Belief, yes it all begins with belief in an idea, in people and in Christmas. OG: Open Gathering has been held each year (except in 2013) since 2007, and was planned to happen again in December 2014.
(Photo below OG 2012)
Belief in an idea. In the first two years, a migrant to New Zealand discovers difficulties: from understanding the language to adjusting to a different culture, from learning to right-hand drive to preparing a Kiwi-style CV; from finding a job to processing papers to becoming a permanent resident. But what hits hard is during Christmas when a new migrant finds everyone else having fun for the holidays, while he/she has no spouse or no family for company in the “most wonderful time of the year.” In 2007, Mel B Libre, wanting to address the stressful situation of new migrants, asked fellow members of a music-orientated ministry, TawagAwit, if they could sing Christmas carols, share food and give gifts to new migrants. They all believed in the idea, thus OG: Open Gathering was organized first in December 2007. It carried the slogan “Sharing, Caring and Giving”. Belief in people. But what good is an idea, if there are no people who would make it into reality? When the concept of OG was shared to others, the responses were positive, not just with head-nodding, but also, by
offering of assistance. “What can we do?’ was the question asked. “You can bring food.” The response: “Yes.” “You can bring a gift or two?” The response: “Yes.” “You can offer a song or two for the new migrants?” The response: “Yes.” The goodness and the generosity of people inspired the organizers to campaign vigorously for new migrants to attend. And they came. Belief in Christmas. Christmas is about giving to others especially those who are wanting in material need and in emotional connection. It is about making Christmas merry for others, and in the case of OG: Open Gathering, making Christmas merry for new migrants. The organizers of OG have found it truly amazing that each OG has more gifts than there are new migrants. There are just so many people wanting to share their time, resources and love to bring a smile on the faces of the new migrants. Christmas after all is more than what we see through our eyes, rather what we feel in our hearts.
Beginning. Due to Typhoon Haiyan that caused death and destruction in the Philippines, the organizers of OG: Open Gathering opted to skip the event in December 2013 so as to support efforts to raise funds to help in the relief and rehabilitation efforts. On October 19, 2014, the idea of OG 2014 was broached to the officers of Katilingbang Bisaya sa New Zealand, to be the host, as it done so for the past years. KBNZ agreed to incorporate the OG to its Christmas Party on December 7, on condition that it would stick to a one-hour program, and that the OG organizers looked for sponsors for food and gifts. Looking for Santa Clauses. OG organizers called on friends and supporters who had helped in the past, but instead of asking for wrapped gifts, sought cash donations so as to buy uniform hampers for each of the new migrant families and individuals. This was an improvement from the past events wherein new migrants received gifts of different sizes and shapes. The organizers told prospective Santa Clauses that one hamper will contain groceries and items that would be most useful to the beneficiaries. About ten families and/or individuals responded donating $100 each that allowed the organizers to purchase the necessary items for twenty hampers (10 for families and 10 for individuals). But it didn’t stop there. Gene Orejana of Western Union committed to give gift packs to the twenty new migrant families/individuals, while Migrant
Action Trust (MAT) offered to help defray the expenses for the event by seeking a grant from Creative New Zealand. Also, Honey Rasalan, of MAT, was able to obtain assistance from The Family Centre Trust that set aside Gift Boxes for all the new migrant families/individuals. Preparation for OG. The OG organizers diligently searched for new migrants to be invited. They asked for people to nominate those they knew were new in New Zealand and had few friends and had their families left behind in their homeland. A dedicated FB event page was created, and notices were sent out to Yahoo groups that catered to new migrants. The OG organizers then contacted those selected, and updated them on the developments to ascertain their presence during the event. An
advertisement was made in an e-publication that also featured the event. Two weeks prior to the event, the organizers had volunteers pick up the Christmas Boxes from The Life Centre Trust. On the week prior to the activity, volunteers bought the items and wrapped these in hampers at the MAT office. Donations for food and drinks were confirmed, while the entertainers were invited and fun games planned out. The Event. As early as 4:00 pm of December 7, 2014, KBNZ officers, OG organizers and other volunteers congregated at the Panmure Community Hall. The cooperative spirit prevailed in the hall, as people arranged the tables and chairs, decorated the venue and prepared the food. By 5:00 pm, the stage was filled with hampers, Christmas Boxes and gift packs, a Christmas tree and members of TawagAwit preparing for their medley of Filipino Christmas songs as well as popular English yuletide hymns. By 5:30 pm, guests started to arrive including new migrant families and individuals who were welcomed and ushered to their seats. The program began at about 6:00pm, with a prayer by Pat Amiscua followed by the welcome message by organizer Mel B Libre. Honey Rasalan, MAT coordinator, shared her thoughts about new migrants, their
challenges and struggles, and welcomed the event as she too had once attended it, when she was herself a new migrant. The gift-distribution followed immediately as each of the listed guest new migrants came forward to receive three sets of gifts. All this time, TawagAwit members (from four chapters) sang Christmas carols. Dongskie Bardelas, one of the migrants, delivered a thank you message on behalf of the other new migrants. By then, the hall was full of people composed of the new migrants and members of the KBNZ and their guests. They were asked to line up as they collected their food and drinks in an orderly manner.
After dinner, the new migrants were asked to go up the stage for a group photo. Then followed the program filled with games and entertainment numbers. The games encouraged teamwork and creativity, while the entertainers carried the theme “Magical Christmas�. Winners were announced including those in the Lantern Making Contest using recycled materials. When the program ended, some of the new migrants who had no transportation were invited by the organizers and supporters for their ride home.
Subsequent to the event, a number of new migrants sent messages of thanks in the FB and through Yahoo.
OG: Open Gathering made Christmas Merry for New Migrants because of the support of the following:
Katilingbang Bisaya sa New Zealand Creative New Zealand The Life Centre Trust Migrant Action Trust TawagAwit Western Union And The Santa Clauses’ Families & Individuals A Family. B Family. L Family. O Family. Batucan Family. Noblejas Family. Ramirez Family. Agnes Granada. TawagAwit-Glen Eden.
THANK YOU.