I sat in another meeting… seems like I’m in a lot of them these days. All good things of course… Child United is gaining new partnerships and support. The past 6 months has been amazing for Child United. We are going full speed ahead on many new things and the potential of changing the lives of children has gone two-fold. My dream is to have 10 offices worldwide where we’re reaching millions of children.
Anyways, in the meeting someone had said that I needed to get out there and really tell the genuine side of me because it’s what keeps Child United running. I said that it wasn’t about me but it’s about the kids. They say… I’m wrong. I took a couple of days to think about this. So here I am writing… I am wrong so here’s my story:
Have you ever seen something so profound it has changed your life forever?
This happened to me… this is why Child United started. I remember being in the Philippines and seeing children walk up to cars begging. They lived on the streets and they knew no better than to survive that day. But this is NOT what started it for me… these images are just one of the many things that woke me up.
Three girls and two boys. That’s what did it.
I went to my mom’s hometown in a rural farming area of the Philippines in January 2006. You would literally miss the turn into the street which took you to the rice farms if you didn’t know where to go. This small town consists of thousands of families. I remember when I was a kid, the street was made out of big rocks… they upgraded to concrete a few years ago. It was here at this very place where life turned around for me.
I remember sitting in front of my aunt’s home and seeing the children’s heads popping out behind the home next door. They were laughing, just curious about their new visitor. In their native language, their father told them to come meet their ‘American’ auntie.
So the kids came out and said hi… They were laughing because they tried saying it in English. I couldn’t speak their language and they couldn’t speak mine fluently but we had a connection from that moment on… They were happy when my mom and I brought them new clothes and toys. They played and laughed, having a great time. You know what was sad? They were happy for something that I had bought and it only cost me a few dollars. It was then I realized how little they had but how happy they were.
Their father is my first cousin. His family lives in a bamboo hut with no running water. They didn’t even have a stove. Every day, they would light a fire and cook their food outside. Their toilets don’t even work. They have to get a pail of water and dump it into the toilet for it to flush. This is where those kids live…
As I played with them, I saw myself in their eyes. This could have been me.
If my parents stayed in the Philippines and never immigrated to America, this would have been my life…. living in the bamboo hut with no running water, toilet or stove… in poverty. Many children who live in this town don’t have dreams or goals to be anything because it’s so out of reach for them. They don’t know anything more then what’s in front of them, in poverty.
I live my life with goals and dreams… it’s what keeps me going through my day. But imagine a life where your only dream is to survive. What a distinction!
Three girls and two boys. Seeing myself in their eyes. What could have been… This reality changed my life and now through Child United, it’s changing the life of thousands of children around the world.
What if we provided these kids with inspiration? What if we showed them they could have more than what’s in front of them? What if LIFE were possible?
On my last visit to the town, one of the girls told me what she wanted to be when she grows up. You know what she said? Joy, a 13 year old girl, told me she wanted to be ME, she wanted to change the world. This brings tears to my eyes as I write. Through my every day life of meetings and work, THIS is why I do it. I do it to change children’s lives and it started with three girls and two boys.
