By Ethan Benedicto
Held just before Valentine’s Day, the Andres Pancha Anchor Community gathered at the entrance of Wilson Botanical Park for their first activity of the year.
Called the Flower Bar, it involved participants trying their hands at making a bouquet for their loved ones, a process that involved careful and firm handling, but also that splash of creativity to make each flower blend amongst one another.
The charity’s director, Katalina Vergara, said that despite the cloudy weather and the rain, “we feel good”.
“People pushed through and it still turned out great, you know? We’re also very excited for this year since we feel more prepared.
“There are events in the works, and we also finally have people who are donating to the charity so we have that budget in our pocket, which also means that we can make these activities more fun,” she said.
From roses, carnations, and peonies to daisies, every person had their hands busy, with Divine Pancha leading the way in guiding those who needed some extra assistance.
“This is beyond what we expected really,” Divine said.
“We planned to have a small family gathering, with some other family members but then it went beyond that, they invited their friends who also showed up.
“Of course, these young people had the chance to make their own creations, and also learned those techniques and skills when it comes to working with flowers.”
The skills don’t apply to just flowers, according to Divine they serve as a bigger platform for creativity, something that should be fostered with the youth.
In addition to that, it’s also about learning to be sustainable, through the simple act of mingling with flowers and other orchids, to using recyclables such as newspapers to act as the bouquet.
“We’re tackling different values, advocacy for things such as family, connections with friends, all in go,” she said.
For Katalina, she and the other members of the charity are keen to keep the momentum going for the remainder of the year.
“Our workshops are going to be more constant, we’re looking at having them once a month, all different of course,” she said.
“Then we’re also looking at more major events throughout the year, such as our wellbeing conference in June, held on the same day as the death anniversary of Andres Pancha.”
With a strong start to the year, the charity is confident of taking big leaps on its mission of connecting and uplifting the youth through advocacy of mindfulness and wellbeing.
