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The Neri-Chaves clan, one of Cagayan de Oro’s oldest and biggest clans, will once again gather this August 24 (Saturday) at Chali Resort and Conference Center. Last year’s 4th grand reunion, also held at the said venue, gathered more or less 500 clan members who came from all over the country and some parts of the world.

This year’s gathering is aptly dubbed “Himamat 2019” as it is the first of four mini-reunions that lead to the 5th grand reunion scheduled for the year 2023.

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Himamat is a Bisaya/Cebuano term that means “a casual meeting” or an “encounter”. It is a get-together where relatives can meet and get to know one another and find out how they are related to each other. Thus, the Neri-Chaves Himamat is intended to preserve the clan’s kinship and unity, and is especially focused on encouraging its young members to participate and understand the meaning of family.

While last year’s grand reunion was a two-day affair, this year’s get-together is a simpler one-day event. Nevertheless, clan members are guaranteed to have a fun and memorable time as the activities and surprises are endless. Here is a glimpse of what’s going to happen on August 24 (including the required outfit and suggested activity for August 25):

Pre-Himamat Activities

Last June and July, the four main branches of the Neri-Chaves clan got together for their first community outreach activity.

Each branch chose a day to visit the pediatric patients of Northern Mindanao Medical Center’s (NMMC) Oncology Department. The first batch – the red branch of Filomeno Chaves & Maria Neri – treated the children to a party complete with food and games facilitated with the help of friends from Mc Donald’s. Gifts and special prizes were also given away.

The blue branch of Juan Neri & Anastacia Chaves invited Jollibee and made the kids extra happy with delicious food, gift bags, some magic, and music & dancing.

Last July 12, the yellow branch of Pedro Chaves & Gertrudes Velez treated the NMMC Oncology kids to food and a special screening of the Disney classic The Lion King. Specially prepared gift bags were also handed to the kids.

The green branch (Vicente Neri-Ciriaca Velez/Genaro Neri-Silvestra Emata/Catalino Neri-Nicolasa Gabor/Ramon Neri-Emmanuela San Jose/Graciano Neri-Dominga San Jose/Vivencia Neri Velez-Justo Gaerlan/Francisco Neri Velez-Luisa R. Velez/Paz Neri Rivera-Timoteo Rodriguez) took its turn the following Friday, on July 19. With the special participation of Ms. Nicole Abas Datayan, the green branch entertained the kids with a short but fun puppet show. Of course, delicious food was also served and special gift bags were given away. Birthday celebrators received cuddly stuffed toys that came all the way from relatives in the United States.

It is the hope of the red branch, this year’s Himamat sponsor, to make the community outreach activity a regular one for the clan. In fact, a couple of similar activities are already lined up for the rest of the year.

Registration

For Neri-Chaves clan members who haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to do so. There are two options to choose from: you can register and pay online or you can register onsite on August 24. For those who want to go the online route, all you need to do is visit the Official Neri-Chaves Clan group on Facebook. Link to the online registration form is posted there. You may also text or call 0917-8708792 for more details.

Onsite registration on August 24 will start at 7:30am. Registration fee is Php600 per person for clan members 11 years old-up. For children 6 to 10 years old, the registration fee is Php400 each. Children 5 years old-below are free.

An official Himamat 2019 t-shirt is also available and can be purchased on the day of the reunion.

Oldest and Biggest Clan

While last year’s grand reunion helped update the clan’s genealogy, there are still quite a number of blanks that need to be filled up. After all, as mentioned earlier, it is one of oldest and biggest families in CDO. In addition, it is also recognized as one of the most prominent as some of the city’s respected local heroes and leaders are members of the clan, including Toribio Chaves, Tirso Neri, Don Apolinar Velez, and former Philippine Vice President Emmanuel Neri Pelaez, among others.

As such, the organizing committee and the board members & officers are hoping that the Himamat will be a good venue for discovering, remembering, and rediscovering family ties.

So, if you are a certified member of the Neri-Chaves clan, join the Himamat on August 24 at Chali Resort and Conference Center and be counted!

See you on August 24, Neri-Chaves relatives!

(Photo by Tom Udasco of Tom Udasco Photography)

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