At the beginning there were just rumors. A child had been afflicted with a deadly disease that was slowly but surely killing him. His only hope lay in a very expensive liver transplant, far beyond the means of his parents. People and organizations were working to help raise the needed funds.
Then the LIFT BABIES Foundation, the primary support group for victims of biliary atresia sought the help of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines local chapter (NUJP-OS). Since the COMTEQ Deputy Administrator is a member of the NUJP-OS, COMTEQ became a beehive of activity in the rush to raise the funds necessary to save the baby’s life.
Curious questions from the COMTEQ students soon ferreted out the details and gave the baby a name: Erick Kirby Hizon, now 14 months old, the only child of a couple whose sole breadwinner is factory worker at the SBMA. The baby is afflicted with biliary atresia, a disease marked by the absence of bile ducts that cause bile to accumulate in the liver, eventually killing it and the baby. The only hope at this late stage is for a liver transplant within a year, that would cost P3 million. The task of raising the required amount in time to save the baby’s life was daunting.
Soon the curiosity felt by the COMTEQ students, was replaced by pity at the prospect of an innocent life in peril. Reinforced by their lectures on Values, and firm in their belief in a pro-active way of life, COMTEQ students can not sit idly by while death threatens a child. Especially not when they learned further, that even impoverished Aeta communities have pitched in to help. It was time for action; time to be pro-active.
COMTEQ students began to volunteer to lug bamboo coin banks to gather donations from passersby. When the trickle of volunteers became a drove, the students requested to be allowed to apply their work towards the completion of their NSTP subject, to enable them to devote more time to fund raising. Permits were obtained, the students were organized into groups and schedules were given. The bamboo coin banks were being filled more rapidly now.
When the “Save Baby Kirby” campaign got underway, a Save Kirby website, (Powered by COMTEQ Students) was their contribution. For the COMTEQ students, it was just another way of putting their skills to work.
Soon the fund raising activity spilled over to the Night Market at the SBMA. Again COMTEQ students were at the forefront of the coin bank campaign, many of them working till way past midnight. How can they do any less, when even street children begging for alms at the night market drop coins at their bamboo coin banks? The experience heightened their social awareness even more.
Now, another fund raising activity is planned. A concert entitled “Youth rock for Kirby” will be held on February 7th, 2004. Already COMTEQ students are busy folding and preparing appeal flyers. It would not surprise me to see COMTEQ student volunteers, again in droves, come concert time. After all, they are pro-active