A young man here is conducting an online raffle through Facebook to help raise funds for his father diagnosed with cancer who lives a thousand kilometers away from him.

Jose Robert Inventor, a third year AB Communication student from the University of Pangasinan-PHINMA, has launched the raffle game with grocery items, frozen foods, and assorted biscuits at stake.

In an interview on Thursday, Inventor said the money earned from the raffle would be used to fund Tatay Robert’s treatment for cancer.

Tatay Robert, who lives in Iloilo, was recently diagnosed with bone cancer.

Inventor’s brother called him last week and informed him of their father’s illness.

His family’s situation in Iloilo is far from good. They have no electricity in the area.

“That time po I felt numb and umiyak po ako upon hearing the news. Pero sabi po ng isip ko, iiyak na lamang ba ako at walang gagawin? (At that time, I felt numb and I cried upon hearing the news, but in my mind, I asked if I would just cry and not do anything about it),” he said.

He used to sell scrunchies online to earn a few bucks to send to her mother who is working in Manila.

He was then inspired by a friend into doing an online raffle so he launched it right away.

“Siya po talaga ang nakaisip dahil po may nakita po kaming post sa Facebook na raffle draw at marami pong sumasali (that’s) why we give it a try. Malaking tulong din ito at wala din namang mawawala (My friend was the one who thought of this as we saw somebody who posted a raffle draw online and many joined so we gave it a try as it would be of great help and we have nothing to lose from it),” he added.

As soon as Inventor began his concept, it spread like wildfire.

His friends and classmates learned about his situation and soon launched a separate activity to help him in his battle.

Ira Asuncion and Camille Mae Batallones, Inventor’s friends and classmates, launched a fundraising campaign.

As of posting, Asuncion plans to take things to a higher level by organizing an online busking for a cause.

Despite being able to save money for his father’s medicines, Inventor still needs more to cover his father’s expenses.

Inventor’s life has never been easy. It is full of financial problems even before the pandemic.

Fortunately, he was granted a student loan by his university.

A member of their university’s debate organization, he hopes to make use of his persuasiveness to sell more of his products, and convince others to join his upcoming online raffles.

Despite his struggles, Inventor does not want others to pity him, urging fellow students not to give up on life. (PNA)

Photo Credit: Facebook/joserobert.inventor