My day with Sam Milby

Sam Milby up close and personal is just like your brother’s cute friend or the neighborhood crush ng bayan — he makes you feel kilig but he’s also so approachable and totally without airs. He is currently an ambassador for World Vision, a charitable organization that lets people sponsor a child’s education for just P20 a day (P600 a month) and also provides livelihood assistance to marginalized families and communities. I spent a day with the heart- throb on trip to Cebu to help raise awareness for World Vision’s upcoming 12 Hour Famine campaign, a global movement specially aimed at attracting more youth to be active in the fight against hunger and poverty.

8 A.M..: Sam arrives at the airport with his road manager, Caress Caballero, with only two hours of sleep. He gamely takes pictures with some of the airport crew before boarding the plane.

9:30 A.M.: On board the aircraft, Sam reads up on the latest campaign of World Vision – the Famine Campaign, a special event that hopes to attract the youth to take action against hunger and poverty in our country. “Four million kids go hungry every day in the Philippines. Can you believe that?” he mumbles to me as drinks are served on the flight.

10:50 A.M.: After landing in Cebu, we board the World Vision van and get introduced to other members of the team. “So why did you choose to support World Vision? Why the cause of children and education?” I ask Sam, hoping to get our interview started. “I have always had a soft spot for kids,” he quips, with a little smile. 

11:35 A.M.: We arrive at one of the satellite organizations in Cebu that helps World Vision reach target communities and beneficiaries in the town of Liloan. This center alone helps send 1,491 kids to school and supply basic needs for them such as school supplies and shoes. They also give livelihood training to the parents to help them get out of poverty, “Lots of families here go hungry every day,” shares Dette Tan of World Vision. Sam listens and wonders out loud, “Where do our taxes go? These people need all the help they can get.” Here, Sam meets his two sponsored kids from the area, Vivian and Jian. He sits beside them and serves them food before getting some for himself. 

1:45 P.M.: Upon his arrival at his second destination, Yati Elementary School, Sam is greeted by a mob of kids waiting to catch a glimpse of their idol. The school has been in existence for 63 years, with some of its original classrooms still in use despite being declared danger zones. Most of the kids here go to school hungry. Teachers tried to come up with a feeding program using money from their own pockets to help feed their students. But after just one month, they had to stop due to insufficient funds. “The kids here go to school hungry, study in a dark and hot classroom that is in danger of collapsing at any moment. How can that be conducive to learning?” asks Sam to the camera as he helps make a video to raise awareness about the sorry state of the school.

Moments before leaving, Sam obliges the children with a short song and sends out his message, “Huwag kayo mag-alala. Hindo ko kayo pababayaan. Mag- aral kayong mabuti. Lahat ng pangarap niyo, pwedeng matupad.” For that moment, even with their hungry stomachs, the humid and hot weather, and the floating dust in the air, the children had smiles on their faces, a sparkle in their eyes, and hope in their hearts.  

4:30 P.M.: We arrive at B Resorts in Mactan for a World Vision press conference especially arranged to help raise awareness about the upcoming 12 Hour Famine Campaign slated for Nov. 6 at the Flying V Arena in San Juan, Metro Manila. For 12 hours, event participants will not eat and instead participate in activities to help raise awareness and much-needed funds. “I honestly think that 12 hours isn’t long enough to feel real hunger. They do it for 40 hours in other countries!” says Sam.

8:30 P.M.: At the elegant Montebello Hotel, Sam springs onto the stage to serenade employees at the World Vision Service Awards party. Here, he entertains the loyal employees who have been with World Vision for over 20 years. This is their night to be honored and Sam does just that.

9:00 P.M.: While heading out to catch our 10 p.m. flight, I try to ask Sam questions. “So, again, why did you choose this cause?” to which he replies “Giving has always given me joy and I have always had a soft spot for kids.” That was that. Everybody in the van joins in on the conversation with Sam mostly listening to everybody’s musings on my question. 

So what have I learned from my day with Sam Milby? I have learned that he is disarmingly charming. I also saw how unaffected he is by his fame and good looks. But really, I have learned to stop talking and to start doing. I have learned that while asking the right questions might lead you to great answers, doing the right thing is by far the best answer. If Sam can find the time to help out on just two hours of sleep, then we have no excuse to not be able to do the same. We might not all have Sam Milby’s good looks and popularity, but you work with what you have – and if you think about it, we have all been given so, so much.

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For more info on World Vision and their upcoming Famine Campaign, log on to www.worldvision.org.ph. Special thanks to the teachers and students of Yati Elementary School in Liloan, Cebu for the delicious mase, suman, and coconuts that they gave us.