Davaoeño racer Angelo Salubre visits World Vision communities to inspire children

Fgani Angelo Salubre, a 24-year-old racing driver from Davao City and the first Filipino to win a class race in the GT Cup Open Europe, has been visiting World Vision-supported communities in Manila and Davao to encourage children to pursue their dreams, according to Mindanao Times.

In Manila, Salubre stopped at World Vision's Area Development Program, which supports 1,278 assisted children and 1,276 families through sponsorship, education, livelihood, child participation and child well-being programs. At the ING Learning Center, run by World Vision with ING Philippines to help selected students build learning and numeracy skills, he joined Grade 3 and Grade 4 pupils in games and coloring activities as they drew their dream cars.

Salubre said his own interest in racing started with a childhood love of the animated film Cars and its character Lightning McQueen. That interest later took him from Davao to Singapore and Milan, Italy, before he reached the international circuit.

He told the children to dream big, work hard, keep faith and be ready to seize opportunities. He also met volunteer teacher Salvacion "Bhabes" Race, who has served at the learning center for nearly 20 years and said the work helped her put her own children through college.

Salubre noted that families in the Manila community face fires and floods, but said he was struck by the children's optimism. He urged young Filipinos to keep studying and enjoy school, and said he hopes they grow up safe and well fed.

"I want to support World Vision because I was just like them. I dreamt big, I worked hard, and I had faith," Salubre said.

His stop in Davao, where his racing journey began, strengthened his wish to use his platform to advocate for children. "I can be the voice of children on the world stage," he said.