World Vision celebrated its 65th anniversary with the release of the book The Day My Life Changed, a collection of stories of hope, joy, and justice of sponsored children through decades.
Award-winning broadcast journalist and World Vision sponsor Karen Davila wrote the book's foreword, sharing how her life changed as a child sponsor. She also became a vocal media advocate, a Country Goodwill Ambassador to being a board member of World Vision Philippines.
"It was work I cherished and loved because of the impact it made on the lives of the children," she said.
Commodore Armand Balilo, one-star general and spokesperson for the Philippines Coast Guard, was a sponsored child. He went from selling rice cakes to becoming one of World Vision's prominent public servants.
"Years back, I was the one who needed to be saved and rescued. I grew up in a community where poverty and misery was a norm. I was selling rice cakes to put food on the table and there were many times when I would attend Sunday School shirtless. One day, a World Vision project staff approached me and that day changed my life. My wonderful sponsors gave me the opportunity to create a better life for myself and my family," Balilo said.
Rommel Fuerte, World Vision Philippines national director, has sponsored a child with the organization for twenty five years.
In 2018, Fuerte was recognized by the Philippine Association of Social Workers as the Most Outstanding Social Worker. In 2020, former President Duterte appointed him as Board Member of the Council for the Welfare of Children. The following year, Fuerte was invited to be part of the board of the Multi Sectoral Governance Coalition of the Department of Social Welfare Development.
"We hope that through this book, we find reflected in these pages God's wonderful plan for our lives enclosed with a prayer for our hearts the will to make it so," he said.
Present at the media book launch on 6 December Dr. Gabriel Romero, a former sponsored child who found his path as a scientist. He was recently awarded as one of the 2019 Filipino Faces of Biotechnology by the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office.
The Day My Life Changed is now available at www.worldvision.org.ph.
World Vision was established in 1957 and has helped over 36 million children. Every year, they aid over 1.5 million, with over 60,000 sponsored children — most are from the remote areas.
