Iza’s answered prayer

Showbiz can be a dizzying carousel ride for those who get hopelessly intoxicated by the fame and fortune it brings. But for those who realize that with great power comes great responsibility, it’s also a golden chance to share one’s overflowing blessings.

Iza Calzado would rather opt for the latter. She knows that in a world where fans adore you, producers spoil you and the public in general is all over you, a reality check now and then is essential. It can bring you down to earth in one fell swoop and keep your feet planted on the ground. And that’s what Iza gets every week as host of QTV 11’s At Your Service, Star Power (Sundays, 12 noon to 1 p.m.).

Iza sheds the glam she exudes in her TV commercial, in the movies and other TV shows and, in a plain T-shirt, maong pants and face towel, mingles with Juan dela Cruz right in his own turf.

The sun may be harsh on her creamy complexion as she pushed a de-padyak (trolley) along the well-worn railroad tracks. But what the heck? Iza had to join the great unwashed as they tried to eke out a living.

She went to an Igorot community called Kankanuey Drive in La Union and saw discrimination stare at her in the face. It reared its ugly head, even among young Tagalog children, who giggled at the sight of their Mangyan brothers just because they (the Tagalogs) assume they are far superior than the tribal minority. Have they heard about highly-educated Mangyans in the first place?

Iza saw the havoc putting labels on others can do on the youngest of minds. The young Mangyans may not say it outright. But how many of them go through life with battered self-esteem and damaged egos because of this?

The answer can make your heart bleed.

And while you’re at it, how about accompanying an emaciated cancer victim on a trip to the beauty parlor to cheer her up? Or visiting sick children in the hospital to brighten up their day? The mercy missions are endless.

And, like a regular dose of strength-giving vitamins, they energize Iza no end.

After all, At Your Service came as an answered prayer to her.

"I was praying for something where I can help others," recalls Iza. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, the offer to host At Your Service came.

Turns out QTV executives saw how well Iza handled her hosting chores in the women’s lifestyle show 3K. And they wasted no time calling the all-too-willing Iza.

Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, everything fell into place.

Others started sitting up and taking notice. At Your Service has four awards.

These are the Gold Camera Award from the 2005 US International Film and Television Awards, 2006 Silver Screen Award under Community Service, bronze medalist, community program from the 2006 New York Film Festival and the Anak TV Seal award.

What a coincidence that the public service show airs on a Sunday, a day for counting blessings over the week just past and looking forward to more in the week ahead.

At Your Service is paving the groundwork for a better future for the children of cancer victims and other needy young people through STI scholarships. It marked its first anniversary recently with Balik Tanaw, featuring various people whose lives the show helped ease even a bit.

The idea is to pay it forward. The show’s beneficiaries — and they’re a lot — do their share in helping others who have been in the same boat. Thus, you see a tricycle driver hammering away on the walls of a burned schoolhouse the show is trying to rebuild. You see a mother cooking a simple meal for volunteer workers in the schoolhouse. The sight alone warms the cockles of the heart.

The show also teaches people, to borrow the words of a Chinese saying — how to fish. Experts are invited to conduct a series of courses that will get them started on a small-scale piggery or livestock business.

Another form of service is Ronda Serbisyo. A van goes around various areas in search of ways to help. One time, Iza surprised many people who never thought such a fragile-looking, dainty lady like her can mediate between two feuding drunkards and patch things up for them.

"I just mustered all the courage I can get and did it," relates Iza.

Knowing her, you know she won’t mind doing it again if she has to.

That’s the essence of public service — pure and simple — for you.