You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~ Kahlil Gibran
It is said that the more we share, the more we have. If that is truly the case, then the SFAL group must be one of the richest people in the world. As their sweat roll down their faces, you can see in their smiles and the glint in their eyes how truly wealthy they are. There is nothing more enriching than knowing that even for just one short moment, you have brought on a smile, a sigh of relief and even better, a memory to last a lifetime to someone who truly needs it.
The Sagunto Friendship Association London (SFAL), in addition to their building project, also sponsored a Christmas party for the children of Pilawan Elementary School which became, undoubtedly, a truly momentous occasion that these children will never forget. The preparations for this event started way before they boarded their flight home. All year leading up to this homecoming, they planned for their gift giving as they shored up their stock; buying a shoe here and there, some school supplies when it’s on sale, including some extra sweets and treats in their usual grocery lists to add to their stock pile, slowly filling up one balikbayan box after another just for the sake of seeing the smiles on these kids’ faces.
The SFAL group is to be commended for this outstanding project. Enjoy the photos they have shared so that we too can experience the joy they felt in their giving.
- The Brownlow’s residence was the SFAL’s staging site.
- Unpacking balikbayan boxes
- Packing gift bags for each student
- Amazing what you can fit in a balikbayan box!
- The hardworking elves 🙂
- Reward for the workers after a hard day working in the heat!
- Day of the party, Pilawan Elementary School
- Mr. & Mrs. Digay with the table full of brand new shoes for the children
- The children of Pilawan Elementary
- Every child received at least one pair of new shoes
- Some were lucky enough to get more than one pair if their shoe size was right
- Precious!
- the SFAL team
- beautiful SFAL ladies
- The children’s presentation for their benefactors
- Pres. Judy, Tony Brownlow and teachers Rhodora and Lorna
- In addition to new shoes, each child took home a big bag of treats.
- Their bags included enough treats for their families to share.
- Of course, it’s not a party without food!
- Lots of food for everyone! Including the dog lol!
- the SFAL members made sure everything was perfect
- No greater reward than the smiles of children who know someone cared enough to plan such a grand party on their behalf.