A partnership between Education Kindling (eKindling) and BakitWhy.com, “The Kindling Change Campaign” sits down with the most world shaking individuals leading the movement to align impact, profit and purpose in the global Pilipino community. You can join the discussion at #kindlingchange. eKindling is a Philippine-based social enterprise focused on rethinking learning through technology and innovation. You can follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/ekindling), Like us on Facebook (facebook.com/educationkindling), or follow us on Tumblr (educationkindling.tumblr.com)
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Jay Jaboneta was recently named by Yahoo Southeast Asia Editors as one of the 7 Modern-Day Filipino Heroes for his involvement in the project called Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids, which is now renamed as the Philippine Funds for Little Kids. His work with the fund has been featured by the Associated Press, BusinessWeek, Forbes, The Huffington Post, ABS-CBN’s Bandila, ANC’s Headstart with Karen Davila, and other international and local news organizations. He was the first and former head for New Media under the Presidential Communications Operations Office and started the team that manages the President’s official website and social networking presence. He reads at least a hundred books a year, loves chocolate and sometimes can’t live without coffee. Jay believes remarkable people and organizations deserve the attention of the world. You can reach him at twitter.com/jayjaboneta, facebook.com/jay.michael.jaboneta or visit his personal blog at www.jayjaboneta.com.
You founded the Philippine Funds for Little Kids, can you tell us about it?
Basically, the Philippine Funds for Little Kids was born out from two movements, the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids and the Masbate Funds for Little Kids, which are movements that are helping kids who were swimming to school in their respective areas. I first found out the story about kids swimming to school in a blogging summit where I spoke in Zamboanga City last October 2010, and that started our campaign to find similar stories and help these kids get to school. Growing up, I somewhat felt I was struggling already in Cotabato City until I heard the remarkable story of these kids. They are for me, the true heroes in this story.
We are trying to raise P1m to register the Philippine Funds for Little Kids as a foundation in the Philippines. You can learn more at facebook.com/philippine.funds.
What was the inspiration for Philippine Funds for Little Kids and how is it a product of your life experiences and values?
I was inspired by the story of these kids and I am also amazed by the response that my friends and our networks have shown. It has made me realize that we can truly make a difference in the lives of these kids and the communities they live in. In both the areas that we are helping, Zamboanga and Masbate, the communities are helping themselves because they are using the boats we are giving, not only in getting the kids to school, but also in improving their livelihoods. So I am happy that the project is becoming somewhat sustainable.
I am an avid reader and I believe education should be available to all. Growing up, our family also struggled to make ends meet but I credit my success today to my parents’ persistence to give us the best education. And I truly believe education can free our minds from the bondage of ignorance and poverty.
What inspires you to do the work that you do?
Everybody wants to make a difference in the lives of others. I believe we are making a difference in the lives of these kids in Layag-Layag (Zamboanga) and Mababoy island (Masbate) - that is reason enough to keep on helping communities like this. The success of our nation depends on how well we equip our young today.
Who or what have had the biggest influences in your life as a changemaker?
I believe it is Alex Lacson that has inspired me to become a 'changemaker.' His book, 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country, helped me realize that it is actually easy to help. I could remember one story he shared about a whole high school class in Muntinlupa City that adopted one poor child and sent her to school. I was amazed by this simple story. That it is in fact, really easy to help. If one class can adopt a child and send her to school, imagine if every class in the country decides to do this? It would solve many of our problems, it would change our thinking, and it would change our destiny as a people and as a nation.
What would you consider to be one of the failures/challenges you experienced in your changemaking career? And how did you overcome it?
The hardest part in changemaking is the sustainability. Everybody faces different challenges everyday and priorities change - it is critical that to keep people engaged in your organization or movement, you have to continue inspiring them. Now, what happens when it’s you who needs the inspiring? It's challenging but there are just so many good Filipinos out there that it allows me to keep on going.
How can those reading now get involved in your work & and why do you think it's important to get involved in giving back to the PI?
They can join us at facebook.com/philippine.funds or email me at jayjaboneta@gmail.com. They can also help us spread the story. Most of the news articles can be located in my blog at www.jayjaboneta.com.
I believe it’s very important for Filipinos abroad to give back because people of other nationalities will always look at Filipinos abroad as how they perceived the Philippines as a whole - it is important that we change this negative perception globally. And helping back in the country, by building homes, communities or helping kids get to school, or even by just spreading good news about the Philippines, we can collectively change the course of history and how the world perceives us, as a nation and as a people. It is very easy, even by just visiting us once a year, the 11 million Filipinos abroad can bring in the tourism revenues that can help our government and our businesses grow.
