He was born unwanted. Fast forward after four decades, the child rose above his past and got himself and his country a hero’s award.
John Piermont Montilla, known as simply Pierre to his friends and peers in other countries, now 41 years of age, remembers how he struggled as a child. At age 12, he was forced out on the streets.
He got into
the drug trade and even into child prostitution for survival.
“But I realized that the pain and struggle had a purpose. I believe that my mission is to go back to the streets where I once belonged and help street children reach their aspirations and dreams the way I did,” said John.
Recently,
he was awarded as Impact Hero 2018 in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia by Earth Company. Impact heroes are also called “changemakers,” who are selected every year. They are exceptional social entrepreneurs that have the potential to shape the future of developing countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Impact Heroes not only serve as an agent of hope for their own communities, but also inspire those who come to understand their life work.
John is currently an employee of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VI based in Iloilo City with a position of Planning Officer II.
Beyond this daily task, however, he leads a People’s Organization called the Kabataang Gabay sa Positibong Pamumuhay (Peer Guides for a Positive Way of Life).
This initiative w
as a result of the Unlad Kabataan Program implemented by DSWD for out-of-school-youth. John innovated by coming up with Gabay as he himself was a beneficiary.
“It is a way of paying
forward the kind of intervention that I got from the government. I got helped and so I want others to get help too,” he said.
Gabay addresses the needs of children living and working on the streets and children left behind by parents who work abroad. It advocates meaningful engagement of victims and survivors of VICES (Violence, Illicit drugs, Crimes, Exploitation and Slavery) through peer empowerment and civic engagement. Gabay focuses in particular on addressing the health and psychosocial needs of sexually-exploited children, especially boys, who are part of what John calls a “hidden epidemic.”
“We serve as inspiration. We help boys access services from the government because most of them are left behind. Campaign against exploitation has always been focused with girls. But
the rest of the population have not actually realized that boys get to be victimized too. And that’s where we come in by helping boys,” said John.
FINALLY, A BUILDING FOR GABAY
Earth Company will be helping in John’s dream to build a facility to accelerate the impact of Gabay in the society.
“Before we only had to do our interventions in different places. We held seminars in schools, in communities and even government offices. But this time, finally, we will have a place where we could conduct our meetings, seminars, counseling and psycho-social support for our members,” said John.
John said that he also foresees it as a self-sustaining social enterprise where the profit will be used for the after-care support and leadership building of members and beneficiaries. /dswd6/May R. Castillo (Photo Credit: from Earth Company)