Manila, the Philippines, 7 August 2016—At exactly 4:45 pm, Fr. Gaudecio ‘GC’ Carandang, SDB, Rector and Alumni In-Charge of the Don Bosco TVET Center-Tondo, led the blessing, ribbon cutting and opening of Juan Café: Tambayan ng Alumni.
The Don Bosco TVET Tondo Alumni coordinators under the lead Fr. GC thought of a venue for the alumni to keep in touch with their Bosconian classmates and batch mates, share personal experiences and stories, and visit their Alma Mater. Hence, an alumni café was conceptualized and is now open for its patrons.
At around 6:00 pm after the alumni mass, the aforesaid patrons lined up for their orders. The carte du jour offered a variety of coffee, drinks, and pastries creatively named after familiar names akin to the past pupils: frappes (Queen Margarita, Pope Frappe Sis, Bosco Amore, and Saviolicious), shakes (Avocado Vicuña, and Shake John Boscorn), breads and pastries (MazzareLove, Ochiena Banana, S’mores AlaJuan, Boschizco Rolled Ham, and Empanada Namuncura). Trainees of the Housekeeping Department were the geniuses behind the design of the menu, food and beverage selection.
Instructors of the TVET Center willingly attended to and gladly entertained their customers—a fun and productive way to catch-up with them. Besides the delicious food and drinks they savored, their sharing of experiences and the chance to meet was for them a source of joy. Live band performances of the TVET instructors added to the ambiance. Aside from socialization, there was also an opportunity for the alumni to extend help to current student-trainees through the TVET Trainee Assistance Fund.
At around 9:30 pm, the last customers of the first day of the café capped the night with their own musical presentation. The joy that filled the entire scene was a manifestation of a well appreciated initiative for Don Bosco TVET Center-Tondo alumni.