s favorite game  Bring Me. I played host that day it was quite overwhelming to see more than a dozen kids scrambling towards you with the required object in their hands! We played the longest line game last. We had two teams and the ates and kuyas would join the kids to help them form the longest line. I couldn’t stop laughing! The PMAP models were more into it than the kids! My brother Robby wanted so much for his team to win that he even grabbed my mic and its cord! I could only shake my head and smile at the things they did to make their line the longest! Haaay!
It was honestly a very enjoyable day. I’m even smiling as I type this! We all bonded that day! Even after all the games ended, the girl who won as best dancer in the statue dance pulled me aside to teach me some dance moves! Our male models made us proud when they were able to form a special bond with some of the children. There was one who even started calling our new male member Ton Lao "Daddy." Until the moment we said goodbye, she was still calling him Daddy.
It may have been a day without all the makeup, the high heels, the fabulous clothes, and the bright lights  all the things that made us look pretty. But honestly, even if we were in our ugliest outfits, I had never seen all my PMAP friends look so beautiful.
After a year full of shows and shoots, it was a relief to give our feet a break from the catwalk. But it was a greater feeling to know that our feet would be used instead in playing with the children of Tahanan Sta. Luisa.
We couldn’t do this alone. After all, even Santa needs help from his elves. Well, PMAP was lucky to receive a lot of help from certain elves. But they were anything but little!
Ben Chan gave a generous donation which allowed PMAP to grant many items from Tahanan’s wish list  three wall fans, a water dispenser, a rice dispenser and dining plates. But Ben Chan gave us more reasons to say "Hohoho" when he sent 30 Bench gift packs for the children!
The pretty girls of Tahanan Sta. Luisa were also so happy to receive blouses and underwear from Ronald Pineda of Folded & Hung. As the little girls were opening their F&H bags, our eyes couldn’t help but wonder about the fashionable blouses Ronald put inside!
Thanks to the Young Designers Guild (YDG) headed by Dennis Lustico, the children received so many school supplies. Even senior PMAP model Apples Aberin participated through her donation of canned fruits which the kids brought home in time for their special Christmas dinner. They also got some refreshments from director Richard Tann, who gave them cases of softdrinks.
For our part, we prepared our own gift pack  a pail with everything from food and sustenance to clothing and slippers to even soap and tabo. While we were fixing up all the gifts the girls were about to receive, we realized we had so much! We were very excited Santa Clauses that day!
During that day, we rode our sled to Tahanan Sta. Luisa along UN Avenue in Manila. We started the program with a prayer and continued with games, like who could say "Merry Christmas" the longest. It was quite funny how a little girl beat all our PMAP boys! We also played statue dance and gosh, not only were these girls good at acting like statues, they were darn good at dancing, too! They had moves that could outdance any of us girls!
We also played everyone’s favorite game  Bring Me. I played host that day it was quite overwhelming to see more than a dozen kids scrambling towards you with the required object in their hands! We played the longest line game last. We had two teams and the ates and kuyas would join the kids to help them form the longest line. I couldn’t stop laughing! The PMAP models were more into it than the kids! My brother Robby wanted so much for his team to win that he even grabbed my mic and its cord! I could only shake my head and smile at the things they did to make their line the longest! Haaay!
It was honestly a very enjoyable day. I’m even smiling as I type this! We all bonded that day! Even after all the games ended, the girl who won as best dancer in the statue dance pulled me aside to teach me some dance moves! Our male models made us proud when they were able to form a special bond with some of the children. There was one who even started calling our new male member Ton Lao "Daddy." Until the moment we said goodbye, she was still calling him Daddy.
It may have been a day without all the makeup, the high heels, the fabulous clothes, and the bright lights  all the things that made us look pretty. But honestly, even if we were in our ugliest outfits, I had never seen all my PMAP friends look so beautiful.
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