Millennium Dreamers
are Dreamin' Away
Sixteen Pinoy Kids are off to the United States to tell their story in a global summit for young readers
By Christine C. Rivero

"OH, Mickey you're so fine . . . hey, Mickey!!!"

Yup, we can almost hear the Pinoy Millennium Dreamers singing away as they board their plane next week for Disney World, Florida. Made up of 16 really talented kids, the Millennium Dreamers--dubbed after the name of the global summit they are going to attend--are young people who have somehow made their community a better place.

'Rrific kids a-dreamin'

Two of the Dreamers turned out to be JI 'rrific kids Karlyne Kimberly Kwok and Thristan U. Mendoza. Thirteen-year-old Kim is the angel-voiced pop-classical diva we featured in Kids 'r 'rrific on Sept. 18 last year. Thristan or Tum-tum, now 10 years old, is the "merry marimba kid" we met on Aug. 28, 1998, back when the section was still called "Kids and Adults when They were Kids."

Kim still la-la-las like never before and she's also sung for kids in poor communities. When she performs, Kim says she makes sure to do classical, Broadway, pop, and kundiman songs. 

"I want them to be open to these different musical styles," she explains and adds that she enjoys learning all kinds of music because, "the more I learn, the more I'll be able to teach."

Tum-tum, on the other hand, has left hundreds of people with the bouncy marimba sound in their hearts ever since he learned to play the xylophone-like instrument at the age of five. He's an autistic child but as he says in his essay, "(People) thought that children like me cannot be achievers. Now they realize that we also can."

Other familiar faces

We were also happy to meet the brothers of another 'rrific kid, clarinet-player Roberto "Panggo" Sarreal (JI, Sept. 25, 1999). The Sarreal brothers--Jacob Gabriel, Joseph Gideon and John Raymond--also play musical instruments and they've each thought of projects to help their community too.

Eleven-year-old Coby who plays the soprano saxophone likes mountain climbing and once, when climbing Mt. Halcon in Oriental Mindoro, he saw a wooden ladder that was dangerously worn-down.

Coby decided to play his sax in a talent contest and when he won, he asked his dad to use the money to buy aluminum ladders to replace the old one. "Now the trail is safer for other climbers," he says happily.

Trumpet-tooting Gideon, 12, for his part, used his savings to buy aluminum cans and tabs to donate to Tahanang Walang Hagdan. His donation was used to make wheelchairs and the people at Tahanan were so thankful, they asked Gideon and his brothers to perform in one of their mass weddings.

Finally, 14-year-old Raymond, who dribbles a basketball as well as he plays the flute, organizes mini-basketball tournaments in his neighborhood. He uses his own savings and works hard to solicit other funds to make his tournaments a three-point success each time. 

Heroes everyone

Then we also got to meet 9-year-old singer Jose Enrico "Jeric" Villaruz who once performed for the orphans of Hospicio de San Jose. Another musical wonder, Ivan Antony Buguet, 11, is in sixth grade at Angelicum College but at the same time studies the college music program of the UST Conservatory of Music. 

Ivan sings, plays the piano and violin but also ice skates and practices taekwondo. Someday he says, "I dream (of joining) an international organization helping poor children by performing concerts around the world."

Twelve-year-old Diega Villanueva also has a bit of music in her as she is part of Elizabeth Seton School's Filipiniana Dance Troupe, but she wants to make her mark in the world as a student leader.

Speaking of leaders, Rachelle Pilares, 13, lost her eyesight at the age of 5 but didn't let disability stop her from pushing ahead. In her essay which she wrote in Braille, Rachelle said, "I work hard to be independent . . . I try to have a pleasant disposition in spite of my deficiency. I do not make my blindness an excuse to stop studying." Aside from telling her story at the summit, Rachelle also wants to try out all the rides in Disney World because she says smiling, "I don't get dizzy."

The other Dreamers include Patricia Ann Forneste, 13, who put up a small pretend-school in her community in Lucena, Quezon, and encouraged the kids to stop playing "cara y cruz." Another hero from Quezon, Ma. Czarinna Katrina Patricio, 11, organized the kids in her neighborhood to grow vegetables. Twelve-year-old Carl Erick Ramores from Albay joins races and inspires kids with his running skills while in Cagayan, Grady Leonard Aggabao, 11, wows youngsters as a boy scout leader.

Fellow Davaoeños, Alexander Alsola, and Louelyn Hermano, both 12 years old, hope to motivate other kids to help their community through painting and campus journalism, respectively. Another Davaoeño, 11-year-old Julius C'zar Ramos, a victim of chemical pollution, teaches his classmates to plant trees, sort their garbage and care for an herbal garden.

The Millennium Dreamers Children's Summit, sponsored by the McDonald's Corp. and The Walt Disney Co., will take place on May 8-10. Our Pinoy delegates will get to meet a grand total of 2,000 kid-achievers like themselves from all over the world. Together they'll talk about "Kids Inspiring Kids for a Better Tomorrow."