NEWS VISION - May 2007
Victor Wong (??) pats a sleeping toddler at the School Beach Phuket Drop-in Center to sleep |
Award winning male artiste of radio-friendly songs such as 掌心 and most recently 爱到无可救药, Victor Wong (more popularly known as 品冠 in the regional Chinese music scene) and Jaymee Ong, up-and-coming actress and star blogger for The Straits Times online web portal STOMP.com.sg, have been appointed as World Vision International - Singapore 2007 Goodwill Ambassadors.
As part of their orientation trip, both visited a World Vision supported community in Ranong, Thailand as well as a street children drop-in center in Phuket from April 16 – 21, 2007.
In a press conference held recently, the two ambassadors shared their afterthoughts on stepping into the world of children who were targets of child prostitution and child sex tourism and having witnessed the rescue work by World Vision staff. They also visited a World Vision supported community in Ranong where they spoke with children and families suffering from HIV/AIDS. They also visited several micro-enterprise projects set up to help village communities generate income through the setting up of small businesses.
Jaymee sharing a light moment with street children from the School Beach Phuket Drop-in Center |
Remarked Jaymee, “We are really fortunate and blessed to be living in Singapore. To see children without shoes and having to seek shelter and solace in the streets is really heart wrenching. Many children are driven to prostitution because this is commonly viewed in the country as a means of survival. However, supply feeds on demand. It’s repulsive to see travellers preying on these young children. Just imagine if these children are your daughters, nieces?”
May 2007
Victor added, ”The issues of child prostitution are difficult to imagine in developed countries such as Singapore but in developing countries such as Thailand, these are daily happenings. I remember an incident while walking along the red-light district where we were even handed a ‘menu’ of sexual services involving children, to choose from. We spoke to two young boys who related their tales of having to prostitute themselves for a mere S$9, considered a princely sum by their standards.
We also visited a family where a young child was infected with HIV/AIDS by no fault of his. His mother has passed away from the disease and the child is currently under the care of his aged 80-year-old grandma. Their living conditions were deplorable, their shabby, dilapidated hut offering little relief from the weather elements. My heart ached with his grandmother as she told me that the doctors informed her that the child would not live beyond 10 years.”
During the trip, Victor and Jaymee also had a chance to purview several micro-enterprise projects such as the mushroom, silkworm and vegetable farms aimed to help the community generate or supplement their average daily income.
Victor and Jaymee working hard at their maiden foray in silk weaving in |
The trip to Thailand has strongly inspired both Victor and Jaymee to be the voice of the vulnerable children living in poverty. Walking the talk, Jaymee is now sponsoring a girl from China and Victor will be sponsoring a boy and girl under World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Program.
”It has been a real privilege to be appointed as World Vision Singapore’s Goodwill Ambassador. I am really glad to see how World Vision has helped these street children and the needy families and communities improve their quality of life through their Child Sponsorship Programme,” said Victor.
Ways You Can Help
Spread the word: Tell your friends about World Vision’s Child Sponsorship program! For a monthly contribution of S$45, the Child Sponsorship program gives needy children living in developing countries a chance to break out of the poverty cycle by providing them access to education, healthcare, nutritious food and clean water.
More news: Simply log onto www.worldvision.org.sg to purview accompanying videos and media coverage of this trip!
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