Meet the wonder wo-moms
MANILA, Philippines - In a gallant effort to give Filipino children a new lease on life, a group of outstanding mom advocates recently joined hands with some of the country’s most prominent individuals gave life to Mothers for Others. A charity event in partnership with ABS-CBN Foundation, it aims to raise funds to provide life-saving surgeries to more than 100 of the critical children on the Bantay Bata 163 Pediatric Heart patients’ list.
This Mother’s Day, May 8, the Mothers for Others Charity Gala Champagne Brunch at Makati Shangri-La Hotel is a fun day to give back and celebrate the beauty of a mother’s nurturing love for her child. The exclusive by-invitation-only event gathers approximately 600 members of Manila’s most prominent families in an effort to further generate widespread support for its cause. A charity children’s fashion show featuring kids of some of the country’s renowned celebrities and personalities wearing designs by the Philippines’ most sought-after fashion designers will be the highlight of the affair.
The Mothers for Others team, as well as the Bantay Bata advisory board, is made up of Audrey Zubiri, Carla Ramsey, Dawn Zulueta, Jackie Lhullier Hess, Kaye Tinga, Lisa Chan, Manny Padilla, Nanette Medved-Po and Rajo Laurel. “The inspiration for the heart initiative itself came from Manny Padilla. He is a heart surgery survivor and when we discovered that there were quite a few patients on the Bantay Bata list that needed heart surgery things just fell into place,” Nanette says. The team agrees that, originally, helping pediatric heart patients was not a major part of the ad board’s responsibility. But since then so many patients have approached them that they saw how it has remarkably helped these children in getting a new lease on life. Now, it has become one of their primary objectives and its most cherished cause. As Audrey puts it: “As a mother, I think the idea of losing a child unnecessarily is just unthinkable. Nowadays, with the technology and talented doctors we have, saving these children is no longer just an option, it is our responsibility.”
“The Bantay Bata Board is made up of different personalities, but one thing we all have in common is a commitment to help children most in need. All of us are parents so this really resonates among us. And we’re so lucky that others have seen this and are so willing to help,” Kaye adds.
The organizing committee for the worthwhile collaboration project is truly inspired by the generosity they’ve received from different groups and individuals. “Almost everyone we approached to help put this project together said yes immediately and agreed to do it for free which is remarkable considering the ‘dream’ we were aspiring to pull off. I think when we first conceptualized the idea of the Top 10 Philippine designers coming together in a ‘group show’ for children, we were being fanciful and optimistic. Many of these designers do not work on group shows and certainly not for free. But as it turns out it really does pay to dream and shoot for the stars. We got all the designers on board plus more,” says Nanette.
“The intention for this event is not just to raise money for the kids, but also to raise money for the cause. Not everyone realizes that there are other causes under Bantay Bata that also need attention. When they think of Bantay Bata, they think of rescues from child abuse. The pediatric heart patients fall under the medical arm of the foundation,” says Audrey. “Raising a significant amount is a good but we would also like to make people aware and consider supporting the pediatric heart patients. It is really about saving the life of a child. Right after the operation, their condition changes drastically. They are given the gift of life.”
With this massive effort all set to uplift spirits and raise not only awareness but also awaken love and hope among many, the term “mother” has yet again found itself a new, divine meaning. As Kaye Tinga puts it: “A mother’s love is really a most special kind of love.” It sure is.
