Healing Can Begin With a Game
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - The activity placed play at the center of the Youth Healing and Recovery Program, bringing more than 60 young participants together through traditional Filipino games. Patintero, Agawan Base, and Sack Race gave the group different ways to move, cooperate, laugh, and interact with one another. These games require participants to pay attention to their teammates, respond to changing situations, and take part rather than remain on the sidelines. By using activities that are familiar and accessible, the program created an environment where young people could simply enjoy being together while taking part in a structured community activity.
The Old Games Still Have Something to Teach
Larong Pinoy carries lessons that go beyond winning a round or reaching the finish line first. A game of Agawan Base, for example, calls for coordination and awareness, while Patintero depends on timing, strategy, and cooperation between players. The Youth Healing and Recovery Program uses this kind of interaction to encourage values such as discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork, friendship, and unity. Rather than presenting these values as a lecture, the activity lets participants encounter them naturally while playing with their peers.
Giving Young People Room to Belong
The larger value of the program can be seen in the space it creates for young people to participate, socialize, and form positive connections. The activity gives participants something constructive to do together while allowing friendships and familiarity to grow through shared experiences. Its approach also recognizes that youth activities do not always have to be complicated to be meaningful; sometimes a familiar game, a group of friends, and an open space are enough to get young people involved. Through Day 1 of Larong Pinoy, the Youth Healing and Recovery Program adds play and community interaction to its work of supporting young people in General Santos City.
