Yes, Virginia, wishes do come true
July 7, 2002 | 12:00am
Andre was a seven-year-old child from Levittown, New York. He was suffering from hydrocephalus, a condition wherein excess fluids in the skull exert pressure on the brain and enlarge the head. After 22 operations, his will to live waned and he dropped to 33 pounds. He was going to die.
Someone then referred him as a "Wish Kid" to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which learned that his most ardent wish was to have a birthday party. Wish-granters and volunteers outdid themselves and arranged for 70 friends to join Andre in a birthday party. They served hot dogs, pizzas, clowns, hired magicians and a 55-piece marching band that played Happy Birthday in front of his house. Andre’s life changed. With his resolve to live restored, his condition dramatically improved. He gained over 40 pounds and went back to regular school.
After the party, he gave his life savings – $37 in pennies – to the local Make-A-Wish chapter, saying, "I want to give it to another child to make his wish come true."
Thus was born the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, which today has affiliates in 23 countries and over 100 chapters all over the world. The foundation is composed of volunteers who believe in granting wishes and making dreams come true. To date, over 100,000 wishes have been granted as the volunteers, affiliates and friends of the worldwide organization continue to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening diseases every hour of every day.
Time is of the essence when it comes to these children as their condition can unexpectedly worsen anytime, even between the planning stages and the actual granting of the wish. With barely a week of planning, Gift Gate and MAWF people created a truly a memorable event.
Gift Gate president and CEO Virgie Ramos recounts, "Timing is so important. Many of us take our time for granted but just to show you how important it is, from the time we first planned the event a week ago to today (during the event itself), one of the 10 children that was selected passed away. After selecting another child today, we were informed half an hour before the event that two of the 10 children could not make it here to Gift Gate Gallery because they were too ill. For these kids, every single minute counts. And some of them have so precious little happiness in their lives that it becomes infinitely more important for us to help grant their wishes."
Ramos says one of the most touching part "is that some kids’ wishes are so simple and are things we all take for granted – a cell phone, coloring books, to meet their idol or to take a trip to the zoo. It really is amazing how so little can do so much."
Planning for the event was lightning-paced, and the plans extremely flexible. For example, the Saturday before the event, five-year-old Wish Kid Ina Duran’s wish to go to the KinderZoo was fulfilled. Accompanied by basketball superstar Vince Hizon, it looked like they were going to have a very short trip as it had been raining the whole day. For some reason, however, when they got to the zoo, the rain stopped long enough for them to enjoy an afternoon with the animals. Thus the idea of adding animals to the "Gift Gate…Gifts Every Day" event came up complete with a 10-foot albino python, a giant turtle and a baby crocodile. That was when someone half jokingly came up with the idea of bringing an elephant. After all, this was about wishes coming true and there is no bigger wish than one for an elephant! However, the logistical and safety issues precluded KinderZoo personnel from bringing such a large animal to a shopping mall, so the people at Gift Gate called a friend – Ayen Munji Laurel – to borrow the nine-foot life-sized Elephant Princess that they had used for the production of Rama at Sita which she so graciously loaned without hesitation. With all the animals at Gift Gate Gallery, it was a veritable miniature zoo in the heart of Glorietta.
Huge basketball fan Ian Jacobo, who is suffering from cancer and Down Syndrome, wished for some basketball gear and to meet his idol Benjie Paras. These wishes came true when his idol presented him with two basketballs, shoes and uniforms with Benjie’s number 14. The superstar athlete also shared a very light moment with the very nervous yet excited child when Benjie gave him one of his authentic Shell jerseys which was a full head taller than the five-year-old.
Aira Mamba, seven, is suffering from leukemia. Her wish is to see her Dad who is currently based in New York. Although they are under petition and her visa papers have been handled, the expensive treatments preclude her being able to travel to the US or for her Dad to come home. In addition to recently being able to obtain a sponsorship to undergo some new treatments in the US, Aira’s wish came true when Northwest Airlines generously donated two round-trip business class tickets to New York.
As heartwarming as the actual fulfillment of wishes for the children are, some of the most incredible stories happen behind the scenes. When the list for the beneficiary Wish Kids was finalized last week, the various celebrity contributors were contacted. Although his wife Mikee Cojuangco unfortunately could not make it to the event, Dodot Jaworski and son Rob confirmed their attendance. Dodot was amazed when he was informed last Saturday that his Wish Kid was four-year-old Biboy Acerdin who wanted a toy car he could ride in. Biboy, who lives in Tacloban, regularly flies to Manila to undergo chemotherapy. Since December of last year, through other charitable means outside of the MAWF, Dodot was already sponsoring his transportation expenses and supporting him. Amazingly and by sheer coincidence, Biboy was assigned as Dodot’s Wish Kid. It was a serendipitous moment because Dodot and Biboy were actually scheduled to finally meet later this July.
Last Christmas, Wish Kid Jasper Santillan’s wish came true when he met his idol, Martin Nievera. During his Christmas concert at the Glorietta, Martin sang I’ll Be There to Jasper who was suffering from leukemia. During "Gift Gate…Gifts Every Day," 14-year-old Dorothy Portento who is suffering from brain and ovarian cancer, wanted a set of keyboards and to meet Martin. After giving her the keyboards, Martin teased her and asked what she wanted to play so that he could sing with her. She said, "I’ll Be There. " Although not scheduled to sing that song, Martin launched into an impromptu version much to everyone’s delight. And Dorothy, though weakened by her illness, sang with Martin.
Martin later said, "It was Dorothy’s day as well as the rest of the kids at MAWF to share their magic with us. Now I am certain you don’t have to be in Dorothy’s shoes to click your heels and make a wish to find that magic."
Virgie Ramos says, "Everyone can be a wish granter. It is actually surprisingly easy to help out the MAWF. Most of the time we all just need a little push or incentive. For this event, a lot of different people gave their time. Some of them like Martin, Kris Aquino, Aiza Seguerra, Cris Villonco, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Benjie Paras and Dot Jaworski are very visible because they took part in the program. However, many of them remain completely anonymous and behind the scenes. People like Rowell Santiago, Tony Tuviera, Girlie Rodis, Rissa Samson, Ayen Munji-Laurel, Cory Aquino, all the people at KinderZoo, Ayala, Smart, Northwest, the media and of course Gift Gate. Many of them stay up all night preparing for the event. Many corporations know people or can help put MAWF in touch with the right people. Everyone has friends and contacts that they can ask to help and who are willing to help. Take Martin, for example, it’s Martin’s 20th year in the industry, he’s at the peak of his career, he is incredibly busy, but for worthy causes, he will always find the time. And I think that is true for most celebrities like Aiza, Cris and Kris. The thing is, someone just has to put this all together to start the ball rolling. You will be surprised at how fulfilling the results can be."
These volunteers come from all walks of life, some of them from prominent families and others from less affluent backgrounds. But when they volunteer and don an MAWF T-shirt, they share a common bond and all distinctions disappear. Genuine love and fondness for what they do, with neither discrimination nor distinctions, surface. There is no rich or poor, young or old, only volunteers who work together as equals.
From personal experience, I know how emotionally draining volunteering can be. This is especially true when one inevitably gets attached to a Wish Kid who passes away. No one gets used to children dying. What keeps volunteers going is the genuine commitment to help and as Eddieboy Santos puts it, "the consolation that at least once in the children’s lives we have brought smiles to their faces. It is the least we can do for them, knowing that they are battling a very adult battle."
Volunteering is not a job for everyone. Ever since dealing with the MAWF, I have a newfound respect for people who are doing something that I tried to do but could not because I found the emotional roller coaster too taxing. However, there are countless other ways to help. Donations, contributions and even supporting the MAWF’s corporate partners. One can even help just by putting the MAWF in touch with people who can help grant wishes – celebrities, magicians, clowns, performers and anyone who is willing to give a little time — and that doesn’t cost anything.
And as Kris Aquino’s text to her Tita Virgie Ramos read: "Thanks for the opportunity you gave me Tita Virge. It felt so gratifying! Anytime again."
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