It is very hard to believe that not only has another year come and gone, but another whole decade has come and gone. At times we do not take action because we think we can only do a little and it won’t make a difference. I’m sharing my journey that proves that even doing just a little can make a difference. This is how the Children’s Hope Fund project got started.
It began in July of 2009. I woke up one morning and realized that I had ignored my heritage. I grew up in Cavite, a Filipino slum. Growing up was very hard. I moved to the United States at a young age and immediately had a hard time fitting in. I was so ashamed of where I came from and how I grew up fearing that people would judge my background and that they would not like me because of it, so I pretended I wasn’t that kid. I was so out of touch and in denial until that day in July. I got online to see how things have changed since I was there and what I found shocked me. I thought I had it bad growing up, but in the time since I have been away the level of poverty in Cavite has increased tenfold. I decided right then to help these kids as best as I could. The next day I booked a ticket to Manila without a plan or extra money to help these kids. I wanted to make a difference even if just on a small scale. So I began developing a plan and started sharing my childhood and my dream to go back to the very slum I was born in and help as many kids as I can with friends, colleagues, and family. I am lucky that many people have stepped up to give their support. The dream became a reality and it was a huge success, hundreds of children were fed, clothed, and given school supplies and medicine. The greatest part is that this is only the beginning.
Our goal for 2010 is to raise enough money to purchase and distribute uniforms and school supplies to 400 students at the start of school year in June. Additionally, we are committed to the School Feeding Program which provides one hot meal per month to impoverished school children living in the Philippines. There are over 1,000 kids at Bacoor Elementary School who need help, but our goal is to help the neediest kids first, those who will have to skip a school year because they could not afford the required uniform and school supplies.
This morning I was thinking of a quote from Edward Everett Hale – “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.”
