"I BELIEVE THAT CHILDREN DO NOT DESERVE TO BE NEGLECTED"
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It’s April 25 at ten in the morning and about 6,000 kids are waiting at the gates of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ’s Covenant Mountain and Prayer Center in Tamayong, Mt. Apo, Davao City.
The excitement is nearing fever-pitch – buses had picked them up earlier from their homes in about ten barangays at the foothills of Mt. Apo, and brought them to the Prayer Mountain for Children’s Joy Foundation Founder and President Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy’s birthday celebration for all children which has been dubbed as National Children’s Day – a day for all children who have never experienced what it’s like to have a grand birthday party.
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The gates are thrown open and the kids stream inside lie a rushing river, cheering and laughing for what greets them inside is a sight any child would delight in. They are given party hats and balloons at the gate, and ushered in, one group at a time, through the various colorful stalls that are lined up on the paved road of the Prayer Mountain which offer all kinds of entertainment and goods—clowns, magic and fire-eating, jungle fun with Tarzan, face painting, contests and many more. |
As each group moves through the stalls, the kids can stop by any of the ice cream and cotton candy carts scattered around the Prayer Mountain, to get cotton candy and ice cream free all day. Meanwhile roaming around the party area are Jollibee and McDonald’s mascots who gave out presents to the kids for free. They are also greeted by regular candy showers from a costumed Spiderman, who is clambering up a wall and throwing out candies and are able to join a fantastical parade with the most popular cartoon character like Snow White and Cinderella.
With the majestic blue, pink and yellow millennial houses of the Prayer Mountain and Martha’s Vineyard, its restaurants with three dining areas and a beautiful lounge, and an outside patio with a fountain rising from the Star of David, not to mention lovely gardens with flowers of every kind in full bloom, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the entire magical scene as Disneyland. And for a child, who has lived all of his life in poverty, the whole-day experience brought imaginable joy.
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This is exactly what Pastor Apollo, who came from a poor family, wanted the kids to feel, when he decided to share his joy with children from underprivileged families all over the country.
“I believe that children do not deserve to be neglected,” says Pastor Apollo, “so in my own little way I promise the Father that if He will bless me, I will take care of the children of the Philippines. |
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“Show those children love today, help them by feeding them, giving them shelter and sending them to school, and they will remember that when they grow up; they will carry it with them and translate that into helping others and become citizens of this Nation,” Pastor Apollo said on the live broadcast of his program, Give Us This
Day. With this, National Children’s Day was born, a celebration for all kids across the nation.
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This year’s party for National Children’s Day was called “Sonshine Across the Land,” the
culmination of what Pastor Apollo has dubbed as the first National Children’s Day, a nationwide
children’s party and feeding program, launched through the Children’s Joy Foundation, feeding
more than 25,000 children across the country in areas which included Bicol, Laguna,
Mindoro, Muntinlupa, Payatas, Pampanga, Isabela, Baguio and Pangasinan in Luzon;
Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu and Tacloban in the Visayas; Zamboanga, Cagayan, San Francsico,
Agusan del Sur, Mati and Tboli, as well as several areas in Davao City, including Toril,
Sasa and Tamayong.
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From north to south, from the slums and dumping grounds of
Payatas, Quezon City to the indigenous communities of the Aetas,
Mangyan and the T’boli, children who live in the margins of society
got to celebrate their birthday for the first time in their lives. And it
was no ordinary party, for they had party favorites like fried chicken,
spaghetti, ice cream, and birthday cake, a birthday present and balloon
for everyone, and to the delight of the kids, clowns, too. |
Each of the celebrations, including a grand celebration at the
Prayer Mountain, were made possible through the efforts of thousands
of Children’s Joy Foundation volunteers, and support of the Kingdom
Locale Congregations in different regions of the country, who
brought together donations from private individuals
and companies and work with the Department of Social
Welfare and Development at the local government units
in their areas, to organize these giant parties.
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Last year, over 20,000 children celebrated their
birthday with Pastor Apollo, who has been leading the Children’s Joy Foundation’s various programs for
children since it began twelve years ago.
Such programs include building shelters and
children’s homes for children in several regions,
regular three to six months supplemental programs
which have been feeding thousands and
thousands of children across the country, giving
away school supplies, clothes, medicines, launching medical and dental programs, and
giving away scholarships. |
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In 2006, Pastor Apollo launched
the CJFs campaign to “Feed, Clothe and
Send to School One Million Filipino
Children.” This year, he is targeting
two million children. And by
the looks of it, the target will be
reached early. Guide
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