But that is not what this article is about, so let’s jump straight into the more serious stuff.
Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter, musician, producer, director, actor, a.k.a. all-rounded talent, Wang Leehom has signed on as the Ambassador of World Vision Malaysia (WVM).
This new role will see Wang collaborating with the organisation to highlight the impact of poverty on children and communities.
The organisation’s global work on children and children-related issues have close to 70 years of history and the goal has always been to empower and equip children to live up to their fullest potential.
The King of Chinese Pop is no stranger to WVM.
In 2012, he came down to Malaysia as the ambassador for the organisation’s 15th anniversary celebration and 30-Hour Famine event.
Besides that, he has also been a child sponsor under World Vision Taiwan’s Child Sponsorship Programme since 2007 and is currently sponsoring 16 children from Cambodia, Guatemala, Sierra Leone and Taiwan, apart from managing three children of his own!
“I am super excited to take on this meaningful and important role as World Vision Malaysia’s Ambassador,” said the father of three during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
“Being a father has given me a new world view, particularly in terms of how our action today will impact the future. We cannot live just for the now. Instead, we have to think of the values we want to instil in the future generations.
“Each of us has the ability to change the lives of those in need. But for that to happen, we must change ourselves to stop thinking that is someone else’s responsibility or job. Change and action start with one and that one can be you or me,” he added.
After sharing his personal experiences and journey as a child sponsor, Wang urged Malaysians to be a part of WVM’s ‘Come See My World’ campaign.
‘Come See My World’ is a multi-year child-focused campaign that highlights the world of poverty through the eyes children and how they are still able to retain their optimism, wonder and hope despite their circumstances.
The main goal of this campaign is to increase awareness on the causes and effects of poverty on children and their communities, especially on the five fundamental basics of life: Clean Water and Sanitation, Health and Nutrition, Education, Livelihood, and Child Protection.
WVM believes in children’s rights to access to basic life necessities because it is only when children are fed, sheltered, schooled, protected, valued and loved, that a community can sustain and thrive.
With that, the ‘Come See My World’ campaign has launched several initiatives and activities to contribute and expand the five fundamentals of community building.
For starters, the organisation worked with highly-acclaimed photographer Chuan Looi to produce a 116-page ‘Coffee Table Book’ which captures different aspects of the lives of children and communities living within selected projects under WVM.
Chuan travelled to World Vision’s Area Development Programmes (ADP) in China, India, Laos, Lebanon, Vietnam and the Philippines, to document the lives of the children and communities he visited.
The photos in the coffee table book were shot from the perspectives of the communities’ children, yet infused with a sense of optimism and hope.
The ‘Come See My World’ coffee table book is available with a minimum donation of RM100. So, if you’re interested to get a copy, you can call WVM at +603-78000899.
Of course, all proceeds from the book will go to WVM’s Education Fund to improve the quality of education and provide conducive learning environments for children in need.
And if you would like to contribute further to these underprivileged children, join the World Vision Child Sponsorship Programme, like Wang and you could bring real change to the lives of children, families and communities.
You can sponsor a child for only RM65 per month (children from Asian countries) or RM80 (children from non-Asian countries).
The money is pooled together and converted into effective tools to free communities from the crippling cycle of poverty, including providing sponsored children and their communities access to clean water and sanitation, health and nutrition, education, livelihood and child protection.
As of today, sponsors from Malaysia are helping more than 59,000 children from 14 countries! The participating countries including Cambodia, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mongolia, Myanmar, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
Upon signing up, you will be given access to the My World Vision portal, which is a personalised password-protected online platform.
Using the portal, you can learn more about your sponsored child and their community, write them e-Letters and more.
Don’t worry, sponsors will also receive the latest updates on their sponsored child through newsletters, annual progress reports and annual reviews.
To take it a step further, WVM also make it a point to arrange trips for sponsors to meet their sponsored child personally and see how their sponsorships are making a difference in the child’s life and the community as a whole.
We trust that this will be a wonderful and fulfilling experience for all sponsors. If you need more information, check out the World Vision Malaysia website.