"I was looked after by a doctor in my orphanage, and deep down in my heart my spirit said to me, 'You will be the next doctor'," Dr Christian shared of his childhood. His former sponsors from Canada learnt of his dream and eventually helped him fulfil it. |
It was an evening of jubilation. At World Vision Child Sponsors Celebration on 5th December 2009, the event also took an emotional turn when two guest speakers, Balinese oncologist Steven Christian and Lieutenant-Commander Armando Balilo from the Philippines began narrating their life stories to the 200-strong audience.
"I came home one day and found that my parents were not there. They had separated," recalled Dr Christian, 52, of the moment when he realised he had become an orphan.
Back then, he did not know that he would later be blessed with Canadian child sponsors who would secure his future.
42-year-old Lt-Commander Balilo of the Philippine Coast Guard, who grew up in slum conditions, shuddered to think of a life without his child sponsors from the United States.
He pondered, "Could I have been a syndicate thief? Could my two beautiful daughters have to peddle themselves as child prostitutes?"
After a comfortable life in Philadelphia, Lt-Commander Balilo heeded the call to return to the Philippines to assist the nation's rescue efforts in its maritime disasters. He felt that he needed to realise this calling as he had received a second chance in life himself through his child sponsors. |
In their earlier days, both Dr Christian and Lt-Commander Balilo struggled for food and survival. Under the World Vision Child Sponsorship Programme, they were well-provided for.
And given an opportunity to attend school up to university, this had made all the difference. Today, both men are serving others in their respective vocations and are also providing their children with a brighter future.
"Jasmine is going to become a doctor like me," beamed Dr Christian as he glanced towards his daughter, a medical student who had followed him to Singapore along with his wife.
Having taken to the stage at River View Hotel as testimonies of child sponsorship, their message was to also thank World Vision child sponsors who are sowing in the seeds of success in the lives of children all over the world.
Dr Christian and Lt-Commander Balilo stand as evidence of what child sponsorship reaps. The theme of this year's Child Sponsors Celebration was to highlight sponsored children who have emerged as heroes in their own right.
In addition to the oncologist and Lt-Commander's testimonies, an exhibition featuring a lawyer, politician, educator and pastor -- all former sponsored children -- was also on show for guests.
The evening then lent itself to a musical high when local acoustic duo Jack and Rai performed a cover of John Lennon's Happy Christmas (War is Over) and well-known inspirational U2 track, One.
Dressed in traditional Mongolian garb, World Vision celebrity ambassador Danny Yeo (pictured on top banner) -- former DJ and currently a lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic -- gave a different perspective for the night.
He shared on the joys of being a child sponsor through a series of uplifting photographs that he had taken of the Central Asian country during his most recent World Vision trip. He was there to visit his sponsored child.
And even as these affecting stories were exchanged, the night did eventually end in a celebratory mood.
World Vision's final presentation to guests was a video clip of former sponsored child Efren Peñaflorida. The 28-year-old had won the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year award for leading teenagers in the Philippines to teach street children basic literacy skills and values, so that all of them will be distanced from illegal drugs and gangs.
As he received the CNN award, Peñaflorida shared through the clip, "Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man and woman of different colours, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry. Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”
To this, World Vision Singapore would like to thank all our child sponsors for transforming lives and being our heroes.
Empower heroes of tomorrow. Sponsor a child today.
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