Living People Power: Celebrating 20 years of Kythe

 

One of the main thrusts of the present administration is people empowerment. It was the collective voice of the Filipino people that propelled then Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to become our President despite having meager resources compared to his more politically seasoned opponents. During his inaugural, he challenged every Filipino to do their own small share in helping move our country forward as he himself admitted that government alone will not be able to solve the myriad of problems that our country continues to face.

 

In Naga City, the late Jesse Robredo showed the whole country how important people empowerment is when he created the Naga City Peoples Council (NCPC) which allows ordinary citizens of his city to sit and have a voice in the different councils and committees of the local government. More importantly, the NCPC is always consulted when there are major decisions that are made by the local government unit to ensure that the voice of the people are always heard. This is perhaps one major reason why Naga City has transformed into being the most progressive city in the Bicol Region.

 

Here in Metro Manila, we have many different non-profit organizations that are heeding the call of our government to take a more active role in uplifting the lives of the poor and powerless in our society. One such inspiring organization is Kythe, which for the past 20 years has helped more than 8,000 Filipino children fight cancer and other chronic illnesses.

 

Kythe was founded by Icar Castro and Fatima Garcia-Lorenzo in 1992 while they were both taking their Masters in Psycholgy at the Ateneo de Manila University. Kythe initially started with one partner hospital and 20 student volunteers who would regularly visit children stricken with cancer confined at the pediatric ward and provide them with psychosocial support.  This program is now termed as Kythe’s Child Life Program which aims to help alleviate the anxiety, stress and challenge of hospitalization that is faced by these children. As we have seen through the years, there are many instances that those stricken with cancer have gone on to live longer or even be totally healed because of the psychosocial support that is given by their family and friends.

 

Volunteers of Kythe are asked to spend at least an hour to play with the children, organize activities for the children such as arts and crafts and eventually help in the recruitment and briefing of future volunteers. Currently, Kythe continues to recruit student volunteers from the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of Santo Tomas who regularly lend their time and talents to help uplift the spirits of children who go through a tough time during their medical treatments. 

 

Due to their continued success and inspiring work, from an initial one partner hospital and 20 volunteers, Kythe now has more than 500 volunteers and 11 partner hospitals all over the country. They have also partnered with companies such as Pfizer, Unilever, EON Stakeholders Relations Firm, Teleperformance, Aegis People Support and Waters Philippines to help reach more children who are in need of their support.

 

Whereas many Filipinos continue to complain and point out what is wrong with our society without even lifting a finger to become part of the solution, we have organizations like Kythe and its selfless volunteers that have gone out of their way to provide much needed psychosocial support to sick children many of whom come from marginalized communities. As it celebrates its 20th year, Kythe will hopefully continue to touch and heal thousands more young lives in the future. More importantly, may it continue to be an example of the power of ordinary Filipinos who go beyond themselves to do extraordinary things to help create a better future for our country and its people.

 

For those who would like to volunteer or support Kythe, you can call them at (02) 3763454 or send an email to info@kythe.org .

 

Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com 

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/harveykeh

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Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government and is also the Lead Convenor of Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership.