There is no "They"

Empowering Change in Cebu Through Action and Commitment

Cancer.

The Big “C”.

C-Bomb.

I have a very personal relationship with kids who have cancer. Growing up in Ukraine, I was sick a lot, so I spent quite a bit of time at the local hospital. Ukrainian hospitals are not what they are in the United States—I’d spend a week or more admitted to a ward with 12-16 other kids. Some of those kids had leukemia or other childhood cancers.

One story stuck with me forever. Imagine sleeping at night. I am 12-13 years old … I wake up in an ice-cold fog of horror that covers the room. We are asked to stay in our beds. All I can see is one of the nurse’s shaking fingers while she is trying to extract a cigarette from its pack (this was the mid-‘80s). 

The cigarettes keep crumbling in her fingers … while a team of … don't know what to call these people... are moving a child's body from the bed onto a gurney. A small body completely covered by a white sheet, head to toe. 

Somebody I played Monopoly with the night before. I don't remember the face. I don’t remember the name. I remember the cigarettes crumbling in the nurse’s shaking hands. 

This picture stuck with me for the rest of my life

Resilience and Reflections: Witnessing Miracles in Cebu

I recently spent a week with our team in the Philippines. The InfoTrust Foundation has been doing amazing work in the community there since 2017, even though our team’s presence in the Philippines only recently began (in 2022).

In a recent blog post, I talked about the amazing hospitality and sense of community that I felt from our outstanding team. But what inspired me the most was their almost unanimous passion for helping their community. 

I had no idea what was about to happen; this was a surprise for me. I found the team crowded in a tiny conference room rehearsing a mini-play we were going to perform in front of the children who live at Everlasting HOPE, a home-away-from-home for pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatments (and their guardians) at different hospitals in Cebu City.

Our team knows how to have fun. This rehearsing was filled with joy, yet I noticed a couple of people quietly wiping away their tears as they were rehearsing.

On the last day of our trip, we closed shop and we took a chartered bus across the city to visit Everlasting HOPE. 

“Take off your shoes and put on a mask. These kids are going through treatments,” we were told. The staff was strict but friendly.

The show started. Turns out InfoTruster Andrew Brian Navarro has a not-so-secret talent—his performance as a child with cancer was on par with Sir Anthony Hopkins … maybe Marlon Brando. 

I didn’t feel good. The team performed, and then each family member and each child introduced themselves to us. The memories came flooding back and were too overwhelming for me. The memories took me back to some of the things I experienced growing up. We gave out the treats we brought with us, and everybody had an opportunity to spend some time and hang out with the kids. I needed air, and I quietly walked out of our air-conditioned room. The room felt comfortable, but it felt like 100°F degrees outside. While the families and our team were inside the main event room, I decided to wander around inside and outside quietly. Check things out.

I didn’t take any pictures. I am not going to describe under what conditions the incredible staff of Everlasting HOPE do their miracle work. I am not going to talk about the rooms outside the main house, rooms built out of what seemed like whatever materials were available, with no A/C, not even a ceiling or window fan. 

We, as human beings, are very resilient. We get used to things and stop paying attention to many things around us that outsiders who are not used to those conditions would be bothered by. The Everlasting HOPE team in Cebu is doing their best with what they have. And I am sure the families are grateful. Many daily luxuries feel trivial when you are fighting for your child’s health for your child’s life. Maybe you can even get used to staying in a room without A/C while getting chemo in 100°F heat outside.

These kids are heroes, and the staff members are … well, saints ... for being able to operate in less-than-ideal conditions. 

Leading with Purpose: Embracing the 'Earn to Give' Philosophy

I have a mentor … a friend. The lesson he taught me will undoubtedly stay with me forever. I will try to teach it to my children and those I have the privilege of leading and coaching. My friend, Jeff Hoffman , taught me that “there is no “they” … They will do something; they will take care of this problem.

We, as human beings, have an obligation to act when we see an opportunity to make a difference.

We, as entrepreneurs, have a responsibility to take some of our resources and act when we can.

We, as leaders of other people, must show to the people we lead that growing a business cannot be just about growing a business.

Effective altruism has a great philosophical concept called “Earn to give.” Whatever you call it, just do it. Do something; don't wait for “them” to show up.

We had several calls with Patrick Ian Jumamil , National Director of Everlasting HOPE, and we found out that their most pressing needs are:

• Reliable and freshwater source
• Medical procedure room where staff members could deliver injections and the kids would have some privacy
• Another L300 medical vehicle to help transport kids who live within greater Cebu City to the hospital

Here is why this is important:

• Reliable and freshwater source

In certain places in the Philippines, water sources can become unreliable at times. With the installation of its own deep well water system, Everlasting HOPE will be able to get fresh water that the children and their families can use while going through tough medical challenges.

• Building of medical infirmary

Everlasting HOPE Cebu supports kids who are going through medical challenges. At times, staff have to provide non-urgent medical procedures, but they don’t have the proper location to do them. By constructing an infirmary within the compound, they can provide the children with privacy and comfort when administering care.

• L300 vehicle

Everlasting HOPE provides various services to kids and families in need. One of these is transportation from their facilities to the hospital while patients are undergoing medical treatment. Having a reliable vehicle will allow them to continue doing this and serve more kids and families on this tough journey.

Last week, we wrapped up our annual InfoTrust Week. On the last day, we announced to the entire company that thanks to our team's hard work and dedication, the InfoTrust Foundation will fund the purchase, installation, and two years of maintenance of a deep well water system and construction of a medical procedure room(medical infirmary). We will also work with our web design partner, Ideas and Pixels , and fund the rebuilding of Everlasting HOPE’s website to make it easier for the nonprofit organization to raise money. Finally, we will start looking for donors both in the United States and the Philippines who can join us in raising funds to buy L300. If you’d like to contribute, please click here.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in his timeless book, The Little Prince, said something (and I am paraphrasing) that has stuck with me for life:

You are forever responsible for those you adopt.

Everlasting HOPE, we’ve got your back. We are not going to wait for “them” to show up. We are here now; we will be growing in Cebu, and we will help.

We now have another reason to grow. So we can give …

P.S. If you'd like to help, click here to make a donation to InfoTrust Foundation (we are a 501(c)3 non-profit)