Celebrating sponsors like Carla
Today, we want to honor our CHILD SPONSORS!
Their child sponsorship commitment inspires many success stories from our communities and we are sincerely grateful to them as our partner. But just as they have helped children reach their dreams, we know that they have their own story to tell just like Carla Omaga.
Carla grew up in a humble household where her mother worked as a seamstress to provide for their family and her father was the one taking care of her and her siblings. They lost their house to a fire when she was just 5 years old which prompted her family to move from Metro Manila to her mother’s hometown in Camarines Sur. Her mother stayed behind to work and her father was a padyak (pedicab) driver in the province.
At an early age, Carla was taught that a good education is the foundation of a bright future. Her main responsibilities at home has always been to study diligently, complete school assignments, and pass her classes. She dreamed of becoming an astronaut, an archaeologist, a veterinarian, a scientist, an architect, or a painter.
Carla made sure to excel in school. She won numerous medals from science-related competitions which made her decide to take up a science degree in college. With a scholarship from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), she became the first college student in her family. She graduated cum laude at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and continued to climb the academic ladder by getting her master’s degree in chemistry at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 2012, then her doctorate at the University of Utah in 2018.
Today, she gets to fulfill her dream of being a scientist in one of the laboratories at the University of California San Diego.
Being passionate about education, she decided to support World Vision on March 2008. She recalls looking at the photos of children and picking the one who wasn’t smiling because she was worried that nobody will sponsor the child unless she chooses to. She hopes that more underprivileged children will have a chance at improving the quality of their lives through education because it has certainly changed hers for the better.
With the pandemic however, children face more threats. We are all challenged to do more for each other to survive this crisis together. And this is exactly what Carla and her fellow sponsors did—sharing their resources that allowed World Vision to reach more than 1.4 million people in the Philippines with life-saving essentials and valuable information on how to stop the spread of COVID-19 in communities and households. It is our collective hope that this generation and the next will get to enjoy a healthier world.
“I am glad for the opportunity to give back through an organization whose advocacies are aligned with my personal values. I hope for more people to support World Vision programs by becoming a donor and for my fellow sponsors to keep donating because it is so needed right now. Even a single peso from each of us would add up and make a big difference. It’s an honor to be working with all of you in these challenging times so let’s stay strong, safe, and sound! We will overcome this together,” Carla shared.
From all of us here in World Vision, we thank you for your love and support that taught children to value their education and to be courageous in reaching their dreams. We look forward to keep working with you in protecting and nurturing the vulnerable, one child at a time.
