MANILA, Philippines – What did you wish to be some- day when you were but a starry-eyed child full of hopes and dreams? Where did you wish to go? What did you wish to have?
Seven-year-old Christopher James Greicius of Arizona always wanted to be a police officer. But it seemed like an impossible dream because Chris had leukemia. One day, however, US
Customs officer Tommy Austin learned about Chris and worked out a plan with the officers at the Arizona Department of Public Safety to make Chris’ dream come true. They dressed him up in a custom-tailored police uniform — Chris spent the day as a police officer and got the ultimate high in his career when he rode a police helicopter! You couldn’t imagine how happy Chris was and how proud his parents were when he was sworn in as the first honorary DPS patrolman in state history! Sadly, soon after that, in the spring of 1980, Chris died — but his wish lived on to serve as inspiration for the world’s largest wish-granting organiza-
tion, Make-A-Wish Foundation. In the Philippines, a boy suffering from hemophilia wished
to sing to the world. Wish granted! — the boy sang with a 1,000-voice choir who accompanied concert queen Regine Velasquez. His was the first Make-A-Wish’s wish granted in the Philippines.
Also here, a girl with brain cancer wished to be a fashion designer. “Make-A-Wish Foundation matched her skills with her mentor Rajo Laurel and her collection was shown at Pen- insula Hotel’s Salon de Ning,” says Mariano Garchitorena, director of public relations, The Peninsula Manila. “She was Make-A-Wish’s 1,000th wish grantee in the Philippines.”
As you probably know, Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organiza- tion founded in the US that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, three to 17 years old. It’s got affiliates in many other parts of the world, including the Philippines.
Did you know that pop idol Justin Bieber is one of the top wish granters, with over 250 wishes granted?
Here’s yet another wish granted: Four kids aired their wish to guest on Cake Boss, a popular American TV real- ity show on creating the best cakes and pastries. They made one-of-a-kind cakes before making a hot air balloon cake for a Make-A-Wish reception. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it, too?
I bet my bottom cupcake Make-A- Wish will never run out of heartwarm- ing stories to tell.
Surely, there’s more to warm our hearts on cold Christmas mornings as The Peninsula Hotels makes more wishes come true with Make-A-Wish Foundation — as it has done for the past 10 years — and brings back its lovable, enough-to-melt-our-hearts holiday am- bassador SnowPage, dressed in holiday style by luxury toy brand Papinee.
Over good food and fine wine at the Pen’s Old Manila, we meet the man behind Papinee, a toy and art collective whose social mission is to give the world the magical gift of imagination. No, Pap- inee founding CEO Dev Suj did not come in via a flying carpet, a la Aladdin, as his mother taught him to imagine when he was a boy. Dev fondly recalls, “My mot- ther would transform our living room into the ancient pyramids of Giza and the Valley of the Kings. We would ride the magic carpet, climb the Aztec temples; she took us on incredible voyages without leaving our home.”
Dev’s amazing mother also shared her imagination with children from all walks of life. She called every child a Papinee, a word she invented, which for her meant magic, love, beauty. She wanted every child, rich or poor, to feel exceptional, because he/she is. Only in her 40s, she died of a lingering illness. “I was just a teenager when she died,” Dev recounts. “ It was heartbreaking, but she prepared me for the world.”
Today, her memory lives through Papinee, which was inspired by her extraordinary gift of imagination and storytelling.
Coming from a family with a history of six generations in the luxury world, Dev had a rude awakening when he found himself in a war zone. There he saw chil- dren with no shoes, with just the shirts on their backs, pulling a string tied to a box containing their only earthly possession — a precious little toy or book.
Since then, life has never been the same again for Dev. Did he have second thoughts when Peninsula Hotels asked him to do their SnowPage design this year for their Make-A-Wish Foundation collaboration?
“Are you kidding?,” Dev promptly replies. “Despite the big challenge of coming up with 10 designs for 10 Pen- insula properties around the world, why we went into this project is because everything we do is all about being able to give those kids the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. Some of these children are terminally ill or could be in situations at home that are not ideal. To have that imagination to take their toys somewhere else, that ability to dream — they can close their eyes and be whoever they want to be. They can go anywhere they want to go.”
For instance, with Odo the Deer from New York, the kids can roam the neon-lit streets and pop-art graffiti- painted subway stations, and climb the skyscraper sculptures of The Big Apple.
Dev stresses that by spending time reading these books to their children, mothers can turn mo- ments into memories that their kids will keep for a lifetime. Papinee has gathered some of the best creatives/artists in the world. “I love art, my team loves art,” Dev asserts. “We believe in good people. We went from young students all the way to incredible sculptors. It’s about finding people who inspire us so we suddenly say, ‘Let’s work on a project’.”
“I like the story behind the SnowPage,” Dev gushes. “It’s bout Manila, the artist, the sunburst, your ethnic fabric, your culture, which is what’s so important.”
What’s so important for The Peninsula is its commitment to the community where it belongs. Fact is, long before CSR (corporate social re- sponsibility) became fashionable, caring for the
community was already a core value of The Peninsula Manila way back 40 years ago when it opened. For one, it was the first hotel to hire hearing-impaired individuals as full-time employees in 1976. One of the most densely wooded parts of the Luneta (Rizal Park) has over 100 trees planted by the Pen in 1997. Today, the Pen is in the final phase of building 75 homes in Leyte for the families affected by typhoon Yolanda. Soon, the Pen is constructing a near brand-new outpatient chemotherapy breast care center in Quezon City’s East Av- enue Medical Center.
Certainly, Papinee and The Pen have so much in common they could really be Pen pals.
So, how can we help make some children’s wishes come true this Christmas?
Acquiring a limited-edition SnowPage, handmade using the most luxurious fabrics and detailed embroidery, also includes the chance to win the experience of a lifetime with surprise seasonal gifts. Hidden inside a large number of the boxes are “Golden Tickets” for bespoke Peninsula adventures specially designed to create lasting memo- ries for the family.
Some lucky guests get the chance to win the grand prize of a two- night stay for four at a Premier Suite, a fun dinner for four at Spices, daily breakfast plus ex- citing Peninsula Acad- emy family experiences, including learning how to prepare a halo-halo (traditional Filipino iced dessert). Other prizes in- clude delectable dinners for four, or the celebrated Peninsula Afternoon Tea sets, designed to create indelible impressions and meaningful memories.
For each Papinee Animalia kit sold, a similar Papinee imagination kit is distributed to a child in need. Papinee also funds professional and volunteer storytellers to host events at orphanages, (to give kids the sem- blance of a real home, with Mommy reading to them), children’s hospital wards, and social centers, distribut- ing the Papinee imagination kits and taking children on adventures of a lifetime.
Never lacking in kind-hearted spirits to support the Papinee cause all over the world, among its ambas- sadors are Princess Reema Bandar Bint Saud, Claire Hobson of Fu- tureLab London, Adrian Cheng of K11 Foundation, Coralie Charriol, Angela Mackay of Financial Times.
“We’re having fun doing what we do,” says Dev with a big, warm smile. “Doing good makes us feel good.”
And what’s Dev’s wish for Christmas?
“I wish to give every child, rich or poor, the chance to dream,”says Dev Suj with childlike glow in his eyes.