A Pursuit of Joy, featuring Camille Prats-Yabao
6000Joys is a year-long campaign by child-focused humanitarian agency World Vision. In line with this, they have released the first of many mini-documentaries this 16th of November, featuring Ambassadress Camille Prats-Yambao, titled “A Pursuit of Joy,” directed by Dave Sarabia.
The eight-minute short documents the experience of Camille, along with her husband John Yambao, as they visit a mother in Antique, where Camille discovers a family full of genuine happiness and love amidst simple living. “Napakasimple ng buhay,” remarked Camille in the official media launch of the documentary, “Di ko makakalimutan ‘yung saya sa mukha nila nung ginagawa namin yung activities [na inarrange ng World Vision.]” The actress also recalled the most memorable parts of her experience there, namely the part where the father of the family fished for their meal just a day before her arrival, and the time when the entire family of five, along with Camille and her husband, rode on a boat “na pang-isang tao lang naman,” she joked.
The documentary showed not only the positive impact of World Vision to the family, but also within the community. When I spoke with Acquisition Manager Cherry Valencia, she explained that World Vision’s model is community-based, which means that while a child sponsorship directly helps a child in need, World Vision helps the community in which this child is located. In these programs, children are taught practical life skills like responsible management of finances, and teaching children their rights as citizens, eventually leading to leadership programs.
Kim Mendoza, a recipient of the child sponsorship program for around 6 to 7 years, also talked of his experiences with World Vision. Initially, when he received the sponsorship, he thought that it would be purely financial. Kim was pleasantly surprised to learn that World Vision’s assistance extended outside of his schooling, “Pati nanay koinvolved, and my mother [eventually] became a leader in the community [as well.]” In his first year of college at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, he learned that the biggest hurdle in life that separated him from his dreams weren’t skills or talents, but access to resources and opportunities. He remembered quite clearly how shocked his batchmates were that he hasn’t read Harry Potter yet at the time. World Vision helped him overcome this hurdle. The agency did not only offer him a scholarship to the university, they also provided for his daily baon. Now, Mendoza is involved in a lot of volunteer work, leadership programs, and writing programs. He currently works under a large corporation as he handles everything. But ultimately, he said, “Around the year 2022 or maybe even 2025, I want to go back to my community to serve.” Kim is proud to share that he has been sponsoring a child for one and a half years now.
Both Kim and Camille, along with the World Vision team, were emotional during the advanced screening of the documentary. It was evident that the ambassadress formed a real connection with the family they visited, and Camille expressed her wishes to come back, “next time with my son,” she declared with watery eyes, emotional from having just watched the short film.
Camille emphasized her most important takeaway from the experience, “I think that’s the simplest thing that we can give them: time. It’s about the simple things that we can give. Di parating kailangang financial, or things.” Though she says this, it is worth noting that she has been sponsoring two children through the program for three years now.
“A Pursuit of Joy” launches at 8:00 pm, this 16th of November, on the World Vision Facebook page. Check out their teaser trailer below.
World Vision is a global Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. In the Philippines, World Visions supports over 75,000 chidren nationwide through its programs and the support of generous individuals and groups. For more information, visit their website at https://www.worldvision.org.ph.
Patricia Li is a frequent contributor to Familywise Asia and Workwise Asia. She loves to read and write, and tries to incorporate this in her career.
