CEBU—Over 1,000 Cebuanos got together in the annual World Vision Run at the Cebu Business Park.
For the first time, World Vision gathered runners around Cebu to run for the aid of providing livelihood projects in a community in Sogod, Cebu.
Now on its sixth year, World Vision Run is part of the organization’s 60th anniversary celebration of “Caring for Children and Building Sustainable Communities.”
In line with its 60th anniversary theme, the World Vision Run 2017 aims to help provide sustainable livelihood projects in a World Vision-assisted community in Sogod, Cebu. These projects will include the establishment of nine Community-Managed Savings and Credit Association groups, construction of a multipurpose building, and provision of livelihood start-up kits such as vegetable production, hog or chicken raising, massage therapy, masonry, and food processing.
The Run also aimed to raise awareness and support for its recently launched advocacy campaign—It Takes a World to End Sexual Exploitation of Children. The campaign aims to empower parents, caregivers and children, to aid front liners, rescue operations and legal interventions, and to support safe shelters and reintegration programs for rescued children.
Joining the run were World Vision Ambassador Gelli Victor and Cebu-Based radio jock Jiggy Cerna who hosted the gun-start program. Participating in the 5K category were Gelli Victor along with multimedia host Joyce Pring, while running in the 10K category were singer-songwriter Quest and TV host Gretchen Ho.
Right after the gun-start for the Kiddie Dash category, Joyce Pring and Gretchen Ho took over to host the awarding ceremony. Kicking-off the program was an energizing pop-medley number from the Perkins Twins —Jesse and Christian Perkins.
The finishers were then greeted with words of hope from World Vision Philippines’ newly appointed National Director, Mr. Rommel Fuerte, who expressed his deepest gratitude to those who participated.
“Your support today for World Vision will truly make a difference. We’re doing this not just to improve our lifestyles and be healthy but also to raise awareness on issues affecting children all over the country,” said Fuerte. Following Fuerte was urban storyteller and hit maker Quest who sang Dati and Sige Lang.
Claiming the first place in the 21k men’s and women’s category, respectively, were Noel Tilor (1:30:30) and Lovely Andrin (1:42:33), followed by 2nd place winner Jong Tae Hwang (1:35:12) and Yshy Losbaños (1:55:56), and closing the gap in 3rd place were Aldrin Pasumala (1:36:11) and El Marie Albeos (2:04:59).
Klint Selma (40:35) topped the men’s 10k, followed by Ian Francis (46:36) in 2nd place and Mattew Brenan (47:09) in 3rd place, while Reah Mae Garucho (46:46) won the women’s 10K category, with Jelly Rose Casquejo (56:34) in 2nd place and Gretchen Ho (58:11) in 3rd place.
Renz Wynn Corbin (20:14) and Geniezel Saballa (21:41) won 1st place place in the men’s and women’s 5k respectively, followed by John Cliff Debolosan (20:46) and Karen Manayon (22:34) in 2nd place, and Marvin Cañada (21:33) and Nicole Del Rosario (24:40) in 3rd place.
Erneto Villarba (12:12) won the men’s category 5k, with John Niño Vibrel (12:22) in 2nd place and Kent Anthony Paniza (12:42) in 3rd, while Moira Erediano (14:07) had the fastest time in the women’s category 5k, beating out Glyzza Besabelle (15:00) in 2nd place and Jeanna Cañete (16:15) in 3rd place.
Gretchen Ho’s podium finish as she bags the 3rd place in the 10k female category
“This is our first time to hold the World Vision Run in Cebu so we were surprised with the huge turnout and the generosity of the Cebuanos,” said Genesis Jeff Lamigo, World Vision Public Relations and Communication Manager. “We are extremely thankful for the support of everyone who attended. We hold the World Vision Run every year to inform the public about important issues faced by the most vulnerable members of our society, and to gain the support of the people to help us build better communities and lives for those who need it.”
To know more about the World Vision, you can visit www.worldvision.org.ph, follow us on Facebook, or call World Vision hotline number 372-77-77.