The Pagbabahagi 2013 (“Sinag sa Karimlan”) will culminate on Sunday, 22nd December from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Jacinto Campus Annex, in a special program intended for the survivors of Yolanda who are currently in Davao City. The corps of Arrupe Vols will lead this pre-Christmas gathering through a series of activities that will then highlight the giving of a Christmas Noche Buena package to the identified beneficiaries.
Earlier last week, the Pagbabahagi has been launched at the Open Field, headed by Mr. Noriel R. Rogon, coordinator of the Student Servant Leadership Program (SSLP) of the Arrupe Office of Social Formation, in order to announce to the university community the leitmotif of this year’s Christmas drive through this yearly holiday season tradition. This project has been able to get the commitment of many classes and offices in the university to donate a PhP 500.00 worth of Noche Buena package for families who are currently seeking refuge in the city after Super Typhoon Yolanda battered key areas in the Visayas on 8th November of this year.
Preparations for this Sunday’s program is well underway. The families (to be represented by one adult and one child) will be fetched from three separate locations in Davao City. Conveyance is courtesy of three university buses, with the special approval of University President Fr. Joel E. Tabora, SJ. During the program, families will be serenaded and entertained by the Carillon Glee Club and the Teatro Humanidades. Some generous donors are kind enough to commit the use of a photo booth where the families can bask in having their photos taken. There is also a commitment from the Marriage Encounter St. Peter’s Series to provide for the afternoon merienda as well as the entertainment by bringing in a magician-performer intended for the children who will be attending the program. Immediately afterwards, the families will then be taken to the Almendras Gym where another ceremony awaits them courtesy of the City Government of Davao.
This pre-Christmas celebration promises to be fun and entertaining not only for the beneficiaries but also for Arrupe’s major partners, such as the University Community Engagement and Advocacy Council (UCEAC), the First Year Development Program (FYDP), the National Service Training Program (NSTP), the Engineering and Architecture Student Executive Council (EASEC), the Socio-Civic Clubs of the SAMAHAN, the Campus Club Organizations (CCO), and the General Assembly of Class President (GACP), as well as some offices whose concrete expression of Christian charity exceeds Arrupe’s expectation, namely the University Chaplaincy and the University Research Council (URC). Pagbabahagi 2013 also partners with the management of the New City Commercial Corporation (NCCC), Jollibee Corporation and a Catholic lay organization, the Marriage Encounter St. Peter’s Series.
The management, staff, and the corps of Arrupe Vols constituting batches 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43 wish to express its heartfelt appreciation for the generous support of the entire university community and external organizations in concretely living out the essence of this year’s Christmas celebration through the Pagbabahagi. (By M. Isabel S. Actub, Arrupe Communications & Advocacy)