World Vision: Giving Something Back

More posts by World Vision sponsors. 

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Post by Manila Shopaholic
http://manilashopaholic.com
January 11, 2011

Mid-last year, I finished completely the payment of my car. After that, I was soo thankful and I pretty much promised myself that once done, I will give to charity. Well obviously, my chosen charity is that of World Vision.World Vision is a Child Sponsorship organization.

These are the 3 things that you need to know about child sponsorship:
1.)  You are helping out not just the child but also their family and their community as well.
2.)  Your gifts combined with those of other sponsors to make long-term and community wide assistance possible
3.)  Child Sponsorship is about building relationships – bringing your world and their closer together. You will receive letters and updates from your sponsored child and community. At the same time, you can write, send gifts and visit your sponsored child by coordinating with Word Vision.

Being a sponsor for 5 months now, I was wondering when I would be getting my first letter from the child that I was sponsoring. Much to my surprise, I received a letter from the little girl that I was sponsoring. Through her letter, she told me that she was friendly and she likes Math. She wants to be teacher in the future. Pretty cool, huh? That letter made my day.

This whole sponsorship program actually has a long term goal of enabling the families and the communities in which they are living in to be a healthy, stable and safe environment where the children can grow. Usually, the work in a community would last for 12-15 years wherein 3 phases take place: Building Trust and Skills, Building Hope for the Present, Building confidence for the future.

With this kind of program, the community is taught to be sustainable after World Vision leaves. I actually don’t know until when I will be sponsoring this little girl but given that she is already in Grade 5, I think I would probably be able to support her until she finishes college. Isn’t that great? You can actually be proud that you areinstrumental to the development of one person.

The good thing about World Vision is that they’re not really strict or rigid. I have the monthly amount that I pay but there are times when we, too are strapped for cash, right? So whenever you can’t really give the amount for a month, you can just inform them that you too are having your own financial difficulties.

Usually I donate using BPI Express Online but there are also other ways and means in which you can give your own donation. You can pay via Credit Card or over-the-counter payment in banks. You can also pay through Bayad Center, Bancnet or via Post-dated checks.

And with that, I do encourage everyone to be a part of something that would make our world a better one. And now, off I go to writing a letter to my sponsored child.

What about you? Are you involved in a different charity? :)

For more information, you can contact them through the following:
Donor Care Team – 372-7777
Email address: wv_phil@wvi.org

"Beautiful Inside & Out" onboard MV Doulos, March 27

"Beautiful Inside and Out"
MV Doulos w/ PCEC Women's Commission
March 27, 2009
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Reg Fee P150


Created after Adam, God's final creation and the highlight of God's creation. Women! What is the role of this precious creation on Earth? Busy with work and family? Finding it hard to be beautiful inside and out? Be encouraged and learn from the ladies inside and outside beauty. Refreshment, lunch and materials are provided.

For more information, please call the PCEC office:
Tel Nos. 913-1655 to 57.

Typhoon Frank...in the eyes of a child

“The water carried my pencil, writing booklet and books to the sea,”

7-year-old Edward told us in a small voice yet audible enough for us to grasp the emotions of a child who lost everything he considers very precious.

Edward and his mother and two older sisters live in the coastal village of Dapdap, in Tangalan town, Aklan, one of the areas severely hit by typhoon Frank.

“I was terrified; the rain and wind was strong,” Edward said after we asked him what he felt.

He was so relax in front of the video camera as he narrated how his family escaped their imminent death.

He was sitting on a chair in front of their hut that stands in the middle of coconut trees. Just a few meters away the waves quietly wash the shore.

“I was crying while we were running away from the waves that took my school bag and our clothes to the sea.”

“It was very cold that night. We were hungry. We did not sleep. Mother hugged us and we prayed.”

His mother cried as she remembers the fear that engulfed her the moment she saw the big waves from the sea.

“I couldn’t even look at the waves. We need to run fast. After a few seconds, I heard our house fell down.”

Estela Torneo, 54 years old said it was the strongest typhoon that battered their province.

They spent the night in the neighbor’s house quite far from the shore.

“I know my children were hungry but we have nothing to eat. It was the longest and saddest night,” she said.

The next day, when Estela was certain it was safe to go out; they return to their home.

“My knees grew weak and found myself kneeling down and crying. Only the bed made of bamboo was there. We lost everything. But we are still alive.”

“Edward looked for his school bag. I saw the hurt in his eyes, as he told me he could no longer go to school anymore.”

“For my son, the bag, pencil and writing booklet given just some two weeks ago by World Vision is his greatest treasure.”

“He was really sad, but we have no money to buy a new set of school supplies. Edward and his siblings get good marks in school.”

Estela’s husband died several years ago, leaving her the responsibility to take care of five children.

Her third and fourth sons live with her sister. “I cannot send them all to school. We are fortunate Edward is a sponsored child.”

She earns money by washing clothes and doing errands for well to do families. When there is no work, she cooks native delicacies and makes candies made from coconut meat

Her daughters Evelyn, 14 and Eden, 12 sell them in school and in the village market. Living near the shore allowed them to help pull the net when a fishing boat comes.

The fishermen will give everyone a generous share of his catch. “If we receive several kilos of fish; we sell them,” Estela said.

Estela was among the recipients of the relief goods composed of 10 kilos of rice, I kilo of died fish and 5 pieces of sardines. “This will sustain us in the coming days.”

Their neighbor helped put a roof and wall in their house. “I don’t know how we will survive after we consumed these relief goods. I believe God is listening to our prayers every night that He will send people to help us.”

As we end our interview we asked Edward if he wants to say anything. Slowly and in a small voice he uttered, “Thank you World Vision, we now have food.”

As we drove from their house I asked God not to let Edward and the rest of the children affected by typhoon experience hunger again.

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(Story written by World Vision communications specialist, Leoniza Morales. Here she lets her tears flow freely as she shared the agony of children and families in Aklan after losing all that they possess, all in the eyes of a child. Leoniza travelled to Iloilo and Aklan the first few days after Typhoon Frank left the Philippine territory to assist in the video documentation of the damage caused by the typhoon and the aid that World Vision is providing to the affected communities in Panay Island.)

Too see what World Vision is doing in response to this calamity, watch this video

Typhoon Fengshen_WV Philippines

Meeting My Sponsored Child through Lakbay Pag-asa

A sponsor blogs about his experience during World Vision's first "Lakbay Pag-asa". This was a sponsor-meets-child event, the "first" held at Subic, Zambales last May 24, 2008. Over 100 persons joined this trip, including children, sponsors, and their families and friends. It was truly an unforgettable event!

May 24, 2008

Today, DH and I had a very rare opportunity to finally see and meet our sponsored child in person. This is something that many World Vision (sometimes spelled as Worldvision) parents only dream. You see, World Vision has strict policies against sponsors meeting the sponsored kids on their own and this is to protect children (as well as the sponsors) from any kind of potential abuse or exploitation – and most sponsors understand this. And so communication with the kids is limited to letter-writing with letters passing through World Vision.


The invitation letters for Lakbay-Pagasa (Journey of Hope) have been given out a month in advance although I’m sure the planning has been many months before. This is a project of World Vision Philippines to facilitate a meeting of World Vision kids in Zambales and their respective sponsors. The meeting place would be the Ocean Adventure attraction at the Subic Bay Free Port.

Having been a child sponsor for over 3 years, I knew this was the first project of its kind from World Vision Philippines. The fact that I get to go to Ocean Adventure at Subic (my first!) was certainly an added bonus. And so, without much hesitation, DH and I registered for it for Php1,550 each. The amount also pays for the sponsored child’s trip from Zambales to Subic. We didn’t tag along our own 4 kids so our attention will be on our sponsored kid, Recalyn. And we’re glad we did coz Che and Karen would be competing in Speedo’s Jumpstart Swim Fiesta at the Philippine Columbian Association on the same day (May 24, Saturday) to culminate their swim lessons after graduation.

As planned, we left the car at the World Vision office at Quezon Avenue. We attended an orientation and finally met the WV coordinators whom, until then, I’ve only spoke to over the phone. These are Rochelle Balatbat and Elaine Esteves. They’re much warmer in person of course. To facilitate the activities, we were grouped into teams. We were in the Green Team. We met and chatted with other Sponsors as well. At around 7am, we left the World Vision office for Subic at All Hand’s beach.

We reached Subic at almost 10am. And I was rather disappointed that we didn't pass through the new SCTex Expressway (Subic-Clark). After halo-halo refreshments, the teams were paired with the kids’ teams as the sponsors were moved to the kids’ pavilion hall. It’s good that we were reminded of the names of our our kids. Since I sponsor 2 kids, I forgot who is from Zambales and who is from Palawan! After a few more seconds, I recognized Recalyn based on her picture folder that's been sitting on my office table for years. Her name on her green id finally confirmed it was her. Yup, for many of the sponsors, it was a dramatic moment.


Naturally, everybody started taking pictures. All the WV volunteers helped in taking pictures as it was expected that the sponsors were eager to get photos of their kids. From the pavilion, we moved out to the beach to take more pictures. Wow, it’s been a loooonnggg time since I’ve been to this beach. I don’t even remember seeing the cement structures (cottages which are mini-houses, actually) behind us. It was just all sand at my last visit here.


The sea however hasn’t changed. Except for the nearby mountains which weren’t as green as before, everything else looks the same. The sea beckons me for a refreshing swim and I’m glad I brought along my compact swim gear. The invitation program didn’t specify a slot for swimming although there was a “free time” slot. So I knew I had to sneak in a little swim in that free time. I’d be in a pleasant surprise later on.


Once again, the kids and sponsors were ushered into the pavilion and grouped into their teams. The sponsors introduced themselves to everyone and shared their experiences with World Vision. There was a priest (Fr. Jess) in our team and he's been sponsoring the child for the longest time - 6 years. The girl is now in high school. There was one OFW who timed his vacation so he could meet his sponsored child. After the sharing, the teams prepared the group cheer for the parlor games.

There was much activity at the beachfront. There was kayaking, jetskiing, and those humongous water bikes that paddle water. Curiously, lifeguards are posted and are active in hollering their warnings to the usual “pasaways”. Here’s the group getting ready for the games. Plastic orange cones were laid out for the obstacle course.


That’s the pavilion behind DH and Naneng (Recalyn’s nickname). I'm impressed that Naneng isn't very shy at all although she has a soft voice. Naneng is small for an eleven-year old. They're both the same age as my third daughter, Sandra, but Sandra's a full head taller than her. Naneng's in Grade 6 but she looks like a 2nd or 3rd grader. Of corz you have to realize that many of these kids are native Aetas or have Aeta ancestry.

There were 53 sponsors in all and 45 sponsor guests riding in 3 Victory Liner buses, so that’s a sizeable yet manageable group. It’s the Red and Green Team riding in our bus. WV volunteer Karen Sioson is our teammaster for the Green Team.


Finally the games have started. There were actually some foreigners among the sponsors. And interestingly, many of the sponsors didn’t look “rich” at all. And I believe they're just your ordinary employees or office workers who just want to help without expecting anything in return. Although most are parents, some were so young you wouldn't expect them to be sponsoring kids. And there was also Fr. Jess, a Parish Priest from Paranaque, who was having problems with his blood pressure. Maybe it’s the heat, but even a couple of the kids, Naneng included, became dizzy and nauseaus.




Here’s the Green Team getting instructions for the games. Looking like a golf pro with her green shirt, green cap and a matching green wrist band to boot, DH is dressed for the part, eh? That’s Karen with her back to the camera. The WV kids wore WV t-shirts for identification. The WV volunteers wore either orange or black shirts.


Lunch Time! And everyone is hungry, tired and ready to dig in. Again, it was the volunteers who were serving everybody. What great service! We had Chowking packed meals for our lunch. We had this nice chat with Nina, one of the WV who shared with us her career (Occupational Therapy) and her stay with WV. Wasting no time, I quickly wolfed down my lunch leaving much of the rice. I didn’t want to be too full for the swim.


And swim, I did! One thing I noticed now (and surprised me) is the water is so very deep in just a few meters from the beach. And that is why not too many people in the water beyond 10 meters. The nice thing about this beach is the lack of rocks and corals to hurt you underfoot. The downside is there’s not much color or variety to see if you wear goggles. Here’s me in my famous float, the “nakahiga sa banig” float.


Not convinced? Here’s a magnified shot. No camera tricks here. Cool isn’t it? Goggles on my forehead, eyes closed, I place the palms of my hands behind my head in a relaxed posed with the toes jutting out of the water. Can YOU do that? Seriously though, I’m glad I took that swim. It was cool and refreshing and the summer heat didn’t bother me at all.


It was roughly a one-hour swim. DH called me to say that the kids’ presentation was about to start. Yup, apparently they prepared a little number for us. The kids sang a song in a dialect we didn’t quite understand but it was certainly interesting and well appreciated.


And then a few kids gave a very funny and amusing native Aeta dance number. A boy with short curly hair stood in the center while a couple of girls danced with their arms flapping like those of a chicken. The actions seemed to portray an Aeta story. The boy in the foreground used a tin can to beat as a drum for rhythm.


After a few more minutes, results of the games were announced and our team only managed second place, but hey, everyone had a fantastic time. From the All Hand’s beach, we proceeded to Ocean Adventure.

It took quite a while to get tickets for the entire group, since there were so many people that day. Also, no food or juice drinks allowed! Water and milk are okay. The group was so big it had to be divided into several batches. Here are a couple of pics at the aquarium center.




As soon as we got out of the aquarium center, we realized it had started to rain. And this is a definite no-no if you plan to go to Ocean Adventure. Some of the shows/ tours will be cancelled when it rains. Luckily, the rain stopped and we were treated to one of the main shows, the Dolphin show. The place was packed!


After 30 minutes of waiting, the show started. Setting the tone were drummers and fire dancers (without the fire). And then the dolphins and the false killer whale (only one) started. Seeing the stunts live was simply breathtaking. It was awesome!


Here’s a closeup of the dolphins with the trainers. Too bad, there wasn’t much time to wait for the Sea Lion show which the staff from Ocean Adventure said would start at 6pm. The kids had to go back to the mountains of Zambales and the coordinators didn’t want to a late trip.


Finally, it was time to say goodbye – to Ocean Adventure and to the World Vision kids. Here’s DH giving Recalyn a token (a keropee pencil topper) at the kids’ bus right before departure.

Goodbye Recalyn. We enjoyed the trip, meeting you and we certainly hope to see you again! My hope for you is always to pray and study hard for your future.


I suppose having a sponsored kid at Zambales has its side benefits like this Ocean Adventure treat, but meeting my sponsored child truly caps this wonderful trip aptly called Lakbay-Pagasa.

Posted by Blackdove at Saturday, May 24, 2008

MOMENTS THAT COUNT...

if there is such a thing that could launch a thousand ships,
here is a clip that could launch a million Hopes...feel in your heart the reality of life...




a video clip created by a World Vision Partnership Office.

Meet our Child Sponsors!

Meet the beautiful faces of our staff who have taken their dedication to World Vision further, by sponsoring children themselves!

Touching Lives @ World Vision..

I never thought that an amount as small as P450/monthly could give much happiness...

A small portion of blessings that I shared last christmas to my sponsored child, Quennie gave me such joy as i read the content of the card she sent..



when life seems dry and empty, and my heart desires for reasons and comfort, i just have to go back to the letters of Queenie for me to be reminded that Living isn't only about myself, my family, and the people around me... It's for the world, and for the many "Queenies" out there.. :-)

[also posted @ ljanegalleta.blogspot.com]