It felt like Christmas all over again! PLDT-Smart Foundation sent 4,000 bags of gifts, called “Sack O’ Joy,” for distribution to children survivors of Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas through the efforts of Operation Blessing.
The kids patiently waited in line during the gift distribution and and were overjoyed upon opening their gift bags containing a pair of slippers, a coloring book, and a toy.
“These gifts from PLDT-Smart gave the children so much joy since they were unable to celebrate Christmas and New Year as happily as they used to because of Typhoon Yolanda,” explained Fred Dalumpines, one of the disaster response coordinators of Operation Blessing.
Operation Blessing has been distributing the gifts on a regular basis since it started on January 25. Volunteers from church groups helped in the gift distribution and other activities for the children, such as a medical mission, a screening of the popular children’s animated series, Superbook, and trauma counseling.
“This is the only time the children became happy—not just because of the gifts, but also because Operation Blessing held a Superbook showing. It’s like they just celebrated Christmas!” the parents gushed in the vernacular.
To date, Operation Blessing has distributed these gift bags to children in four areas in Leyte namely, Tacloban City, Santa Fe, Pitogo, and San Roque, as well as in eight areas in Eastern Samar with a heavy concentration of children who survived the super typhoon.
