RAFI to hold children festival twice a year

CEBU, Philippines - The increasing participants inspired the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI) to stage the Children’s Festival twice a year, The FREEMAN learned yesterday.

The holding twice a year of the festival is also aimed at accommodating more children and drawing more partners of the event.

During its first staging in October 2007, the festival, which is under the auspices of Dolores Aboitiz Children’s Fund (DACF), drew 400 children from 12-child focused institutions.

In 2008, at least 620 children from 17 child institutions participated. Last year, the number of participants doubled to 1,628 from same number of institutions.

This year’s first celebration of festival, which will be held on July 17-18 at the Don Bosco Technology Center, will have 21 participating institutions, nine working committee organizations. It aims to draw 800 children participants from four to 17 years old.

The theme, “Dolores, Sumbanan sa Kabataan,” is designed to introduce to the children the life of Dolores Aboitiz and highlight her values and characteristics through activities that promote leadership and citizenship, cultural preservation, integrated development and values education.

The second celebration, called the “Festival in Town,” will be held in two municipalities in Central Visayas.

DACF had sets qualifications for participants. Dominica B. Chua, RAFI chief operating officer, said they specified that a child who undergone traumatic experience in life would only be qualified unless he or she already healed.

The fund is also giving orientation to volunteers about the profile they expect and typical behavior of the child they will be handling. For example, volunteers should be careful to touch a sexually abused child.    (FREEMANNEWS)