An hour at a time

CEBU, Philippines - Take the world a better place, one hour at a time.

This is the message put across by Ms. Ma. Elena “Ballsy” Aquino-Cruz in a benefit dinner which relaunched “Children’s Hour” here last January 21, with the theme “Apir! Daghang Salamat, Cebu!” that marked the project’s 10th campaign year.

The “apir” (or high five) gesture stands for the collective help of one hour’s worth of one’s salary that went into the P200 million in cash donations Children’s Hour Philippines, Inc. gathered as of June 2010.

“Apir” also means “hello”, to agree to someone, or to approve of a job well done. So prior to the benefit dinner, Aquino-Cruz signified her commitment to the CHPI through an “Apir Wall” where she stamped a handprint and affixed on it her signature.

“In 1521, it was here in Cebu that Lapu-Lapu defeated Magellan. Four hundred ninety years later, the island is free from foreign oppression. However, there is this surge of another kind of oppression – poverty - that even if the DepEd budget is raised recently to 19 percent (or P207 billion from last year’s P175 billion), some children still find it hard to get access even to our free public education,” Cruz, who is the honorary chairman of CHPI, expressed in her keynote speech.

“Every child has this basic right to enjoy a happy, safe and fulfilling future. This can be ensured if we share one hour of our earnings even on an annual basis. Consider one hour. One hour to free a child from the shackles of poverty. Help us make this world a better place one hour at a time,” Cruz said, to which the audience had responded with a high five.

“Since 1999, the steadfast support of generous friends and donors has helped propel Children’s Hour to where we are today. And we hope that the 609,000 children whose lives you have helped change is testament to life-changing Power of One Hour,” Ms. Evangeline Mayuga, CHPI executive director, said.

As for CHPI chairperson Emily Abrera, she mentioned that the relaunch of fundraising efforts, to commemorate a milestone, has taken place here in Cebu being the project’s regional partner in the Visayas. “We left the dwindling 90s with a clear purpose and that is to attend to education needs of marginalized children so they can enjoy a happy childhood and a bright future through ‘one hour’s worth of salary for the entire year’. Our fundraising scheme is unique and simple. Four months after our launch, we raised P20 million from 355 companies, able to fund 23 charities,” Abrera said.

“We would say that because of the attractiveness of the campaign, it developed into a movement in no time and that we did arouse the interest of the people to give, “Abrera added. “People would want to give no matter how small it is. The only thing needed is mechanism.”

During the event, Golden ABC headed by Mr. Bernardo Liu (CHPI trustee), turned over P1,044,950 to Children’s Hour; Ayala Corporation chipped in P127,489.46 while the Ayala Malls donated separate amounts – in P20,000 and P30,000; Honda handed over P32,228.88, while Cebu City Marriott Hotel headed by its general manager Bruce Winton turned over P17,850 – all in checks.

In return, the CHPI awarded P1 million to the Ayala Business Club Cebu, Inc. (its partner in carrying out the project here in the Visayas).

During the affair, a silent auction was also carried out to raise more funds. Bid for two digital prints of art photography enthusiast Don Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (founding chairman, trustee) started at P30,000 and closed at P49,000 that night. The items are to be autographed by him, it was further learned.

Other items were a Ferragamo and a Prada eyewear. Bids began at P4,000 and P3,595, respectively and closed at P8,890 and P7,990, respectively. Among other items were Lacoste shirts, a leather jacket, a pair of white shoes, and a black Guess traveling bag. (FREEMAN)