Flores de Mayo-2009

Here in the Philippines there is the tradition called “Flores de Mayo” – ‘Flowers in May. It is a time when Filipinos dedicate the whole month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary, affectionately called ‘Mama Mary’. There are devotional activities in the parishes mainly for children, such as daily catechism about Mary and procession of flowers to her

In Balay sa Nazaret we incorporate the tradition of

“Flores de Mayo” in our Outreach program, and we have our own version of activities to celebrate it, mainly, introducing the children to the ‘Holy Childhood’ – a Catholic organisation where children help other children to know about Jesus. In the morning before we start our classes, we have floral offerings to the Blessed Virgin Mary during which the children pray for their families and for other children in the different continents: Africa, Asia, America, Europe and Oceania. In this way, we teach the children to pray for people other than their own family, and introduce them to other peoples, race, color,etc

Activities of the Outreach program-2009

                                                                     Story- Telling

                                                                   Math

                                                                       Handicraft

                                                                         Cooking

                                                                     Needlework

                                                           Information Technology

Outreach Program-2009

We also have an Outreach program in Balay sa Nazaret during the whole month of May for boys and girls from San Carlos City whose schooling we sponsor. Some of these children bring their brothers, sisters or neighbors who are in need.
This program is our way of sharing with other children of San Carlos City and this is the second year we are doing it. Our main objective is to deepen their faith as well as to improve their knowledge in reading, writing, story-telling in Filipino and English, and mathematics. They are also given a training in basic skills of cooking, needlework, handicraft and Information Technology in our Computer Room. All these are done in the course of the morning, ending with midday meal.

BALAY SA NAZARET FOUNDATION

Our Home Started with Five.
The first group of girls arrived on 15 August 2007. There were five of them, the

youngest was nine years old and the oldest was 14, and we employed a House Mother. One more girl arrived at our home early 2008. And by June, we had 15 girls, all of them going to school happily. Our girls finished the school year with so many rewards that we celebrated their achievements at home. They were also very excited waiting for their vacation with their families, relatives or foster families.
Some of our older girls chose to work in some families during their vacation time. This is the way that they prepare themselves to earn their own living in the future.
In May 2009, we welcomed five more little girls between the ages of 5-12, making up our number to 20 in all. We also have a new Housemother looking after the girls and two young women working as volunteers in Balay sa Nazaret in their free time when they are not at college.