Spread the Christmas Cheer!

The annual giving of Christmas presents at a party for children in disadvantaged communities was a project of two of Balay’s Trustees long before Balay’s existence – this year would make it the 29^th annual Christmas event. The only difference this year would be that such events will be hosted by Balay partners in the Philippines.

A tradition that started in 1993, the Christmas event that was intended to simply bring joy to children who would not have otherwise received a Christmas present or would not have owned a toy, has become an essential part of an initial stage of a wider purpose. Over the years, the Christmas event was instrumental in bringing the community together to improve awareness of children’s rights and to build parental capacity to engage in government-sponsored livelihood programs. So much so that the Christmas event evolved into an important building block in poverty reduction in extremely disadvantaged communities.

Your gift will give a child a toy for a Christmas present and a bundle of food items for the child’s family’s Christmas meal.

Through the years we have noticed that most children at the Christmas party did not eat the food at the party but brought it home to share with their families.  Hence the introduction of the bundle of food items (aka bundle of joy) to reinforce the love for family.

With our partners in the Philippines, your gift for a child at Christmas will not only bring joy but will also hopefully, help a child and family get out of the cycle of poverty.