Wram Guanzon is no stranger to helping people.
In fact, his choice of profession – nursing – has shown that caring for others has become sort of a second nature to him.
Thus, it is but natural that the young man decided to organize a series of events for the entertainment and benefit of his kasimanwas.
Wram is a proud Cadiznon, having grown up in the city and spent much of his life observing the lifestyle of the townspeople, unceasingly thinking of ways on how he can make life better for them.
The idea happened in 2009, when he decided to use his talents cobble together events that would put smiles on their faces: feeding program for kids, fashion shows, beauty pageants.
And always, always, to make it more meaningful, Wram would schedule these outings at the end of the year, in time to welcome a fresh start, and at the time when the holiday spirit is at its high.
“I want this event to be special to the people; I want to make them happy,” Wram tells DNX, adding that helping others has come naturally for him as he had seen his lola did the same with whatever limited resources she had.
To make it even more special and official, Wram decided to create a non-profit organization last year, registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Batang Cadiz NPO, Inc.
“This is the first-ever NPO organization based in Cadiz,” he says.
Wram has also figured out a way to raise funds – putting up a fashion show, for instance – to ensure that the children and the people would have something to look forward to this New Year’s Eve.
A series of events were lined up: parade with drums, feeding program for kids plus the rice distribution for the parents, and finally, the much-awaited pageant night. This is also on top of the Christmas Eve’s gift-giving for kids that Wram, through his NPO, also organized.
This year’s event is even special, as it involves a fashion show that showcases creations that are both eco-friendly and indigenous.
This is the Diyosa ng Luntian, an event early in the morning – 8 am – which is open for all ages, where creations of local designers – made from indigenous and organic materials.
After the event, the creations will be turned into eco-bricks, so nothing will be wasted.
In the evening, there is the Bente-bente (2020) Queen, a pageant for members of the LGBTQ community (“It is my gift to them,” Wram says.)
The best thing is, Wram tells us, the event will be graced by no other than Bing Cristobal, the designer for the stars, who helped put up the NPO.
This is something that the people always look forward to, Wram says, and this is definitely not going to be the last.
Every year, it is assured, Wram and his NPO will make Christmas holidays special for his hometown.