My name is Antonnette. Today, I am a member of the Voice of CAMELEON’s Children (Prevention and Advocacy) team and I am the youngest employee of CAMELEON Philippines. When I came to CAMELEON in May 2008, I was a quiet little fourth grader. I stayed in the CAMELEON Center for five years in the Personal Reconstruction program and then for another five years in the Rehabilitation and Empowerment program until I graduated from college.
My sponsors were very supportive. They would send me letters and cards of encouragement that motivated me to pursue and achieve my dreams. In 2012, they came to visit me. They were a couple who cared about me, my interests and goals in life. At first, I was very shy. However, through our regular correspondence, it wasn’t at all strange to talk face to face. Gradually, we talked about our lives, our cultures, books and many other things.
My sponsors arrived when I was at the most fragile and vulnerable, when I critically needed them. I was in so much pain from my past that I didn’t know how to start living again. They supported me so that I could go to school and live in a safe environment. They sent me books and reassured me with words of love and encouragement.
My sponsors were like the missing pieces of a puzzle that I needed to heal. They were like my heart family, the one who taught me to trust again, after my biological family destroyed my life. Today, when difficult situations arise, I think of my godparents and Tita Lulu (Laurence Ligier), people who believed in me. It is thanks to their support that I dared to see life in a large way.
I graduated with honours from high school with a major in journalism where I was a contributor and editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper. I had the opportunity to enrol in the University of my choice and pursue a state degree in special Education. At the same time, I continued my CAMELEON commitment when the Young Ambassadors for Children’s Rights team was created where I was the youngest member. We were in charge of organizing and leading seminars and awareness-raising activities for parents and children in villages. We set up partnerships and projects with local communities and we represented children and youth during consultations of national public projects…
I know that my sponsors have invested in me, not just financially, but more importantly for my future in general. Without their encouragement and support, I would never have found my purpose in life.
Like Tita Lulu’s fight for us, I have spoken out loud and clear to encourage others, whether they are sexually abused children or not, to stop these inhumane acts.
In 2017, I was the representative of the Youth Ambassadors for Children’s Rights team for the Ten Young Filipino Talents from Youth Organizations Competition, where I finished in first place among 400 entries.
In February 2018, accompanied by the Prevention and Advocacy program officer, we travelled to the UN (United Nations) headquarters in New York to attend the 2018 Winter Youth Assembly for 5 days where I carried CAMELEON colours.
To review, since 2015 when I graduated from high school, I have received my college degree in Special Education, won a special award in Rhetoric, Literature, and Theatre, and have been nominated for the Outstanding Theatre Teacher award. I now divide my time between conducting awareness seminars on children’s rights for different audiences, teaching drama classes, and developing new prevention and advocacy materials to encourage new people to join the fight against sexual violence.
It has been a long road from the little girl who could not speak to the woman who raises her voice for those who are being silenced. A long decade of struggle between the torments of the past, the support and encouragement I received, the successes but also the obstacles of life. It was a battle I was able to win thanks to Tita Lulu and my sponsors who fought alongside me.
Today, children call me “Manang”, an affectionate name that means big sister in Hiligaynon. Sometimes I get lost between the pages of a book and I can’t stop me thinking about those who are still living in the shadows and are being silenced. I hope that one day they will all be found, and that there will be more and more of us in this fight to lend them a hand, as it happened to me.
