Gift For Life Foundation (GFLF) taught children the art of humility with caring through its competitive sportsmanship held on Sunday 25th August, 2019 at Pierre Road Recreational Grounds. This year GFLF graciously partnered with Humble #28 Foundation in memory of 20 year-old motorcyclist Rondel Jagessar of Bel Air, La Romaine, who was killed during a road traffic accident. Members of GFLF remembered Rondel as a humble and caring young man who had a big and golden heart for children. The Annual Sports Day 2019 included more than 400 children coming from the following homes:

  • Angel Michael Hostel For Youths, Enterprise
  • Casa De Corazon( Heart Home) , Sangre Grande
  • Christ Child Convalescent Home, Diego Martin
  • Couva Children’s Home,  Campden Road, Couva
  • Dar – Ul Aman Freeport Children’s Home, Freeport
  • Ezekiel Children’s Home, Preysal
  • Ferndean Children’s Home, Point Fortin
  • Florence Wesleyan Children’s Home, Chickland
  • Joshua Boys’ Children’s Home, Santa Rosa Heights
  • Margaret Kistow Children’s Home, Arima
  • Marian House for Boys’, Port of Spain
  • Raffa Boys’ Children’s Home, Malabar
  • Raffa Girls Children’s Home, Malabar
  • Rainbow Rescue Children’s Home, Maraval
  • Sophia House, Park and Picadilly Street, Port of Spain
  • Sri Jayalakshmi Children’s Home, Longdenville
  • Swaha Children’s Home, Penal
  • Sylphil Home In Love Children’s Home, Tobago

At the end of the Sports Day, Ms. Shaks, an active member of GFLF said “Besides creating an opportunity for the children in the programme to develop their creativity, teamwork and inter-personal skills, the event also helped to cultivate peer interaction and encourage family bonding. We were happy to see the positive interaction with all the children enjoying themselves.”  Ms. Shaks also added the feeling of empathy the children showed towards the parents of Rondel. “The children sadly asked about the printed image of Rondel Jagessar on their T- shirts, as well as a banner bearing the young man’s face. It was at that moment, they enquired about Rondel’s parents who have to bear such a big loss” added Ms. Shaks.  

A special feature of GFLF’s Sports Day was the competition brought out during sporting events amongst all the children’s homes. The games played were wide and varied. There were straight forward sprints and longer races for all age groups, as well as lime and spoon races, three legged races, sack races, wheelbarrow races and others such as changing diapers, island hopping, feed the baby etc. Cheers erupted from Angel Michael Hostel For Youths when the children heard they won the challenge trophy and 1st Place. Margaret Kistow Children’s Home was placed 2nd, followed by Raffa House in 3rd place. Children from Angel Michael Hostel burst into tears and hugged each other in celebration. Though the Sports Day closing ceremony proceeded on as solemnly as before, the mood of the crowd was like the ending of a movie. One of the children from the Angel Michael Hostel (name withheld) said “ we competed well and I am happy our home won. Always aim for the stars and don’t give up. But if we did not win, I would not have been disappointed because we had fun and I made new friends and I am leaving feeling confident with myself”

GFLF was very proud to add that its Annual Sports Day was not just a fun day for the children, but more like a learning experience for every child. Children learnt about goal setting and time management skills and Ms. Shaks added, “Participation in sports gives your child a fun, practical way to learn about goal setting. They’ll see, experience, and learn about how goal setting works. The teamwork and working with the different homes for different races gave children immense experiences to take back with them. Dealing with adversity was another area whereby the children benefitted. Mistakes happened with the wheel barrow race, as well as, the ski board race in terms of poor co – ordination and bad choices from one child to the other, however, the children learnt how to deal with adversity, errors, and challenges in the sporting events.” 

GFLF continues to change the lives of children throughout the country and is inviting all citizens to join the foundation in giving love to children. Children within orphanages need that added human touch to blossom into beautiful young leaders for tomorrow’s challenges. A HUGE thank you to all the sponsors who made this event a success.

 

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