Thank you Lord for Yayas!

ALL of us were created by God for a specific purpose.  It is when we find that purpose and live it that we become a great blessing to the world. 

This is what I shared with the caregivers or yayas of the little ones in our school during our Yaya’s Day celebration.  We do this to honor them and in thanksgiving for the love and service of our yayas. 

They are the ones who usually go unnoticed and unrecognized in society.  But in every family, they play a major role as essentially they are our children’s second mothers.  In our society, many of our children are left to the care of the yayas.  In fact many of our households are entrusted to them too.  So it is only fitting that we offer them a tribute. 

During my short talk, I reminded them that they hold a big responsibility in shaping the future as they have a great influence in molding the character of the future generation.  This was to remind them never to say “yaya lang ako” (I’m just a yaya), because the role they play is very important.

No doubt these children one day will be the prime movers of society.  Who knows, one of them may even be the future President of the Philippines, I told them.  So the way we nurture and raise our children (of course, parents and teachers included) will greatly affect the world. 

I also reminded them that just like any other career or profession, it is important to do our jobs with EXCELLENCE, LOVE and JOY, because that is when we attain success.  When we do our work with excellence, love and joy, we BLESS the world and we CHANGE the world.  It is when we are making a difference that we become fulfilled and truly happy with our lives.

As many preschools do, every year we make sure we set aside a special day when the yayas can relax, enjoy and be reminded of how special they are.  Parents and students shared words of affirmation, gratitude and love for each yaya.  It was very touching to hear children say “thank you for taking care of me” to their yayas, that it brought tears to their eyes.

They then played games, as the theme for this year was “Yayalympics”.  It was physically challenging but they were up for it.  They also enjoyed a feast that their employers generously prepared for them.

Yayas enjoying their feast

Sack Race

Kadang Kadang

Yayas who have become friends

Winners of the Kadang Kadang

Kinder students assist Teacher Yeng in organizing the games

Egg throwing game

It was a great way to remind them that they are special, that they are loved and that they are greatly appreciated.  At the end of my talk, I told them that just as we so often remind our students, they too must go and “Let Your Light Shine!”.

(Published for Breathing Gratitude, Sun Star Lifestyle Section, August 7, 2014)