BORACAY — “The purest form of charity is making yourself obsolete, that even after you leave, it’s still there.”
This was the simple and powerful message that MyShelter Foundation Executive Director Illac Diaz wanted to get across during his KIDLATalk on Thursday.
The rise in corporate foundations according to Diaz has blurred the lines between the good and the bad. He said that foundations, nowadays, are no longer built to actually help, but instead, to make money out of the funds being given by the government and to enjoy the privileges of tax reduction.
And for him, advertising agencies can actually do something to help by doing campaigns that go beyond a day of fun runs or concerts but those that would really make a lasting impact.
“The solution to change is you. Concerts, does it really help people the next day?” said Diaz.
The Liter of Light at Night project is exactly about that, “The Liter of Light at Night is not built in a factory but in a local area. When we leave, the money that we invested in the community is not cashburn.”
Through this project, communities without electricity were lighted up using recycled plastic bottles that can store up to ten hours of light through attached solar panels.
One of these communities is an Ati Village in Boracay. The Kidlat 2015 jury and delegates were given a tour of the community and tried to assemble a night light themselves.
Diaz strongly believes that true charity should be a gift that keeps on giving, “The power of difference is when people are able to make that difference without you.”
