Sponsor Testimony at World Vision Office

Last night I was at the World Vision main office to share a talk as a World Vision Child Sponsor. Attending were 34 sponsors and 11 guests (friends of sponsors).

Cecille from World Vision called me at the office several weeks ago to invite me. Interestingly, it was because she stumbled on the Lakbay Pagasa entry in this blog and found it suitable as talk material.

Of course I was pleasantly surprised and did not hesitate to accept.

It was a long drive though from the office - almost 1.5 hours. But I was still glad to be there and give my speech. Actually I arrived ahead of time (5:45pm).

Well, it’s either that or I arrive late because of the traffic that builds up at EDSA at rush hour. All’s well though. At least I had time to chat with Cecille, Elaine, Boris, Richard (a former sponsored child), Cara (the night’s emcee) and Niña.

Here’s Cecille, Niña and Cara.



Unfortunately, the first speaker, Atty. Liwayway Vinzons-Chato was a no-show and so it was the Director who gave the keynote speech. My speech on the other hand was mostly a rehash of the one I delivered as a Toastmaster 2 years ago.

This is the 10th speech entitiled, "In the Eyes of a Child, A Vision of Hope". I updated it to incorporate experiences from the Lakbay Pagasa trip. Although a bit lengthy, I thought it was well received. For a list of my previous speeches, click on here.

Here's a wacky pose with Richard, Cecille and Vani.


After my speech, Richard gave a heartwarming and emotional talk of his experience as a sponsored child many years ago and how it has helped him. He even gave a stirring rendition of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up”.


Here’s a part of the audience that attended.


I thought it was a well-attended meeting and the audience was motivated by the speeches. Too bad it rained really hard (from Richard’s singing? - kidding!) late in the evening, but still, the program turned out really well.