Erwan Heussaff: No one should be hungry

MANILA,Philippines — Being an advocate of health and nutrition, Erwan Heusaff believes no one should be hungry. That's why it breaks his heart to see that some families in Payatas cannot even eat three times a day.

"It's hard to admit that while you wake up thinking what superfoods you should eat today, there are people, literally few kilometers away from you, who eat salt and do not even have clean water," shares Heussaff to some members of the press on April 13 at the Unit 27 Apartment Bar + cafe.

Believing that children are innocent and they should be given equal opportunity to be successful in this world, the restaurateur, blogger recently tied up with Kiehl's to help Payatas Orione Foundation, a non-profit organization which feeds over 200 children of Payatas. As part of the collaboration which aims help reduce child hunger in Payatas, Heussaff together with his team paid a visit to the Payatas dumpsite, where over 25,000 people scavenge for anything they can eat.

READ: Isabelle Daza, Erwan Heussaff team up for Payatas

On his visit, Heussaff met few women who shared their stories. One of them was Josie,  who shared that she earns P100 per day by sorting out garbage in the dumpsite.

"Lumipat kami kasi at least dito meron kahit papaano, sa probinsya wala talaga," Josie told Heussaff in the video.

A mother of three, Josie who cannot even read and write on her own, hopes that her children would not suffer the same fate.

Josie's family is just one of the few who relies on  “pagpag," the leftover food which people throw away in the garbage bins of multinational fast food chains which lands at the Payatas dumpsite the next day.

"What we saw today are courageous women. Ten times courageous than I could ever be," said Heussaff, after the clip of his visit to Payatas was shown to some members of the press.

Heusaff said he is happy to shed light on something that is real and not being addressed. But more than the conversations he had with the women of Payatas, one thing remains. In his own words, "Whatever your problems are right now, my problems are right now, they are nothing compared to what these people have everyday."

Heussaff is joined by Isabelle Daza in the campaign. Starting June, limited edition packaging of Kiehl's best selling product will be available on shelves. The product will be available for pre-order at startitrightwithkiehls.com website at the end of this week.

All the net proceeds of the sales will go to the Payatas Orione Foundation to feed underprivileged kids aged 2 to 8 years old through a supplemental feeding program where one full meal will be provided for them every single day of the week. — Alixandra Caole Vila