Of passion & faith
MANILA, Philippines - The peace and calmness in Acel Bisa van Ommen’s voice speaks of her gift of love. In her serenity, one can find a woman who is in touch with her emotions and her faith. This gives her the power to unleash creativity and positivity that allows her to inspire others.
Many would remember Acel fronting OPM rock bands Moonstar88 and the now defunct Orphan Lily. Today, Acel is on a life journey for a good, greater purpose. She sees the world in a different perspective as a mother, wife, singer/songwriter, inspirational speaker and author of the book Who Would Have Thought? — Finding Identity, Love and Purpose in Unexpected Moments.
“I always want to move in the way of love. My mantra now is to inspire people through imparting what I know because I believe that together, we can make an impact in our generation,” says Acel, whose passion for inspiring and empowering the youth blossomed through Right Start, a non-profit group that helps underprivileged children. She co-founded the group with three other women — Arlene Sy, Rosalie Mallari and Anabel Yu.
A turning point in Acel’s life was one rainy night in 2008 when she had an epiphany. “I was breastfeeding my eldest son, Tashi. I looked at my fragile child and thought how blessed we were to have a house and a roof over our heads. Then, I started thinking about the children on the streets. Who’s taking care of them? I couldn’t sleep. I prayed, ‘Lord, please connect me with people who have the same passion for helping children in need and know how to make things happen’,” Acel shares. She opened her heart and soul to what she wanted to do and little by little, she saw things fell into place.
Right Start, which currently offers an after-school program (music, dance, sports, etc.) for 408 kids, is now on its fifth year and is run by five staff members and volunteers. “We believe that every child has a potential. We want to give the kids the opportunity to tap into that potential at the same time mold their characters and their hearts because if you have all the skills and knowledge but if you don’t have character, you won’t last.”
Acel has been married for almost 12 years to her Nepalese-Dutch husband Danny. They have two sons Nikolai Tashi, seven; and Yeshi Matthias, five. She attends to her kids, homeschools them then goes about her day’s schedule. “My priority is my family. If I’ll be doing something that would affect them, then I have to lessen it or drop it all together. I homeschool my kids because more than being able to attend to them firsthand, I believe it’s also a way of shepherding the heart.”
She shares that the highlight of her prayers is for her children. “I pray for my children to grow up knowing God and loving God because when they do, I don’t have to worry about the future for their strong faith will give them their own convictions and they will do things that will honor God.”
Acel is grateful that she and her husband Danny, a web programmer for Publicis JimenezBasic ad agency, have the same vision when it comes to raising their family. “What I love about my husband is he likes quality time with the family. If he’s at home, he would cook, he would play with the kids. We also make it a point that both of us go out on dates.”
One of the most important things in Acel’s life is her faith, which gives her the strength and the will to tackle whatever life has in store for her. “I believe that faith would direct your actions, would affect your behavior even your dreams and your vision. Faith is important because when I get to know Christ, I realize that everything I do is not about me anymore,” she says. “Now, every time I sing, I want to sing a song that would send sparks to the listeners’ hearts to do something that is beyond ordinary. Something that would challenge them to take that next step of faith and not to be afraid and to live fearlessly knowing that they are not alone, God is with them,” says Acel, an active member of the Victory Christian Fellowship.
Acel sees beauty in things intangible and she believes there is courage in allowing the Higher Being to put one in a situation bigger than one. “There is beauty in meekness. Meekness does not only mean being timid because meekness is power under control. You know that you have something in your hands but you use it wisely not just for your own gain but to help others, that is beautiful. As women, I believe we are empowered but if we move just on our own, we are limited. There is courage in surrender. When I surrender and I allow God to use me as a catalyst, I can do greater things I could ever imagine,” she concludes.
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Photography by CLAUDINE CERVANTES CALLANTA of Larawanmo • Styling by Nasia Cammayo, assisted by KATHARINE ABCEDE • Makeup by ELMA ORAYE and hairstyling by ANALIZA ABAINZA of EVER BILENA • Black sleeveless jumpsuit by PLAINS AND PRINTS and indigo blue Lyra draped gown by THE FLORENCE FLING (Level 2, Building A, SM Megamall)
