A birthday gift for cancer kids

MANILA, Philippines – Long-time friends Cristina Henson and Gelyn So Seng celebrated their birthdays recently by giving, instead of receiving gifts — with cancer-stricken children as the beneficiaries in a heart-warming party at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

The former classmates hooked up with Project: Brave Kids, an advocacy established in 2005 to fight childhood cancer, and staged a fun program for over 20 kids who were relieved of their suffering — even for a few hours — as they were showered with presents, toys, balloons, candies and lots of love.

Cristina, who turned 26 last May 25, thought of reaching out to cancer patients after her grandmother Carmencita Genato passed away a month ago. She was particularly close to her grandmother whom she had often visited during her two-year battle with uterine cancer. Her love for kids led to a search for a group dedicated to caring for sick children and Project: Brave Kids was the answer.

For her part, Gelyn, who turned 25 last May 30, wanted to give back and shared Cristina’s passion to care for less-fortunate children. They struck a strong partnership in organizing their own birthday party as a treat for others.

Cristina and Gelyn couldn’t have done it without the support of their family and friends. They hired “Stuff and Fluff” to host the party and solicited donations for toys, clothes, blankets, pillows, cakes and other goodies.

Gelyn’s parents Donato and Susan provided merienda packs. Cristina’s parents Quinito and Menchu brought two chocolate birthday cakes. Also contributing were Mark Ngkaion, Donnah and Suzanne So Seng, Nathalie Puey, Danding Genato, Philip Lu, Che de la Cuesta, Pebbles Nolasco, Tricia Tan, Ria May Ngkaion, Christine Santos, Christine Alonzo, Camille Zaldarriaga, Rey Infante, Tony Gatdula, Monica Maramag, Reina Chiquillo, Christine Flores, Joana Ballesteros, Kheiy David, April Cruzal, Duanne Perreras, Jen Yu, Irene Dizon, Czarina Jamir, Angelene de Leon, Christie Santos, Meggy Cuisia, Jackie David and Bianca Arambulo.

Some of the kids were in wheelchairs. A few were hooked up to IV injections. Others wore facial masks to avoid infection. Several boys and girls had thinning hair because of their radiation therapy. But their eyes glowed and they smiled widely as Cristina and Gelyn gave out gifts to share their blessings.

Project: Brave Kids founders Paul and Sigrid Perez were in the audience, almost in tears, as they watched the children enjoying a rare opportunity to have fun. In 2005, their three-year-old son Seve was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia and they were devastated. But they conceived of Project: Brave Kids only after realizing how kids cope with cancer at the Medical Center.

Paul said one day he visited the Medical Center charity ward and saw kids undergoing bone marrow aspiration without anesthesia. “It was bad enough they were suffering from cancer but because their parents had no money for anesthesia, they had to endure a lot of pain for their aspiration,” he said. “That was when my wife and I decided to try to do something about this situation. We decided to fight childhood cancer in an organized way.”

Paul, 40, and Sigrid, 36, are parents of seven children. Their eldest is eight and youngest is only three months old. Their devotion to fight childhood cancer is unflinching.

“There are about 3,500 new cases of childhood cancer a year,” said Paul. “Project: Brave Kids has to raise about P500,000 a month to cover for the 50 kids under our care. At the Medical Center, there are 400 kids confined from infancy to 19 years old. We still have a long way to go in addressing the illnesses of cancer children.”

Paul said Project: Brave Kids not only looks after the children but also their parents.

“One of our goals is to administer social and family life support,” he said. “We also try to educate parents on managing treatment and preventing infection. We also strive to strengthen ourselves spiritually by staying close to the Lord. We hold talks on values formation and of course, we have the endowment program which is our biggest challenge because the cost of cancer treatment is quite high.”

Paul, an advertising man, said Lucy Torres-Gomez has volunteered to be Project: Brave Kids’ spokesperson.

“Somehow, we’ve managed to make both ends meet,” he said. “Coca-Cola, through J. B. Baylon, supports us. The other day, we received P100,000 from an anonymous donor. Cancer is an enemy that chooses no one and when it strikes children, we parents are severely affected.”

Paul said it’s not often that cancer patients are treated to a party where they can smile, eat and forget their illnesses momentarily.

“It’s wonderful that there are young people like Cristina and Gelyn who welcome these kids into their hearts,” said Paul. “The children will never forget this experience.”

As parents, my wife Menchu and I saw our only child Cristina grow up to become a mature, responsible and beautiful young lady. We were so proud of her that day when she and Gelyn celebrated their birthdays by sharing their blessings with cancer kids. Cristina even raised money for the party by putting up a garage sale. More than the children never forgetting the experience, Cristina and Gelyn will cherish that event as a defining moment in their lives. It was their realization that in life, the fulfillment is in giving, sharing and loving.

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For inquiries about Project: Brave Kids, call 638-5940 or 0917-811-5437.