FCC The Hague, NL promotes “LARO NG LAHI” at its 9^th Family Fun Day

 

By Agnes van de Beek-Pavia
FCC The Hague – The Netherlands
July 12, 2019




June 30, 2019 - On a bright sunny Sunday, the Filipino Catholic Community in The Hague concluded its 9^th annual Family Fun Day by advocating and raising awareness for the games of our heritage.







It has always been the community’s aim to promote pleasure, sportsmanship and community spirit during the conduct of this family fun day. This year, the focus on “Laro ng Lahi” as event theme left the community in profound enthusiasm as they took a trip down memory lane on some of the best Filipino traditional games of their childhood.





Over the past years, this annual event has been significantly organized to promote friendship and unity among its members. Eventually it aimed to enhance the existing network of Filipino- Dutch families and friends through recreational activities.  The conduct of facilitated team building outdoor activities has always been the core content of the family fun day.









This year’s theme “Laro ng Lahi” allowed the organizers to improvise, be creative and to maximize available materials to meet its purpose of facilitating Filipino traditional games. Four competing teams were challenged to display their teamwork skills as they engaged in different team building games.

The event brought some nostalgic moments!  Everyone reminisced and took a trip down memory lane on some of the exciting and fun-filled old-fashioned games of their youth.  Who would not remember their best and daring jumps playing the Chinese garter and “Luksong Tinik”  or the best throws to hit the empty tin can in “Tumbang Preso”, or their  flexibility and balance in playing “Patintero” and “Sipa”!  Everyone was totally back into his childhood euphoria.



“Maria Went to Town”   did not just brought the highly-spirited crowd burst into merry laugh and cheering at the silly catwalk of male participants, but it also showed that gender difference has never been detrimental to promoting community fun and wellbeing.  “Karerang Tsinelas” “Salong-itlog” and “Karera ng Sako” tested the teams’ coordination and teamwork as well.   Through these games, we eventually introduced our culture and tradition to our Filipino-Dutch kids, whose enthusiasm and active participation during the day were considerably unhindered and unrestrained!

Improvised games with improvised materials also added stimulation for teamwork! Playing “Holen sa tunnel” and “Maalaala Mo Kaya”, a memory game where teams matched words and pictures of national symbols such as national dance, costume, flower, animal, etc… tested the teams’ coordination and basic knowledge on our cultural heritage.



In as much as the adults enjoyed their cherished childhood games, the little ones also had their unforgettable party as they anxiously took turns hitting the improvised pot in the “Hampas Palayok” (hit the pot) game. The children patiently waited as well for the legendary “Pabitin”   where they vigorously enjoyed grabbing sweets and toys while at the same time experiencing a unique Filipino traditional outdoor game!



This year’s family fun day also introduced the summer community raffle draw “Numero ko, Kapalit Premyo” which surprisingly was well-received by the crowd. Exciting prizes varied from glamour prizes to consolation prizes such as caps, umbrellas, bags, t-shirts as well as a Balikbayan box! Elizabeth Mordaunt of Juweelco Juweliers was this year’s major prize sponsor with the added consolation prize donations from LBC, Toko 4 All and Del Rosario International Freight Forwarders NL. 

The potluck community lunch, which remains the very heart of this yearly outdoor event, was again a delight to witness. There was an extensive selection of Filipino dishes, all generously shared by individuals and groups.  It was another amusing moment  witnessing how laid-back, agreeable and open-handed the Filipinos are in a collective effort such as this.

The organizers, team leaders, facilitators, team members and even the non-participating audience were all significantly enthusiastic and were equally amused at the result of this year’s family fun day. According to the event coordinator it was a considerable challenge organizing the “Laro ng Lahi”  games with its relatively limited resources available.

Nevertheless, it was worth organizing for the purpose of promoting the Filipino traditional games aside from fostering friendship and unity among its members.  The event was also the community’s expression of festivity and pride commemorating the 101^st Philippine Independence Day.









The White and the Blue teams bagged 1^st place this year with the Red, and Green teams ranking 2^nd and 3rd respectively. Each participating team composed of children and adults received packs of selected items as prizes.  Maria Theresa M. Alders, Second Secretary and Consul of the Philippine Embassy in The Hague graced the event.

FCC THE HAGUE "LARO NG LAHI" FAMILY FUN DAY 2019 in YOUTUBE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=efnKHKlxefg&feature=share