I have known Via Marquez since we were Karilagan models for the dynamic Conchita “Conching” Sunico in 1969. Barely out of high school, we were one of the youngest girls and naturally gravitated towards each other while we were busy doing daily fashion shows at the Manila Hilton Hotel, considered as the most modern in the Southeast Asian region. Oftentimes we were sent abroad to present the best of the Philippines to the international audience that included royalty and heads of state. But we were always properly chaperoned by a family friend or relative of Tita Conching so as not to worry our parents.
Via married German businessman Uli Hoffmann and made her home in various parts of the globe, eventually settling in Sydney as their base with her goodlooking children John and Tina. Not content with being a housewife, she produced award-winning Pinoy films and owned several Ferragamo boutiques in Australia.
Thirteen years ago, Via got involved in Operation Restore Hope, an international surgical charity founded and headquartered in Australia by Dr. Daryll Hodgkinson in 1992. Made up of international volunteers who donate not only their time and skills to provide surgical care for the less fortunate children of the Philippines with cleft lip and palate deformities, but also the medicines and operating room equipment that is eventually used by the hospital. The procedures are performed at the Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Medical Center in Caloocan where 37 percent of the population is living in poverty. The mission also enables foreign doctors, dentists and nurses to impart their skills and knowledge with their local counterparts.
Via is the working arm in the Philippines and provides the logistics so that once the mission arrives, the operations flow smoothly. I have seen her discovering children in Batangas and Parañaque who are hidden by their family because of their perceived deformity; oftentimes hiding inside their homes and being kept out of school. The patients are then given thorough preliminary medical screenings, food and transportation to be able to show up and be operated on the given date. When I asked Via how she got involved, she replied, “I am so proud to be a Filipina and want to help many of our less-fortunate kababayans as I can. Charity must start at home.”
For more information on Operation Restore Hope, email ORTHA@operationrestorehope.org
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