FORTEnors concert benefit children with cancer
After the FORTEnors belted
out their finale number, the Ilonggo crowd gave a standing ovation.
“I’m glad I came! They are
so amazing,” said Mary Rose, one of the Ilonggos who trooped to the CPU
University Church last Friday, November 29 to watch FORTEnors perform in a
concert that was meant to raise funds for the victims of typhoon Yolanda and
children with cancer.
The FORTEnors is a quartet
of young, dashing and dynamic tenor vocalists David Ezra Cruz (broadway tenor),
Christian Nagaño (classical tenor), Jenmai De Asis (crossover tenor) and Johann
Enriquez (pop tenor).
The group is a 2012 Aliw
Awards Awardee, 2013 Dangal Ng Bayan Awardee and 2013 Gawad Musika Best
All-Male Quartet awardee.
We have this stereotype of
tenors as middle-aged men singing boring songs. But it was not the case with
the FORTEnors. In fact, they seem to have so many fans among the college
students who were eager to meet them and have their pictures taken after the
concert.
They sang original Filipino
music, pop, broadway, jazz and gospel using operatic vocal techniques.
For Enriquez, the concert
was his contribution to ease the ordeal of those affected by typhoon Yolanda in
Iloilo. He believes that becoming channels of blessings to fellow Filipinos is
their moral and social responsibility.
Meanwhile, the menace of
cancer is so familiar to De Asis because his father is a cancer survivor.
“I experienced how my family was just praying
and believing what the doctors will tell us to do just to fight that dreaded
disease. More so, I can't even imagine how it is if a child has that big C.
Because of the talent that God gave, I know we can also be of help to these
children in order for them to appreciate life to the fullest,” he said.
Nagaño hopes that children
would be spared from cancer so that they can enjoy their childhood.
Another magical
performance that night was by the CPU Handbell Ringers, the only five-octave
handbell group in the Philippines. They were well-coordinated and their
movements were fluid.
A CELEBRATION OF HOPE
Dr. Ma. Socorro Martinez,
president of Mga Kaibigan ng mga Kabataang May Kanser (KKK), the organizer of
the event, said that the concert was a celebration of hope.
"Imagine spending
Christmas when your home with everything in it has just been destroyed and you
have just lost some members of your family to Yolanda. Imagine having to line
up for your family's meal and not knowing where your next meal will be coming
from. Imagine having your child diagnosed of cancer, and though you have sold
most of what you own and have borrowed from all the people you know, the money
is not enough to pay for your sick child's chemotherapy. But these scenarios
are not fiction, fantasy or imaginings. This is reality,” she said.
"This concert is meaningful
because it brings together people who believe in the cause of our group KKK,
which stands for “Mga Kaibigan ng mga Kabataang may Kanser”. Our group has
organized events and collaborated with other groups to raise funds used to pay
for the chemotherapy of our children beneficiaries ---- all cancer-diagnosed
children from indigent families. KKK
started 6 years ago supporting 3 children. Since then we have had a total of 21
recipients coming from the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras and Capiz. Sadly, some
of them have passed away and at present, we are supporting 9 children with ages
ranging from 1 ½ to 13, all of whom are being treated in the different
hospitals in Iloilo city," she added.
"Let this night be a
symbol of hope. Hope, which is very fragile, and at times elusive, especially
for one who has lost his home and everything he owns, for one who is suffering from cancer, or for
a parent of a child with cancer, who has no means to pay for his child's
treatment. But working for KKK for 6
years have taught me that more than the financial support that we give the
recipients, is the hope that we bring to their parents and families. A parent
of one of our recipients once told me, at the time after her child passed away,
that she was so grateful to KKK, because KKK gave her the courage to fight and
not give up," she further said.
PAIN OF LOSS
Almost all the KKK
beneficiaries and their families were present at the concert. Even the mothers
of children who have passed on were there.
Michelle Buizon spoke before
the audience and shared how painful it is to lose a child.
She lost her son Russel to
leukemia after six years of struggle in going to the hospital for chemotherapy
sessions and finding the means to support a sick child.
She expressed gratitude to
KKK and donors who made possible the chemotherapy treatments, day camps where child-parent
bonding was fostered, and support in flying Russel’s body from Manila to
Iloilo.
Buizon said that the support
such as these gives them hope.
As she was speaking, another
mother sits quietly at the pew, teary-eyed because she also lost a child to
cancer. Lara Alolor, mother of Kurt was also one of the volunteers in the
concert.
RE-BUILDING
Meanwhile, the houses of
four KKK beneficiaries were also damaged by the typhoon. Just imagine how hard
it is for a child with cancer to live in an evacuation center or not get the
nourishment he needs to get well.
But God is so good he
brings people together. On the day of the concert, KKK received news that a
group headed by Florence Hibionada, a journalist will visit these families’
homes to assess the damage made by “Yolanda” and embark on a re-building
mission.
Dr. Martinez thanked this
group during the concert as well.
As of today, Sunday, the
group is travelling to the towns of Barotac Viejo, San Dionisio, and Ivisan and
Panit-an of Capiz for an assessment of these homes.
SPONSORS
KKK would like to thank
the FORTEnors for their volunteerism and for bringing joy to Ilonggos. The
group would also like to thank the following sponsors: Panay News, VJS,
Tonino's, ABS-CBN, Mr. Gerry Malilin, Mr. Edwin Huan, Lea Duenas, Feline's,
Merkado Seafood Restaurant, Central Philippine University, University Church
Youth, Makinaugalingon, Vista Inn, Fuselink Digital Arts and Prints, Miss Ma.
Wanda Martinez, I-Mart, Pavia Feed Milling Corporation, Carl dela Paz, Heavenly
Cafe and Hongkong Kitchen.
HOW TO HELP
For inquiries on how to
help, please message KKK Mga Kaibigan ng mga Kabataang May Kanser in
Facebook./Purr