‘A Dinner for Hope:’ ISM students bring music and compassion to survivors of abuse
Venice Mapua, a grade 11 student at the International School Manila (ISM), believes that music and art can do more than entertain. Music can heal. As one of the founders of Artvocacy PH, a youth-led nonprofit she started in 2023, Mapua has made it her mission to make arts education more accessible to marginalized communities.
A source of healing
This weekend, her group will host “A Dinner for Hope: An Evening of Music, Compassion, and Purpose” at Elan by the Bay in Parañaque City, a benefit event for the young women of Marillac Hills, a residential care facility under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Muntinlupa City.
Founded after a grade 8 school project called “Advocating for Change,” Artvocacy began as Mapua’s personal response to the gap she saw between public and private school students’ access to music education. Today, it has grown into a collective of young artists from ISM, among them Chisako Yoi, Bea Ng, and Amelie Lacson, who perform, teach, and organize free music programs for children in need.
In Nov. 2024, the group partnered with the local government of Parañaque City to offer free violin and voice lessons to local elementary students, which continues today, a year later.
With “A Dinner for Hope,” Artvocacy aims to extend their music-as-healing advocacy to survivors at Marillac Hills, which cares for young girls who have endured sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking, or who are in conflict with the law.
Dedicated to healing and empowerment
According to a DSWD interview, Marillac Hills has given its residents opportunities to rebuild their lives through programs like “SkillsBuild,” a partnership with IBM Philippines that teaches digital and workplace skills.
For survivors like Ice (not her real name), a victim of abuse by the very person supposed to protect her—her father—the education at Marillac Hills has been a lifeline. She recounted to the DSWD reflections on her time at the center, “Siguro noon sinakop ako ng kadiliman, pero dumating sila, binigyan nila ako ng liwanag. Totoong binigyan nila kami ng pag-asa—pag-asa na makapag-aral at magkaroon ng mga pangarap.”
Mapua hopes that “A Dinner for Hope” can be part of that light. “This is not just a dinner,” she said in her invitation. “It is an evening dedicated to healing, empowerment, and the transformative power of art, all centered around the vulnerable young women of Marillac Hills.”
True to its advocacy of music, the night will also feature live performances by Class of ’87, Supersonic, Amelie and Maxine Yuri Sternberg, and Strings Virtuosi, underscoring the event’s message that music can move, mend, and connect.
All proceeds will go toward supporting Marillac Hills’ programs and funding free music workshops for its residents.
“A Dinner for Hope: An Evening of Music, Compassion, and Purpose” takes place on Nov. 8, Saturday, at Elan by the Bay, Parañaque City. Learn more at https://artvocacy.ph/
