There's Something About Teddy Bears

On two separate days last month, several trucks full of “love’’ were seen making a beeline for the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Residents of these two cities, especially children, were surprised to see that the trucks did not have the usual food and clothing supplies. Instead, the trucks had stuffed toys, thousands and thousands of huggable plushies of all shapes and sizes, colors and characters!

Soon, the somber and gloomy atmosphere in the evacuation sites in Mandumong and Santa Filomena, the hardest hit villages in Mindanao, turned festive. Everyone was in high spirits, laughing, cuddling, excitedly talking.

And the children, they were smiling again.

THE POWER OF BEAR HUGS

Mon Corpuz, project director and cofounder of the volunteer organization Black Pencil Project (BPP), says help in all forms — including psycho-social therapy — is being extended to the victims of typhoon Sendong. Yet no group or organization has thought of using stuffed toys as a tool in the post traumatic debriefing of the children.

While BPP’s advocacy is centered on collecting pencils and school supplies and distributing it to poor children in remote areas and indigenous communities, the group was also in search of the best way to help the victims.

Inspired by the stuffed toy therapy initiated by writer Cathy Guballa for Bicol typhoon victims in 2006, Corpuz thought of adopting the activity in the affected areas in Mindanao. Guballa, who learned about the toy drive, soon linked up with BPP.

On Valentine’s Day, the first batch of plushies that they collected from schools, call centers, and hospitals were distributed. Judging from the reaction of the kids, Corpuz knew right there and then that it was the most brilliant idea that they have ever done.

“It was a very rewarding and humbling experience for me. Nawala lahat ng pagod namin. It’s because you can see instantly the effect of the teddy bears on the children and even their parents. Kung gaano ka excited ‘yung mga bata, ganun din ‘yung mga parents. There’s really something about these stuffed toys na napaka positive ng effect. Even the NGO workers in the evacuation sites were all in high spirits. I guess the stuffed toys sort of revived the little children in all of us. Everyone was so positive and happy,” recalls 31-year-old Corpuz who works for a digital advertising agency.

TEDDY BEARS IN MEMORIAM

Yet, Corpuz could not erase from his mind the fact that these very children and parents suffered pain and trauma since the storm claimed their homes, livelihood and loved ones. He was so affected by these kids that he was at a loss for words most of the time. He couldn’t even take pictures!

“One thing that really struck me was when a group of mothers, five of them, approached us and asked if they could also have teddy bears in memoriam of their children. Nung una akala ko lapida ang hinihingi pero teddy bears pala! After one day, I realized that it must have been so painful for these mothers to see us distributing the bears to other children while they didn’t even know where their children had gone, if they were still alive or dead,” shares Corpuz.

So affected was Corpuz that it came to a point that he blamed himself for not anticipating such scenario and for unwittingly hurting the feelings of those mothers.

“I asked myself, was there a better way to do it without inflicting so much suffering on them? Dapat ba itinago muna namin sa mga magulang at itinipon na lang sa isang tabi ‘yung mga bata at doon ibinigay? But Cathy told me that I have to forgive myself. I am doing a noble thing and we were all just learning from these experiences,” he adds.

Before the toy distribution in Iligan, BPP first held a puppet show to make the activity more meaningful for the kids and volunteers. The role of the teddy bear in a child’s life was incorporated in the story, its ability to comfort and help ease one’s pain. The puppet show was conducted in partnership with Hope Worldwide Philippines.

In any BPP activity, Corpuz adds that they also emphasize the delineation between the donor and the beneficiary so that they won’t feel that they are just being pitied. “They need to feel that we are here because we are their friends. We want them to know that we genuinely care,” he says.

THE JOYS OF GIVING

At the end of the day, the outreach activity brought joy not only to the hearts of the beneficiaries but also to those who took time and effort to give.

Elementary pupils from Miriam College, for instance, did a toy drive for BPP without even telling them. A child spent her birthday cash gifts to buy brand new toys for the project.

Some call center offices set up boxes in their offices and the employees helped fill it up with plushies. Starbucks, meanwhile, displayed thei r posters for free in their stores to help spread the campaign. Bronte Henfling, a seven- year-old

American girl who was on vacation in the Philippines with her parents, made a YouTube video appealing for old and new stuffed toys. People from various countries responded to her call. She was able to raise 2,500 toys which were distributed by BPP last week in Iligan.

The toy therapy sessions, meanwhile, were conducted by volunteers of Dr. Honey Carandang and the Mindanao Sanitarium Hospital. Philippine Airlines, the Philippine Army, Plan Against Cancer and the Iligan Rural Missionaries of the Philippines North Mindanao region are also major partners of the toy drive.

“When you ask the volunteers, they will say mas malaki ang nakuha nilang tulong kaysa sa ibinigay nila. Some of them who feel that they are living miserable lives later realize that they are indeed very lucky compared to these kids who lost almost everything. Then they become more responsible and sensitive to the needs of others. The most important benefit, though, are the experiences on our journey there and in interacting with the kids. Because at the end of the day, we are all brothers and sisters and we should help each other in the simplest but the most heartfelt way,” says Corpuz.

BPP also plans to conduct a similar toy drive for earthquake victims in Negros.

By RACHEL C. BARAWID

mb.com.ph

Tweet

Read more...