Thursday | December 7, 2017 | 3:20 PM

Life is not easy for the Udtujans. But they manage to get by through the help of generous benefactors.

Eurice with her mom and eldest brother receive a noche buena gift pack on the second day of PAGCOR’s Pamaskong Handog event.

The gifts they received from PAGCOR bring smiles to the faces of the young scholars of Alouette Foundation.

PAGCOR officials and staff headed by Satellite Operations Group 1 Jethro Chancoco (standing, right) and La Proteccion dela Infancia, Inc. (Gota de Leche) Vice President Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo (standing, 2nd from left) join some of the institution’s beneficiaries during the state-run gaming firm’s Pamaskong Handog activity in Sampaloc, Manila.

Over 300 wards of Gota de Leche receive early Christmas treats from PAGCOR during the agency’s Pamaskong Handog for less privileged families on December 5, 2017.

Living among the dead can be peculiar and scary; but not for ten-year-old Eurice Udtuhan.

Having lived in a public cemetery in Pasay, Eurice and her family have found a safe haven in the land of the departed for almost a decade now. The Udtuhan family gave up their rented apartment in 2007 because money has always been scarce. They would rather spend their meager earnings on the children’s education than on apartment rental fees.

Despite their seemingly odd way of life, Eurice as well as her whole family have been coping well. This year, something extraordinary came their way when they were chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (PAGCOR) Pamaskong Handog for disadvantaged families in Metro Manila.

The Udtuhans were among the 490 families under the care of Alouette Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (AFPI) who were treated by PAGCOR to a fun-filled Christmas celebration last December 2, 2017. Apart from food and entertainment, the beneficiaries received noche buena gift packs from the state-owned gaming firm.

Eurice’s mother, Liezel, was happy to see her children enjoy PAGCOR’s gift-giving activity. As a mother, she had big dreams for Eurice and her two other kids. But as parents, they could not afford to give their children the kind of life that they wanted for them. Liezel gets her income from a mini sari-sari store near the cemetery. She also offers laundry services to her neighbors for extra income while her 34-year-old husband drives a tricycle.

AFPI Administrator Irene Anacay regarded their partnership with PAGCOR as another milestone for their institution. Being an AFPI scholar herself together with her three other siblings, Anacay shared that their struggles as children from disadvantaged families became bearable because of the help of AFPI. “I hope more institutions like PAGCOR will continue to reach out to charitable organizations so that less privileged children will have renewed hope,” she said.

AFPI is a non-stock, non-profit, non-government organization which was established in 1993. Its main programs are sponsorship and educational support services to schoolchildren (elementary to tertiary levels) who are from socially and economically disadvantaged families.

Aside from AFPI, over 300 less privileged families and children from of La Proteccion dela Infancia (Gota de Leche) joined PAGCOR in the festive celebration of the Yuletide season last December 5, 2017 in Sampaloc, Manila.   Gota de Leche helps provide the nutritional needs of indigent families. Established in 1906, Gota de Leche is the oldest non-government charitable institution in the country.

On December 13, another charitable organization catering to disadvantaged families and children – the Children’s Mission Philippines, Hills of Grace Foundation, Inc. – will receive a Christmas treat from PAGCOR. Over 400 beneficiaries of the institution will benefit from the activity to be held at the Montalban Gymnasium in Rodriguez, Rizal.

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