"It’s A Small World"
Sun.Star Davao, Nov. 17, 2007

United Nations Day commemorates the formation of the UN on October 24, 1945. The UN acts as a world forum to help countries work together to achieve peace and human rights.

Last month, different schools in the city celebrated this special day through a colorful parade of national costumes, plays, dances and international exhibits.

During UN Day, preparing for the child’s assigned national costume is an exciting learning experience for the whole family.

Here are some outstanding personally-made creations by artistic parents:

Country: Greece
Child’s name: Cyrus Soriaga
Parent’s name: Harold Soriaga
How long did you make the costume? 2 weekends
How did you conduct your research? I watched the Spartans in the movie, “300”, over and over. The most important accessories were the helmet, cape, shield plus of course, the abdominal muscles.
What materials did you use? For the helmet: toy helmet, brooms, vinyl and acrylic paint; for shield: casserole cover; for shin guards: vinyl/garter; for cape: pranella and aunt’s belt
How did you make it? For items that can be bought as they were, we just bought them from the department store. What needed work were the helmet, shield and shin guards. It was mostly cutting up vinyl tiles and painting them over with acrylic. The casserole cover’s handle only had to be inverted to give it the look of a shield.
Approximate cost of costume: P400

Country: Egypt
Child’s name: Felize Ginampos
Parents’ names: Bert and Blinky Ginampos
How long did you make the costume? 2 weeks
How did you conduct your research? Through the internet. We got the idea for the head dress (crown) from the movie “Cleopatra” starring Elizabeth Taylor. For the dress, we copied it from a Cleopatra doll.
What materials did you use? Mineral water bottle, cardboard, newspaper, tissue, beads, cartolina, IV tubing, sequins, poster paint, glue and wire.
How did you make it? We made the crown by hand using paper mache, glue gun and poster paint. We used the sewing machine for creating the dress.
Approximate cost of costume: P300

Country: Egypt
Child’s name: Jian Harley Kong
Parents’ names: Mark and Jennifer Kong
How long did you make the costume? We did the costume every morning for several days.
How did you conduct your research? We researched the design through the Internet and got ideas and color combination from different costumes. We chose an example of a simplified Pharaoh costume.
What materials did you use? Black felt cloth, gold and royal blue satin, gold trimmings, and glue gun.
How did you make it? By hand.
Approximate cost of costume: P350

Country: Costa Rica
Child’s name: Jessica Marie McNeil
Parent’s name: Krys McNeil
How long did you make the costume? 1 day
How did you conduct your research? I looked for pictures online of children in traditional Costa Rican dresses.
What materials did you use? Fabric, ribbon and thread
How did you make it? I found a pattern, copied it and sewed it on my sewing machine.
Approximate cost of costume: P700

Country: Thailand
Child’s name: Yzabela Angela Doce
Parent’s name: Mike and Nina Doce
How long did you make the costume? 3 days
How did you conduct your research? I researched the dress’ design from a book and the head dress was copied from the statue at Krua Thai Restaurant.
What materials did you use? Velvet cloth, sequins, beads, gold ribbons, Christmas décor, bonnet, buttons, glue stick and glue gun.
How did you make it? The dress and head dress were sewn by hand. I used glue gun on some materials.
Approximate cost of costume: P200

Country: U.S.A. (American Indian)
Child’s name: Jashzheinna Kyzelle Decena
Parents’ names: Bhoy and Rose Decena
How long did you make the costume? 2 nights
How did you conduct your research? From old pictures, Internet and getting ideas from other people.
What materials did you use? Fabric, wooden beads, feathers (ostrich and chicken) and shoe lace thread.
How did you make it? The dress was sewn by hand.
Approximate cost of costume: P175

International Youth Service

Beyond UN Day, there is another way we can teach our children to appreciate different countries, cultures and people.

I remember when I was in grade school, I used to have pen friends from Finland, Germany and Canada whom I met through the International Youth Service (I.Y.S.). The latter is the world’s largest pen friend organization for young people between the ages of 10 and 20 from over 100 countries.

For a minimal fee, all I had to do was fill up an I.Y.S. form and indicate the country I preferred. After a month, I would receive an address of an assigned pen friend.

For years, I exchanged ‘snail mails’ with these foreign friends. We shared information about our countries, traditions, schools, friends, hobbies, among others.

I was excited every time I received mail from them. Nothing beats the thrill of seeing the handwritten letter, stationery, photos (with dedication at the back, of course!) and collecting the unique postage stamps. I even got drawings, chocolates and cassette tapes recorded by my pen friends.

Recently, I was pleased to discover that I.Y.S. still exists and can be visited at http://www.iys.fi.

I.Y.S. believes that “just to have a friend abroad is an education in itself and such individual international contacts and friendships can lead to greater understanding between peoples and can help to break down the barriers of ignorance that shelter our prejudices”.

Making our children globally-aware

In Davao, I am glad that there are several restaurants offering Thai, French, Chinese, Turkish, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian and Dutch cuisines.

Whenever you visit these foreign restaurants, it would be a great idea to do a little research on interesting facts about their culture so you can share them to your children.

One time, my family and I went to Café Marco’s Japanese-themed buffet dinner and the kids were very happy that one of the staff was teaching origami in one corner of the restaurant.

When budget permits, travel is also a wonderful way to expose your children to various countries, cultures and people. As former Department of Tourism secretary Mina Gabor states, “tourism is the key to international peace and understanding”.

In addition, as parents, let us teach by example. Refrain from stereotyping, labeling or using derogatory words to describe certain nationalities or religious beliefs.

Instead, encourage our kids to learn to respect and understand other cultures’ differences because intolerance, prejudice and bigotry are born from ignorance.

It’s a small world

Who hasn’t heard of the classic song, “It’s A Small World”? Written by the Sherman Brothers, it is reportedly one of the most performed and translated songs on earth:

“It's a world of laughter, a world of tears
It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears
There’s so much that we share
That it’s time we're aware
It’s a small world after all….”

The popular lyrics may be four decades old yet the message remains true even today.

We should constantly promote global unity and yes, as the movie “Ms. Congeniality’s” standard answer goes, “world peace”.

***

Special thanks to Teachers Juanita Mendoza and Gina Cembrano of Tender Years Early Childhood Center; Mark and Jennifer Kong; and Patricia Huang for the adorable photos you see on this page.

(I would love to read your comments and suggestions! E-mail me at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit http://www.mom-about-town.blogspot.com)