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Even
before Kip Oebanda became one of the Ten Outstanding
Students of the Philippines (TOSP), he always knew he
wanted to make a difference in the world.
Oebanda,
a regular 24-year-old guy who likes to sing, write and
play Ragnarok on his PLDT myDSL in his spare time, has
already marched the world in the name of child labor,
and, at 15, cofounded a nongovernment organization (NGO)
committed to upholding the rights of the Filipino child.
In 2005 he became a TOSP awardee.
To say
that Oebanda has led an exciting life is an
understatement. He has addressed President Arroyo at
Malacañang
Palace, rubbed elbows with UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, talked policy with Nobel Peace Prize winner
Nelson Mandela, and chatted with literary superstar JK
Rowling. He has also visited the UN and several
international conferences on behalf of children of the
world.
Currently, Oebanda is finishing his Master in
Development Management degree at the Asian Institute of
Management. He is also busy working with the Visayan
Forum Foundation (VFF), an NGO that safeguards the
rights of domestic workers and tackles issues such as
human trafficking, unfair labor practices and child
labor.
Prison
baby
Oebanda
seems predisposed to advocacy, probably since birth. His
parents were rebels who fought against martial law and
his mother was pregnant with him when they became
political prisoners. There was no other option so
Oebanda had to be born in prison. Hence the name “Kip”
derived from the word “dakip,” or caught. He was a
political prisoner from day one.
When his
parents were freed, they managed to reclaim their life
but they had to start from scratch.
“I guess
that helped me to become more empathetic with the poor
and marginalized communities because we didn’t start out
well off. When we arrived in Manila, we were squatters.
We lived in the banks of
Pasig River
in the first few years of my life. We really struggled
to survive,” Oebanda confides.
His
awareness continued to heighten in high school. At Don
Bosco, he joined a club for aspiring broadcasters, and
together, they started the first radio program in the
country ran by children. He hosted “Anak Gabay Mo” on
DWXL, which tackled serious grown-up issues like human
trafficking and child labor. In 1998 it won in the
Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) and was awarded again
in 1999 and 2000. The show was inducted into the CMMA
Hall of Fame in 2002.
It was
also in 1998 when he joined the Global March Against
Child Labor, a movement campaigning to ratify a
convention by the International Labor Organization (ILO)
that addresses the worst forms of child labor. With
fellow members, they marched from the
United Kingdom
to Belgium, the Netherlands and on to Switzerland where,
before the ILO, he delivered the message on behalf of
the Global March.
“When we
went back to the
Philippines,
we realized that the Global March was an example of
child empowerment which has never been done before.
There was no authentic participation by children. So I
asked my friends and child laborers from different
organizations if they want us to come together,” he
says.
From a
ragtag group of five members, it became the Child
Laborers and Advocates for Social Participation, an
internationally recognized NGO that is strictly
children-run and allows children to have a venue in
decision-making, especially if it involves them. Apart
from being cofounder, he serves as secretary-general.
Student
leader
Like
most TOSP alumni, Oebanda has considerable academic
achievement, having finished AB Development Economics
with the highest academic distinction, the Abbot-Chancelor
Award, in San Beda College. He also became president of
both the San Beda Student Council and the Union of
Student Councils. During his term, they pushed for the
Magna Carta for Students and it was passed.
After
college, he continued to pursue his advocacies,
utilizing his intellect, wealth of experience and his
PLDT myDSL. Aside from using the Web for research, he is
busy with the VFF website
www.visayanforum.org. Through the website, he and
fellow members can introduce VFF’s stand on human
trafficking and various labor issues to an international
audience at the easiest, most convenient and most
cost-effective way.
Last
year, traffic on the website hit record highs when VFF
was honored the Antislavery Award in the
UK.
Presenting the award was JK Rowling, author of the Harry
Potter series. This created much hype in Europe, thus
drawing more people to their website and to VFF.
“What’s
great about the Internet is it equalizes access to
information, which used to be available only to the
elite. It also establishes your own presence in the
world. That is why Time Magazine’s Person of the Year is
‘You’ because the information era is ruled by ordinary
people like you and me,” he explains. |
