Torrijos, Marinduque – More than 400 beneficiaries gathered on September 8, 2018, Saturday in Torrijos Municipal Covered Court, Torrijos, Marinduque to attend the Family Day Congress 2018 of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office MIMAROPA with the theme “Pamilyang Pilipino: Nagsusumikap, Nagtutulungan, Nagtatagumpay”. Families from the 25 barangays of Torrijos joined the event, which employed a combination of methods of fun-filled activities and plenary and individual/group discussions to infuse positive life-affirming event for the members of the family.
Mr. Primo Pamintuan, Board Member for Mayor in Torrijos, Marinduque welcomed the beneficiaries of the program to officially start the event. Through the support of the Local Government Unit of Torrijos and the Local Government Unit of Marinduque, the activity was successfully conducted.
In order to ensure a festive vibe, the event was filled with booths and stalls from the different partner agencies of the program such as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Marinduque Police Office which offer free services to the beneficiaries. Other than services from the partner agencies, the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Torrijos through Ms. Mary Anne Larracas, MSWDO, set up a Kiddie Corner to offer children toys and free ice cream during the conduct of event. The Pantawid staff, on the other hand, set up a Games Corner which let children and adult play different games such as pabitin, palayok, and other simple ball games. A photo booth was also set up to help the families commemorate the event.
The event was divided into discussion part in the morning and the family day fair in the afternoon.
Pastor Francisco De Jesus of the Norwegian Mission Alliance, one of the CSO partners of the program led the discussion proper on topics: 1)”Ano ang Masayang Pamilya”; and 2.) “Paano masosolusyunan ang di Pagkakaunawaan sa Pamilya”. On the first discussion, all families were grouped into 20 groups and were tasked to illustrate what defines a happy family. Meanwhile, on the second discussion, the parents, teens, and children were separated to discuss the second topic using film showing for the children, role playing for the teens, and plenary discussion for the parents.
On the afternoon, the Family Day Fair commenced to conduct the three major contests of the event such as the Gulayan Cooking Contest, Collage-Making Contest, and the Recycled Art Contest. The Gulayan Cooking Contest were participated by five (5) families. Since the program is strengthening backyard garden of its beneficiaries, all vegetables used in the contest were picked from the backyard garden of the family or their communal garden. The challenge was to prepare a nutritious meal with vegetables as their main ingredient. For the Collage-Making Contest, the eight (8) families who participated created a collage about the theme of the event. Meanwhile, the ten (10) families who participated on the Recycled Art Contest used 80% recyclable or trash materials which they collected to create a material which can be used at home.
Simultaneously, while the three contests were being conducted, other families played Filipino games such as putukan na, rice planting, spoon feeding, egg relay, balloon relay, race around chairs, calamansi relay, and balloon relay. All booths were open on the afternoon hence, those families who did not join the games can visit them.
According to DSWD MIMAROPA Regional Director, “mahalagang magkaroon ng isang pagdiriwang ang pamilya tulad nitong Family Day Congress upang mapagtibay natin ang kanilang komunikasyon at suporta sa bawat isa, maging responsableng miyembro ng pamilya, at mapagtanto ang kahalagahan ng isang pamilya (it is important to conduct activities such as the Family Day Congress to strengthen communication and support of the family members to each other, to become a responsible member, and to understand the importance of a family).”
“Ating hinihikayat ang bawat pamilya na magkaroon ng bukas na komunikasyon sa kanilang tahananan at magsagawa ng iba pang gawain na makatutulong upang mas mapagtibay ang kanilang samahan (we encourage all families to have open communication in their houses and to conduct other activities which can help them strengthen their relationship),” she added. ###
