A Can of Soft Drink a Day

Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. - Kofi Annan

Having lived for a long time below the Philippines' poverty line, I now believe that education is a daily gift. Education is a daily gift given by those who want to make a difference in the lives of others and by those who hope to transform lives.

If not for the kindness of these people, you may not be reading my ideas now and you may not have seen the photographs I passionately try to take.

My college education seemed to be a far-flung dream for me and my parents. Heavens decided to close its doors to my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. However, it opened a window - an academic scholarship for an engineering course.

The generosity of the donors in the Handumanan Science Foundation of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City made a difference in my life. I was truly grateful for there was no contract involved, no payment to be made after graduation and after I find work. There was however that unspoken honor, privilege and resolve to  pay it forward.

I am currently sponsoring a child to school through World Vision. I have been sponsoring him since 2006. He likes to play with his toy car. His family lives near a stream and a mountain and their house is surrounded by trees.

It is always a joy when I receive small notes from him such as these...

For the past three Christmases, I have received one hand-made card and 2 World Vision cards. They have made my Christmases more meaningful...

Sponsoring a child's education through World Vision is like giving a daily gift. It is the gift of sparing a can of soft drink a day for your sponsored child.

There were times when it becomes really hard to spare those cans of soft drinks, especially if they have been accumulated for three months. But I made a commitment and every time I go out of the bank after making my quarterly deposits, I feel relived, joyful and satisfied knowing that for the coming three months I am again making a difference in a child's life, a day at a time.

World Vision is a Christian organization dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people - children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision looks beyond religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Just as Jesus Christ extended love and compassion to all people, especially to children, World Vision aspires to partake and manifest these values to all, especially to those living in poverty or suffering from oppression and injustice.

World Vision Philippines currently has 120, 000 sponsored kids with 23,000 children supported by fellow Filipinos here in the country. There are 8 local communities (Zambales, Isabela, Cebu, Aklan, Misamis Occidental, Cavite, and two at Palawan) in the country that are being supported by World Vision.

For 2009, World Vision aims to send 9,000 more children to school.

If you are willing to make a difference by saving for a can of soft drink a day for one of these children to go to school for them to have a chance for a better future, you can visit their website here. If you have further inquiries, you can also email them at: wv_phil[at]wvi[dot]org

Imagine the possibilities that you might be giving a child now for his future.

Imagine the chain and the linkages of people who will someday pay it forward.

Imagine the bright future of our country when every child truly has the right to education.

If you can imagine it, let's work together to make it happen. Make education a daily gift.

A can of soft drink a day goes a long, long way...

The First Great Step: The Story of White Jade

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." 

The time was 1947. The place, China. The communists under Mao Tse Tung had begun "The War of Liberation", and Chiang Kai-Shek's government armies were being pushed hack.

Nonetheless a young American evangelist by the name of Bob Pierce had preached with good success in Shanghai, Hangchow, Nanking wherever Christian missionaries could arrange meetings. His last stop was at the University of Amoy on Amoy (now Xiamen) Island in the Formosa Strait. Hundreds of college students made decisions for Christ. Upon hearing him, a tall Dutch reformed missionary named Tena asked Bob to stay over and speak to the 400 children who attended the mission school she ran nearby. He agreed. He spent four days telling, as simply as he knew how, the good news of Jesus to the Chinese schoolchildren. When he felt the time was ripe, he appealed to them to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, then go home and share with their parents their new faith. Many young hearts were gathered into the Kingdom.

The next morning, as Bob prepared to leave Amoy, he stopped by the school to say goodbye to Tena and thank her for the opportunity to minister to the children. Instead of the gracious early morning reception he had expected, a distraught woman met him at the Front door. In her arms was a child. The little girl was still sobbing. Her back was a lurid pattern of red lines and purple splotches. She obviously had been whipped and beaten. Her thin dress was soaked with blood. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she hold on to Tena's neck as if her life depended on it.

"What happened?' Bob asked. "White Jade did just what you asked, Tena replied. "She went straight home and told her parents she had become a Christian and would worship only the one true God. Look what it cost her! Her Father screamed that she had dishonored her ancestors, beat her and threw her out of the house. Tena thrust the traumatized little girl into Bob's arms and asked, "Now, what are you going to do about it? I have six other children already sharing my rice bowl!

Bob held the child awkwardly. White Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Every few moments, she shuddered with the residing sobs. Tears streamed down Tena's red face. Her lip quivered, but her jaw was clenched. The pain in her eyes demanded an answer. Pierce was shaken to the core of his being. The enormous social implications of Christ's gospel began to unfold in his mind. The incredibly vulnerable child in his arms was a child of the King. And she needed to be cared for.

Tena stood, unmoving, waitinq for an answer. "All I have is five dollars.." he said meekly. The bold, confident evangelist-before-thousands was humbled and quieted by the needs of the precious child he held, "That's fine", she answered. "I'II take it. Five dollars will buy enough cloth for a new dress, some rice and a new slate for school. When you get home, send me five dollars every month. I'll let White Jade sleep in the kitchen. I promise you I'll take care of her."

World Vision was born with that five dollars; a ministry dedicated to caring for the white jades of this world, propelled by the prayer Pierce wrote in the fly leaf of his Bible- "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

(Excerpt from One Life at a Time by Robert A. Seiple, compiled by Burce Brander, WV Information and Communications Group)