They say that charity begins at home, and at night, four year old Porscha Benisano and her mum do away with the customary bedtime story, and instead spend their time talking about the world and what they can do to make it a little better. Kind-hearted and gentle in nature, Porscha really took to the story her mum recounted of the many kids in the Philippines whose parents may not earn enough to afford them any toys. ‘This makes me very sad’ she said as tears started to well up. ‘Don’t worry, we will help them’ she was reassured. And that’s exactly what they did.
So for her 4th birthday, Porscha decided that she didn’t want any gifts. Not one. She invited all her friends over to celebrate the day but asked them to forgo presents by instead bringing their old toys and clothes to share with other children who barely have enough. Twelve generous party guests and four balikbayan boxes later, the kids of Barrio Maharlika in Cebu enjoyed the most gifts they had ever seen in their lives.
