There was something magical about this year’s 3rd year anniversary and early Christmas celebration for MABIKAs Foundation, the Philippine Cordillera Connection in the Netherlands that was held on December 7, 2019 (Saturday) in Gouda, The Netherlands. Perhaps it’s the number itself that made this day truly special? Interestingly, of the many who were invited for the 3rd anniversary celebration, exactly 33 in total made it that afternoon!
In many related literature, the number 3 is said to be associated with the positive energies of joy, friendliness, kindness, humor, brilliance, enthusiasm, and sociability, among others. The number also symbolizes completeness and interconnectedness; it resonates with culture, talent, skills, and love for fun and pleasure! By God’s grace, that was exactly how it was during the 5-hour celebration as evident of the positive feedback shared by participants after the gathering.
AN AFTERNOON FILLED WITH POSITIVE VIBES
Kicking off with a live, welcoming music courtesy of Tizya & Zeger, participants started arriving one after the other from 12.30 noontime with smiles on their faces (despite the hassles of public transport that some experienced on their way to the venue).
Greeting with enthusiasm at the entrance were MABIKAs Board Members Yvonne Belen, Romelita Gumatic and Tessie Gayao. The program formally started with an opening prayer, where all who managed to come on time formed a circle, joined hands, and prayed for God’s outpouring of His blessings and grace not only for the event itself but most importantly for the people who came and who were still on their way.
That special moment was followed by ’extemporaneous speeches’ from each and everyone as they were given the stage to briefly introduce themselves. Though most of the people in the room already know each other, the ‘getting-to-know-you-MORE’ warm-up game apparently worked; it also raised the positive vibes to the next level with the utterances of many “Oh”s and “Wow”s coupled with the laughs in response to every person’s telling fun stuff about themselves.
As everyone settled back to their chosen seats, the classical welcoming remarks was delivered by Myra Zymelka-Colis, MABIKAs founding chairperson and also this year’s Christmas/anniversary event coordinator.
It’s a very busy month, apparently, but you chose to be with us today. So thank you all, MABIKAs constituents and all our guests present this afternoon. Please feel at home as we spend five hours together with community dancing and singing, fun games, giving gifts and appreciation, cultural performances and learning, a special Christmas message, food, drinks and more!
~ Myra Zymelka-Colis
Part of the first two hours, which was themed as the welcoming & socialization hours, was a welcoming dance led by MABIKAs Board Secretary Yvonne Belen. As the foundation’s dance of the year, Bendian is a local term that literally means ‘dance until you get tired’. The following eight steps were introduced and tried by everyone already in a circle ready to dance with music.
CELEBRATING 3 YEARS OF TOGETHERNESS— OUR PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
Themed as the anniversary hour, the 3-4pm hour highlighted what MABIKAs Foundation is all about, giving an introduction to guests as well as review of the past, the present and the future of MABIKAs to all constituents/volunteers.
The seven posters that visualize the mission and the six primary goals of the foundation were displayed in the room, which made it easier for participants to grasp in a nutshell what the past, the present, and the future of the organization. Looking back at the foundation’s 1st five-year plan, members of both the MABIKAs Foundation Board and Core Working Group were happy and proud to have achieved what the team has committed itself to do in the past three years.
Among these achievements that the team is proud of included the registration of MABIKAs at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce as a foundation, being a member of the Organizing Team of the Philippine Independence Day in The Hague every year, public cultural performances in big cities in country (i.e. Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Leiden), hosting the 10th Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK-Europe (ICBE) conference, collaborations not only with organizations in the Filipino community but also in the Dutch and International communities the Netherlands.
With gratitude, Founding Chairperson Myra Colis emphasized that all the above-mentioned achievements were only made possible because of the people behind the making of MABIKAs Foundation. She then called them one by one to come forward for appreciation and recognition. As chairperson, Myra handed the symbolic badge of honor and tokens of appreciation & recognition to each member of the Core Working Group and the Board who were present that afternoon.
The heartfelt exchange of gratitude, appreciation, and vows for continuous commitment to serve towards the overall mission of the foundation was followed by a meaningful song number rendered by the Abra ladies of MABIKAs, namely Janet Barcena, Luniza Taoil, and Aurora Pacio Pascual. The song was composed by Janet herself and was performed like a serenade to the audience with the famous ‘dong-la-lay’ steps of the indigenous people from Abra province in the Philippine Cordillera region. (See full lyrics)
The celebration continued by playing one of the famous Cordillera games called ‘sanggor’. It’s a hand wrestling game, whereby two opponents are positioned to bring the other right hand’s down. In a book entitled ‘Cordillera Games’ authored by Dr. Josephine Almendral Flores, she noted that the game is played to determine who is stronger because back in the Igorot communities, ‘when someone brags of his strength, the wrestling is played against any opponent to back up his bragging.’
All the winners picked their corresponding prizes from a table of wrapped gifts sponsored by Aurora & Joselito Pascual and family.
CHRISTMAS IN OUR HEARTS
Another highlight of the day’s celebration was apparently Christmas, which served as the theme for the fourth hour. While participants grabbed their cups of coffee and drinks, duo performers Tizya & Zeger took the stage for another live performance. To further fill the air with the Christmas spirit, the duo sang their versions of ‘Ang Pasko ay Sumapit’ and ‘Jingle Bells’ with the audience singing together with them.
The afternoon event wouldn’t be complete without a Christmas message, which was delivered by Ms. Agnes van de Beek-Pavia from the Filipino Catholic Community in The Hague. In her inspiring talk, she emphasized on the importance of finding one’s purpose in life as an individual and as a group as well, empowering one’s self to become fully equipped, fighting odds and trials of life when they come around, and whenever possible, respond to every opportunity of giving back to the community. (See full script here).
Symbolic of the Christmas message to fight back life’s trials, Umudi van den Bos, one of the children of MABIKAs, showcased his talent and skills in taekwondo. That was followed by the break dancing performance of Ilian Taguba and the encouraging talk on molding one’s ability as much as possible from mother-and-son Rachel and Tom de Weerd. The energy, courage, and enthusiasm of these kids as evident of their willingness to share what they can do was admirable and much appreciated by all in the room.
Before everyone called it a day, sumptuous meals were served for dinner. Thanks to the caterer of the day, Renijune Abaya; Romelita Gumatic also shared in preparing two other delicious dishes for the day.
To close the event, Tessie Gayao gave her words of thanks to all participants on behalf of the foundation. With the Spirit of Christmas remaining in everyone’s hearts, all participants helped out in the cleaning up and all went home with happy hearts and a joyful spirit!
FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL OF YOU WHO CAME & CELEBRATED THIS SPECIAL AFTERNOON WITH US! MABI-MABIKAS TAYO AMIN!
~ MABIKAs Foundation Team of Volunteers
Photo credits: Romelita Gumatic-Heitlager & Joselito ‘Joseph’ Pascual
