Beauties with a vision and mission

ONE of them is a Miss Malaysia/World while the other is a well-known veteran singer, and now they share something in common as the Ambassadors of World Vision Malaysia.

Just ask Wong Sze Zen, Miss Malaysia/World 2003/2004 and evergreen songbird Francissca Peter about their new roles and they will have much to tell you.

Wong’s involvement with World Vision Malaysia began during her reign as Miss Malaysia World. She came across the organisation and volunteered her service and help.

Eventually, World Vision invited her to join their ‘Night Walk’ and also helped with some promotions as well as bringing herfriends to join the event.

“I believe in helping the needy in a straightforward way, like what World Vision is doing. When they invited me to be their ambassador, it was a real honour,” said Wong, who became the first ambassador of World Vision Malaysia early last year.

Wong is featured in World Vision’s corporate video on child sponsorship. For that, she travelled to Praigurng district in the Northeast of Thailand last year. It was also a trip to visit her sponsored child, a nine-year-old boy.

“It was an eye-opening trip,” she said. “You could read about the programmes they have but it is different when you really see it. When you see the joy on the face of the child, you feel what they’re doing is so real and meaningful. And you feel that every little contribution helps.

“I learnt a lot, for example about cow-! rearing and how the locals were taught to do that.”

Wong said that what she liked most about World Vision is that the organisation has a policy to help the whole family and not just the child.

“You can just send the child to a welfare home but World Vision wants to keep the family together so they help to create more job opportunities within the community,” said Wong.

She said it pained her that due to poverty, the children don’t know what they want to do when they grow up. And it’s important to nurture and educate them.

As an ambassador, what is her role and her responsibilities? “Actually I don’t do much!” she laughed.

“The World Vision people run all of the programmes and they are well run. We want to maximise awareness and educate the public. So I would try to think of new ideas.

“Now, there are two of us. Hopefully, we can do more as many people are still not aware of World Vision and the work it does,” added Peter, World Vision Malay! sia’s second ambassador.

Peter said she has known about World Vision for many years already, when she was based overseas in China and Hong Kong.

“I have been helping in other charities and I have always wanted to be involved in something like this,” said Peter who has a soft spot for children.

She has performed at World Vision 30-Hour Famine and The Wrold Vision Charity Golf and Dinner.

“Children need great care to grow. Poverty is a huge problem and it can ruin a child’s life. To protect them, you have to help a poor community and the families living in it — basic amenities, jobs and education for children.” And poverty is no doubt an issue she wants to address.

Peter said regardless of race and religion, World Vision has reached out to needy people, and she is impressed by the organisation’s accountability and transparency, which is very important.

A familiar name in the local music industry, Peter has over 20 No. 1 hits in the local mu! sic charts and the title of “Best Female Vocalist” for five consecutive years. She has travelled to many countries and stayed abroad for many years where she has had the chance to work with other musicians to widen her scope.

But her root is still here. When she came home four years ago, she did not take long to settle down and has been doing many corporate shows.

“For me, since a child, music has already become my passion even before I thought of making it a career.” she said. Currently, she is working on her 27th anniversary double-CD album.

“I also hope to do something in my music to coincide with World Vision. We are in the midst of discussions and I have a few ideas to suggest to the recording company.”

There are more plans ahead. Peter will be playing at No Black Ties in the near future and she would like to talk a bit about World Vision to her audience.

“It is just the beginning. Hopefully, one day I can do something hands-on with Zen,”! said Peter who is sponsoring a boy from Coimbatore in India. She is constantly looking for opportunities to share with her friends on World Vision.

The same for Wong too. “When my friends get invited by me for dinner, they probably think twice now. Because at the end of dinner, everyone gets an orange (sponsorship) card!” she said with a laugh.

A model, actress and emcee, Wong said she likes acting a lot but she would still continue to do all three jobs.

“Every field is still a steep learning curve for me,” she said. She has just finished shooting a horror movie Nephesh Seed to be released in August.

World Vision Malaysia promotions and communications executive Jessica Tan said they wanted to choose public figures of good standing and Wong and Francissca more than fit the bill.

Also, the two ambassadors had approached the organisation with their interest to help.

“It is different when World Vision staff tell you about a programme than wh! en a public figure and role model shares it,” she said.

Wong and Peter have pledged to do their part for World Vision Malaysia’s ‘1000 Children in One Month Campaign’, which is aimed at enlisting more child sponsors from Malaysia.

Sponsoring a needy child

WORLD Vision Malaysia’s current challenge is to get 1,000 children sponsored during it’s one month campaign from March 15 to April 15.

Aptly called “1,000 Children in One Month”, the campaign was launched last Wednesday by World Vision Malaysia’s newly-appointed celebrity ambassador — popular Taiwan-based Malaysian singer Fish Leong.

Leong, who is sponsoring an 8-year-old boy from Hebei, China, is the latest ambassador of the organisation, whose current ambassadors are Wong Sze Zen and Francissca Peter.

She said she feels honoured to be given a chance to help those who are in need, particularly children, around the world. And she would try ! to influence her friends and fans to support the cause too.

Child sponsorship has been a core programme and focus of World Vision as there is a need demand to help underprivileged children worldwide.

Alarming statistics show that more than 100 million children live in the streets. One in four children in the world are living in an unstable or dangerous environment and are deprived of basic needs and education. If left unchecked, this vicious cycle of poverty, malnourishment and lack of education will persist, resulting in dire consequences.

With this campaign, World Vision Malaysia aims to help 33 children a day or 1½ children every 1 hour.

It wants to target all Malaysians from all walks of life, as long as they are willing to partner the organisation and want to make a difference in the life of a child in a poor community.

By donating RM50 per month (RM1.70 a day), you can bring about change to improve the present living condition of a pove! rty stricken child.

One can select a child from a community that World Vision supports — China, India, Thailand and Myanmar.

Among others, the monies will help towards the education, health care, nutrition and clean water for the entire community of the child sponsored.

World Vision believes that to effectively help a child, we must first help the community in which he/she lives to be selfsustaining, economically viable and socially independent.

Sponsors will receive a photo and personal profile of their sponsored child, an annual progress report on the child and his/her community. They can also build a relationship through exchange of letters and participation in organised visits to their child.

Over the years, sponsors from Malaysia have helped over 10,000 children worldwide. Funds collected from Malaysians have also been channelled to emergency relief operations in North Korea, Pakistan, Banda Aceh, India and Iraq.

For more information, go to www. worldvision.com.my or call (03) 7880-6414.