15 December 2005 -- Philippine Ambassador to China Willy C. Gaa reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Filipino community in Beijing will share the spirit of Christmas with less privileged schoolchildren back home by heeding the Philippine government's call for overseas Filipinos to donate funds for the construction of classrooms in the Philippines.

Ambassador Gaa said the small community, which currently numbers around 700, decided last month to raise US$8,000 for the construction of two classrooms in a public school in Cainta, Rizal. The fund-raising project is called Silid Aralan Gating sa Pinoy sa Beijing (SAGIP-Beijing).

To make the project fun and participatory, the community raised funds through the holding of a Halloween disco party, a month-long sports festival, and during the annual Filipino community Christmas party on 11 December.

Following tradition, the Christmas Party was held at the Philippine Embassy Social Hall with Beijing-based bands and disc jockeys performing voluntarily for their compatriots.  But unlike last year, where everybody was encouraged to contribute food dishes for a potluck meal, enterprising Filipinos rented stalls from the SAGIP Committee and sold Philippine delicacies at very affordable prices.

The SAGIP Committee was also able to raise funds through the sale of raffle tickets, the prizes of which were donated by Philippine companies based in Beijing and members of the Filipino community. The first prize was a Beijing-Manila-Beijing air ticket donated by Philippine Air Lines. Western Union Money Transfer also donated a substantial amount to the project.

In his Christmas message, Ambassador Gaa congratulated the  Filipino community for launching the fund-raising activities in the spirit of nationalism, bayanihan, and camaraderie.

He observed that Filipino Community gatherings have ceased to be merely social activities but have evolved into avenues or mechanisms for Filipinos to share their blessings with disadvantaged countrymen. He recalled that at the Christmas party last year, the Filipino community donated P195.000 to the government's relief efforts to help typhoon victims in Luzon.

At the end of the Party, the SAGIP project was able to raise almost US$6,000, falling short of the project's goal by US$2,000. The SAGIP Committee aims to organize two more fund-raising projects by January 2006 to reach the targeted amount of US$8,000. END