Wazzup Pilipinas!
I find it very difficult to keep my children away from their smartphones and tablets. To compete with online games apps, video game consoles, smart TVs, and other hi-tech entertainment systems of this generation is a nightmare for most parents. I’ve tried so many times to encourage them to play outside with other kids their age but it seems there’s really a handful of kids that spend their breaks playing with the traditional games we knew during our childhood.
This is why I always take advantage of rare opportunities when concerned organizations initiate advocacy programs that gives the kids a chance to experience the games of the good old days when there was no such thing as the Internet.
At the Project LARO press conference held last May 5, 2015 at the 22 Jupiter restaurant along Jupiter street in Makati, Philippines, I realized my kids are still very fortunate because there are several kids out there belonging to the less fortunate that do not even have access to a decent playground where they could play without getting worried of accidents if they play on our congested streets where cars are parked on the streets and the sidewalks are occupied by vendors who already claimed these public properties as their own.
Even well-developed neighborhoods are already experiencing a shortage of areas to play since the only way to go now is up due to a crowded Metro Manila. High-rise condos are now becoming the solution to maximize space. But because of the limitations, the kids of today are tempted to just stay indoors in the comforts of their own homes.
If you’ve been to the depressed communities, you’ll feel very sad of the current state of our fellow Filipinos who were victims of recent typhoons and similar disasters.
Project LARO is an exhibition of different Filipino games as interpreted through arts, crafts and design happening from May 12 to 30, 2015 at the Alabang Town Center activity area in Muntinlupa city.
The project is organized by Creative Kids Studio, in cooperation with Tukod Foundation and UNICEF and aims to raise funds to be able to build playgrounds for the less fortunate communities starting with the residents of Laguna and Tacloban.
The project is led by Isabel “Bambi” Manosa –Tanjutco of Creative Kids Studio, along with her family including her two kids namely Natasha and Isabela. Representatives from UNICEF and Alabang Town Center were also there to support the press conference.
They say the best way to a kid's heart is through playful communication like colorful art and craft projects, and of course the thrill of playing traditional Filipino games with other kids of the same age. We must earn the trust of the kids first before we can do the next step. Trust can easily be achieved if the kid's basic needs, including the right to play, are addressed properly. When a kid feels that he is in a safe and happy environment, thoroughly communicating with them on a more personal level will be conveniently possible.
Everyone is encouraged to participate so the organizers could raise enough funds to initiate the immediate construction of Project LARO playgrounds. The project will surely bring so many smiles coming from both the children and their parents who will feel more comfortable now that their children have a safe environment to play.
For more information, please visit their website at http://www.kidsforkids.org.ph
or their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CreativeKidsPH and at Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/_kidsforkids
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