MANILA, Philippines - The Villar Foundation, led by its founding chairman Sen. Manny Villar and managing director former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, on Saturday brought smiles and joy to the poor children of Tondo, Manila, and Tagaytay City who were treated to various Christmas surprises.
About 55 children from the slums of Baseco and their companions, and 80 children from Tagaytay City were picked up from their respective places and brought to the Christmas Village in Britanny-Crosswinds, a residential property in Tagaytay City.
The children, aged 3 to 10, were treated to good food and beverages while on board chartered buses.
“We want to make their trip and stay at Crosswinds, even for a few hours, unforgettable. We made sure that the event would be fun-filled so they could always look back at the fond memories they had here,” noted Mrs. Villar.
During her stint at the House of Representatives for nine years, Villar authored several legislations which redound to the benefit of children.
“In our own little way, we hope to make these children happy through the Villar Foundation,” she said.
Happiness could be seen on the faces of the children as the bus traversed the road going to Crosswinds, which sits on lush terrain in one of the highest peaks in Tagaytay City.
The children could not contain their excitement. For many of them, it was a totally new experience to travel out of town. When they reached Tagaytay, the children immediately enjoyed the cold December breeze and breath-taking environment.
Crosswinds has been all decked up for Christmas, and the Villar Foundation prepared lots of fun activities and games.
The children visited the Gingerbread House at the state-of-the-art Christmas Village , adorned with 20,000 pine trees.
The children also played with various toys at the Christmas Village, built for children and adults to enjoy. They also had their pictures taken at the Christmas Village and around the area.