The visit to the orphanage brought back good memories to Chuck. Growing up, Nana Linda took him to many of her church activities. He joined the younger children at Sunday school while the adults attended mass. When he was a little older, he became an altar boy. Later on, he would sometimes be called to be a lector. On weekends, he volunteered in many of the church's activities and events.
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Maia could not get her mind off Gelo's 'missing' wheelchair. She was so used to see him being pushed around the orphanage grounds in an old adult-sized wheelchair. She remembered the weekend when Gelo was dropped off at the orphanage. He was rather tiny in his over-sized clothes but had a big personality. According to his records, Gelo lost his family in a vehicular accident when the bus they were riding on fell over a ravine. Gelo was the only child to survive along with 3 other adults. His leg was crushed under some of the other passengers' belonging.
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Aside from the pretty volunteer at the party, Chuck remembered seeing one little boy sitting on the chairs. He and Sam distributed name stickers to the kids. One girl, Ginalyn, approached Sam and asked for a sticker for "Gelo". She then went to the boy who smiled widely as she affixed it on his shirt. "Thank you po!" Gelo said. Later on, Chuck noticed that some of the other kids would approach Gelo and share with him their candy or show him their prizes. During a pabitin game, Ginalyn carried Gelo on her back so he could participate. He was able to grab one of the toys that was hanging and the other kids cheered him on loudly.
"La?"
"Yes?"
"I'd like to help out at the orphanage, if that's okay with you. I noticed that there are still repairs needed to be done in that room where we had the party."
"Volunteers are always welcome" Mother Carmela said. "Baka naman mahirapan ka kung naka-Spiderman costume ka" she teased.
"Laaaa" Chuck groaned.
"Kidding aside. You can drop by here in the afternoon or on Saturdays. We always need people to help the kids with their school work aside from some maintenance work"
"Cool! I'll fix my schedule so that I can come at least twice or three times a week – 2 days to tutor, and 1 day to help out"
"O sige, I'll send you the details. You have Sister Berna's number, right? She's the one in-charge..."
"Ah. Yes, I'll call her later. One more thing, does Gelo need a wheelchair?"
"Gelo? Ah, yung batang naka-red nung party?"
"Yes, the one sitting on the chair beside the table of gifts"
"Ah, oo. Actually, meron syang wheelchair na ginagamit dati but we had to give it to back to the person who lent it to us"
