Giving is better than receiving. And that’s exactly what transpired during the annual fundraising dinner and auction for the Child Protection Network (CPN) led by David Bradley and Irene Martel Francisco. These uber-charitable individuals first met in 1978 when Irene’s father, businessman Antonio Martel, introduced her to the young Fulbright scholar who was in the Philippines and a house guest of Jessie Lichauco in her Sta. Ana home. They later renewed acquaintances in 2009 with the prominent Kat Legarda.
Visiting yearly, CPN’s major benefactors David and Katherine Bradley were delighted to meet new friends and connect with old ones, including board members Renna Angeles, Johnny Velasquez, Mia Borromeo, Mons Romulo and executive director Dr. Bernie Madrid.
They were pleased at how the evening turned out at Solaire’s Finestra with a special gourmet menu paired with South African wines and bubbly. As David explained, “It is not surprising that the Child Protection Network, the country’s largest medical care system for abused children, has enjoyed such growth and success. Does any nation love its children more than does the Philippines? The individual cases of sexual and physical abuse, some on children less than a year old, are limitlessly tragic. But this work together to stop it is a privilege.”
Our table of six happy ladies, led by the charming Nikki Prieto Teodoro, proved to be the lucky bidders for a week’s stay at the beautiful Valfond estate of the Bradleys in Provence. When David came over to our table to congratulate us, he was informed by our excited group that it was going to be an all-girls’ trip and no boys (husbands/partners) were included.
The auctioned items on offer were varied as Tonico Manahan, auctioneer par excellence, made sure the lots fetched the best possible prices: a hotly bid Anita Magsaysay Ho tapestry donated by Jaime Ponce de Leon, an El Nido Resorts Pangalusian Island stay, an iconic safari trip in Kenya by A2A Safaris, a rare Tudor watch from Vintage Grail, and a week’s stay in the Bradley’s Provence estate. It was truly a fundraising for a most worthy cause.
As of this weekend, funds raised through the auctioned items and personal donations reached P7,555,000 with more trickling in to fund its numerous centers in the Philippines. Currently, CPN has 138 child-protection units in 64 provinces and 10 cities across the country providing vital medical and psycho-social care for abused children.
It is the forefront of the battle against the many faces of child abuse. “I am very grateful for the support of CPN, but there remains much to do,” the soft-spoken Irene enthused. “We need to get to more abused kids and improve the rate of reporting of abuse. The more kids we reach, the better.”
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For information and for tax deductible donations, visit www.childprotectnetwork.org or email cpn@childprotectionnetwork.org