Child leaders’ message to sponsors
‘We would be nothing without you’
(L-R) Noel, 18, Jamela, 17, and Xander, 15, have been World Vision’s child leaders for 4 years.
“I would probably be a loafer,” sponsored child, Noel, 18, replies when asked what he thinks he would be if he hadn’t met World Vision.
“I honestly don’t know what my life is today if I didn’t become part of World Vision,” shares another sponsored child, Xander, 15.
“I probably remained a timid girl,” says Jamela, 17, whose mother has been a World Vision volunteer for years.
Noel, Xander, and Jamela are officers of Barangay (village) Children’s Association (BCA) in a World Vision community in the Bicol Region, west of the Philippines.
BCA is a group of sponsored and non-sponsored children formed by World Vision to encourage children to participate in community development. BCA also serves as a venue where children can enhance their skills such as leadership and facilitation.
Xander is the BCA president; Noel, the vice president; and Jamela, the treasurer. They’ve been child leaders for four years.
As officers, the three teens have attended several youth training in the past such as on HIV and AIDS, children’s rights, teenage pregnancy, and how to be a facilitator.
The three admits that they used to be too shy to face a crowd. “Because we’re afraid to commit mistakes,” Noel explains.
“Then be bullied,” Xander adds. “But after attending several training with World Vision, we’re able to develop self-confidence.”
“Though we still commit mistakes until now, we’re not that afraid anymore. We just learned from our mistakes and correct them next time,” Noel says.
“Our self-confidence has improved,” says Jamela. “I was a shy girl. Gradually, I’m able to talk with other people.”
Improving the lives of families as well
Noel’s mother is an overseas Filipino worker, his father is a tricycle driver.
On the other hand, Xander’s parents’ main source of income is from fishing and her mother’s stipend as a community health worker.
Jamela’s father is a barber. Her mother is a village health worker as well.
Their families have been members of CoMSCA (Community-managed Savings and Credit Association), a World Vision intervention to teach families the value of savings. A CoMSCA has 15-25 members who save money every week or month. At the end of the year, the money each member saved will return to him/her. A savings could be as little as Php30 (less than a dollar) to as high as Php500 ($10). Community members opt to save through CoMSCA than banks because of the latter’s numerous needed documents, charging fees, and banks are usually far from the family’s houses.
Xander says that his parents were members of CoMSCA. “Our house is from CoMSCA. If you’ve seen our previous house, it was made of light materials only.” Now, Xander’s house is made of bricks and colored orange. “The color of World Vision,” Xander adds, giggling. Though their families’ lives have improved, there are still challenges.
Noel’s mother will soon be going abroad for a better salary. “She used to work in a factory that exports crab meat. My mother would separate the meat from the shell. I tried it once. It was difficult. I was paid Php100 [$2] for a whole day’s work.”
But what these youth leaders are thankful for is that for the past five years that World Vision existed in their communities, they learned a lot and saw that they can improve their lives.
“We would probably be what we are now if it weren’t for World Vision and the sponsors,” Noel says.
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Child Sponsorship is more than just a monetary contribution. It brings Hope, Joy and Justice to vulnerable Filipino children. When you become a child sponsor, you are embarking on a mission to help empower the disadvantaged, respond to their most immediate needs when disasters happen, make health and education accessible for children, lead communities toward self-sufficiency through livelihood opportunities, and so much more. You do not just impact a child, you impact his or her community.
