Little heroes, big hearts

“Sometimes the world seems so cruel

sometimes the world seems so cold

When fear takes hold of me

And drowns all the hope

Bad memories torture my soul

All the hurting is out of control

I’ve got my hero, my angel, my love

To keep me safe, to keep me home

Keep me loved.” — Karylle, My Hero, My Angel

MANILA, Philippines - I’ve always believed “people are inherently good.” I’m pretty sure this saying was a thesis statement I had to defend in one of those much-dreaded oral exams back in school. Beyond school I’ve proven the statement to be true over and over again even if some may fault me for being overly optimistic. Can I help it if I’ve been witness to so many good things in my life, a lot of which happened during the past couple of weeks?

I went Twitter-crazy and bragged that CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida was a guest in our Sunday noontime show A.S.A.P. immediately after I read his name on our script. His dressing room was in the main building, so I waited by the driveway so I would see him as soon as he walked to the studio. Amazingly, he allowed me to hold the “Hero of the Year” trophy. This puzzled me a bit because if I were him, I wouldn’t want anyone to touch my precious trophy as they might break it.

But then I later realized that he wanted to make the people he encounters feel like they could be a hero like him. A “hero” is no longer a concept that is up in the clouds...it is real and it is here. For our home, the Philippines which has been stricken with catastrophe and some other things I don’t really want to talk about anymore, it is refreshing to have people like Efren who fill us with hope in our people.

It was a remarkable day in A.S.A.P. because all the internationally-renowned artists such as Charice Pempengco, the Journey’s Arnel Pineda, Rhap Salazar, Jed Madela and Lea Salonga sang songs that inspired and uplifted everyone’s spirits. Tears welled up as Lea sang Hangad ko’y tagumpay nating lahat which rang true that day as Efren embodied a victory he so generously shared with everyone. I have been in the audience area when people go gaga over heartthrobs like Piolo Pascual, John Lloyd Cruz and the Kantoboyz but never was there a standing ovation in my one year in A.S.A.P. until Efren and his group Dynamic Teen Company humbly went on stage filled with a love everyone needed to see and share. It was one of the best moments I’ve ever experienced and of course as everyone was gushing and wiping their tears, I showed everyone my cellphone wallpaper of me holding the Hero of the Year award with Kuya Ef.

Inspired by the many heroes that sprouted during the Ondoy and Pepeng typhoons, our theme for our yearly Timezone Christmas party was Little Heroes. It was time to veer away from older themes such as Under the Sea which had its comeback in 1985 when Back to the Future featured a very dreamy 1955 enchantment under the sea dance. “Where I’m from, everybody’s a hero” is a ubiquitous statement emblazoned on networking sites like Facebook which I wanted to translate to a party setting. I wanted to show both the guests from Child Haus stricken with various illnesses like leukemia, lymphoma, congenital heart disease as well as the volunteers that anyone can indeed make a difference in other people’s lives.

To prove this, seven-year-old Keanu Karami, a first grader from La Salle Greenhills shared his story at the party. This handsome boy single-handedly raised P11,000 for typhoon victims by playing the violin for people around Promenade Mall and in their family’s Arya restaurants in Greenhills and Podium. He bought baby clothes and stuffed toys with the money he raised and gave it to his school’s Operation Tulong Bayan. After Keanu, my cousin JP Mateo of MedAsia talked about saving about 10 of his neighbors using a canoe during the floods in Marikina. He selflessly saved children and elderly neighbors while risking his own life. Their stories empowered the kids by way of showing them that anyone at any age and in any state of life can help do something for others.

I am always faced with a varied group of equally notable volunteers for every outreach project. It makes me smile that there is no one “type” of person who responds generously to the text/e-mail invitations or the solicitation letters. Facebook, Multiply and Twitter have been very instrumental for finding donors this year. Sometimes, I make a “shout out” or a “status message” and somebody immediately volunteers or donates something. An anonymous newspaper columnist and author for example was kind enough to solicit donations among her friends.

Bianca Lapus, who owns Party Island and the Birthday Club, volunteered her artists to do free face painting and glitter tattoo combinations. This was a lovely addition to the party because it made all the kids feel beautiful and extra special which was evident in their gigantic smiles.

Another new thing to me was seeing top DJ Ace Ramos, resident DJ of Encore (formerly Embassy) early on in the day instead of spinning music at the break of day. He was so sweet as to personally deliver a guitar one of the patients wished for. The teenage boy who asked for the guitar felt his wish was a little too much so he asked for clothes instead.

He was so surprised because we gave him the clothes first and then Christian Bautista handed him the guitar towards the end of the “gift giving” part of the program. To complete the music package, we asked Pinoy Song Mag for copies of their magazine so the kids could learn new songs for the next parties. The kids’ song numbers are always the most touching part of the program. It is when the ates and kuyas discreetly reach for some tissue to shed a tear. The kids sang for us ABS-CBN’s Star ng Pasko which I heard in all the children’s Christmas parties I attended.

After the program was the most exciting part of the day as the kids got their own Power Cards a.k.a. the keys to the gigantic playground. Among the happy volunteers who played with the kids were Rachelle Ann Go, Nikki Bacolod, Jimmy Marquez and Kris Lawrence. Bubbles Paraiso, JR Isaac, Gabriel Valenciano, Carlos Agassi, DJ Mia, DJ Suzy, DJ Pat, Ella Guevara, Republikha’s Carisse Escueta, our hosts RR Herrera and Carelle Mangaliag, my manager Carlo Orosa were also there. Cheska Garcia-Kramer was there to feature the party in their Studio 23 show Us Girls.

My mom Zsa Zsa Padilla was also there and I was really touched when she took photos with Mike Soriano. He was the child assigned to me four years ago when this project started. Seeing Mike reminded me of how far we’ve gone with this project which started with the help and guidance of Kapuso Foundation staff including Leon Defuntorum and Mel Tiangco herself.

I would like to say a special thank you to Timezone for making this party bigger and better for two years now and to Lorenzo Manalang who put together all the puzzle pieces to make Christmas more memorable for all of us.

A dream project of mine which is finally on its developmental phase is clink.ph which stands for “charity link.” It is being put together by my college blockmate Paul Cuaso and Icon Media, Inc. When it’s finished, we hope to create a complete directory of charities in the Philippines. Several organizations abroad accept donations via credit card but I do not believe our country is quite ready for this type of philanthropic effort just yet. This is why we aim to make giving more personal by determining specific needs and wishes.

For Timezone Party 2009, we asked each child for his Christmas wish and asked ChildHaus director Dr. Rachel Rosario for their respective needs which we then uploaded to our website. With the help of Magic 89.9, we plugged the wish list. And as it turns out, it doesn’t take a Santa, a fairy godmother, a chicken bone or the bulalakaw, to make a wish come true. Long live the anti-Scrooge in us who loves to put a smile on someone’s face! We gathered everyone’s wishes in less than a week.

“Wishes” ranged from Winnie the Pooh pillows to cellular phones to Barbie shoes with wheels and toy robots while “needs” included chemotherapy sessions, milk, various medicine and multivitamins. Three days before the party, we hardly had any donors for the wish list. Right in the nick of time, we received donations from generous anonymous Magic listeners and an anonymous bus sponsorship.

We also got cash donations from my ninang Lorna Tolentino, Jay-R and Iza Calzado. My new Twitter pal from London asked her relatives from Cavite City to deliver money and a sweet card for the kids. A girl in her school uniform came by to drop the donations from her mom. I love it when help comes from the most unexpected places. When we finally had all the gifts in place, a pretty team of K Jewels placed pretty red ribbons on the kids’ “wishes” which were given at the party.

United as one, 37 OPM artists and 21 bands performed in the historic Kaya Natin Ito concert at the MOA Concert grounds spearheaded by singer/songwriter/comedian and now philanthropist Ogie Alcasid. He composed Kaya Natin Ito which was recorded by 70 Filipino artists in Jay-R’s home studio. The CD is available in all record outlets, exclusively distributed by Universal Records. So far, this project has raised enough money to build several Gawad Kalinga (GK) Villages via GK’s Operation Walang Iwanan to rebuild and restore hope for families struck by Ondoy and Pepeng.

Small acts of kindness are like a ripple in the water that lead to bigger ones. This big act of kindness Kuya Ogie started will lead to a wave of great things to follow.

Every time pessimism tries to creep into my system, events like these restore my faith in people. The debate will live on but from where I stand, I gotta believe in the words that “people are inherently good.”

Thank you to Timezone, Shakey’s, Abbott, Ever Bilena, Ayala Cinemas, Magic 89.9, iconmediainc.com, Party Island and the Birthday Club for sponsoring Timezone Party 2009.

(You may help Child Haus by depositing your donations at Banco de Oro (checking account), account name: Child Haus, account number 4600026996. The tel. no. is 414-2421. Child Haus is located at PCSO Compound, E. Rodriguez, Sr. Ave., Quezon City. E-mail address is [email protected].)