New Year’s Message from Kythe President, Atty. Arnel Jose S. Bañas
To our dear sponsors, partners, and volunteers,
Happy New Year to all! I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for another year that you have spent believing in Kythe, in supporting the organization and our child-patients under the Child Life Program. We uphold that every child has a right to learn, play, and grow even when confined in the hospital, and we advocate their happiness and psychosocial health through our many activities. At different points in our twenty three years of work with children, you have been part of our journey.
In 1992, founders Girlie Garcia Lorenzo and Icar Castro, two graduate students finishing coursework in psychology, met pediatric cancer patients, engaged in play therapy, and discovered the beginnings of a whole new community in the hospital ward—serving more than 8000 child-patients and their families, with the help of supportive donors and volunteers. I am proud to represent Kythe Foundation as the current president of its Board of Trustees.
Now, in 2015, Kythe still has reasons to dream big. Among the various successes we have are the continuation of anticipated events such as Kythe Flying, Kythe Camp, and Kythe Family Day; renewed partnerships with Teleperformance, the Christmas Village of Hope group, SC Johnson, Telus International, and Ascendas; advocacy opportunities for the Child Life Program through attendance in overseas fora, such as the Sanofi Partners in Patient Health Forum and the 46th Congress of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology; and, significantly, the awarding of our very own Girlie Garcia Lorenzo as the Philippines’ first Ashoka Fellow.
On the heels of all of these, we know that the possibilities and challenges are great. But we have only to look to our kids—some of the strongest, happiest, and most determined people we know—to be inspired.
On behalf of Kythe, I invite you to join us in opening this new chapter in our ever-evolving story—of hope and faith, of trust and fate, of sharing when there is not much to give, and believing that there will be people who will help even when there is no guarantee that help will come. Kythe will continue to be about optimism amidst uncertainty. It is about unconditional love for those who are most vulnerable.
And, like the Scottish word at its root—about “manifesting oneself.”
Thank you and best wishes!