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Even before Kip Oebanda became one of the Ten
Outstanding Students of the Philippines, he always knew he wanted to
make a difference in the world.
He is neither a politician nor a
diplomat. And he isn’t one of those popstar activists like Bono,
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt who can leverage their fame to put the
spotlight on pressing social issues. In fact, Kip is just a regular
24-year-old guy who likes to sing, write and play Ragnarok on his
PLDT myDSL in his spare time. But unlike most kids, he has marched
the world in the name of child labor, and at 15 cofounded a
nongovernment organization committed to upholding the rights of the
Filipino child. In 2005, he became a TOSP awardee.
To say that Kip 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. Who knew there can be so much a 24
year-old can accomplish?
Kip 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. This is typical Kip. Wherever he is, whatever he’s doing,
he will always find a way to get involved.
Born to do it
Maybe Kip is predisposed to
advocacy, and 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 Kip
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,” Kip
confided.
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
country ran by children. Kip hosted “Anak Gabay Mo” in DWXL. The
radio program, now defunct, was by no means light listening. It
tackled serious grown-up issues like human trafficking and child
labor. In 1998 it won in the Catholic Mass Media Awards 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. There, where the world was his audience,
he saw how potentially powerful a child’s voice can be.
“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.”
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. Besides co-founder, he serves as
Secretary General.
Like most TOSP alumni, Kip has
considerable academic prowess, 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, Kip continued to
pursue his advocacies, utilizing his intellect, wealth of experience
and his PLDT myDSL. Besides using the Web for research, Kip 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 Anti-Slavery Award in the
UK. Presenting the award was JK Rowling, celebrated author of the
Harry Potter series. This created much hype in Europe, thus drawing
more people to their website and to VFF. Suddenly, the Internet
became one of their most important allies.
“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 explained.
For sure, Kip Oebanda has done
more than most people have accomplished in a lifetime. But he
isn’t the type to rest on his laurels. Like his fellow TOSP
alumni, he sees that there is still much to be done. With his voice,
his passion for the grassroots and the PLDT myDSL at his disposal,
we can expect grander things on Kip’s horizon. 
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