Oh Joy!
By Kim Gutierrez
World Vision Communications Intern
After finishing a degree in Accountancy, Christel Joy Martinez never had to spend a typical, mundane day in the office ever. Enjoying her passion is all in day’s work for her because instead of pursuing her chosen in-demand business course to get a lucrative career, Joy followed her first love—her love for children. Since then, she found her jar of joy.
“I love children so much because once in my life, when I was still a child, somebody loved me that much too,” Joy recounted. Joy was a former sponsored child who finished BS in Accountancy through the help of her Australian sponsor. After graduating, she watched her colleagues choose the same jobs and career paths. As she was figuring out what she wanted to do, Joy found out that the route to her dream job was a round-trip back to World Vision. Only this time, she came back no longer as a sponsored child, but as a child sponsor.
Standing proud in front of other donors, Joy believes that “Sponsorship is transformation.” More than just filling in spreadsheets, figuring out expenses, and answering emails, Joy has become a witness of transformation in her workplace every day. Now a World Vision Child Data Analyst, she sees the growing relationships between sponsors and their sponsored children through the letters and gifts they send to each other. “Kahit po ‘yung pagtutupi at paglalagay ng stamp sa sulat ng mga bata, ginagandahan ko talaga kasi alam ko may isang buhay na mapapasaya. I want the sponsors to receive the best from their sponsored children kahit sa isang simpleng sulat lang.”
Indeed, the love Joy received as a sponsored child is the same love she now gives to her sponsored child and to all the other children in Cavite where she now serves. Joy proved that sometimes the best route we can take is a round-trip back home.
