SHEILA ROMERO'S PERSONAL JOURNEY TURNS COMPASSION INTO CULTURE

She didn't just survive cancer. She emerged from it lit with purpose. Now, she gives others that same light — especially the smallest ones fighting the biggest battles.

- By MELODY SAMANIEGO

In one of Metro Manila's exclusive villages, where opulence is often mistaken for distance, I met Sheila Romero. In a world where wealth is often mistaken for detachment, she proves that compassion can thrive at the very heart of privilege.

Her home — the manicured garden, the glistening pool, the aura of affluence, declared success. But the woman who emerged from that house to greet us wasn't just a fixture of prosperity. She was, unmistakably, the soul of a movement.

Sheila Romero — businesswoman, wife, mother of five, cancer survivor — is the founder of the I Want to Share Foundation, a quiet revolution in the country's landscape of charitable work. On Aug. 1, the foundation will host its second Charity Gala, "An Evening for Brave Warriors," at Shangri-La The Fort, Bonifacio Global City. It promises fashion by celebrated Filipino designers Francis Libiran, Dennis Lustico, Ivar Aseron and Michael Leyva, alongside a powerhouse art auction featuring Ramon Orlina, Elmer Borlongan, Daniel Dela Cruz, Manny Garibay, Jigger Cruz, Jinggoy Buensuceso, Yeo Kaa, and many more celebrated Filipino artists.

But beyond its glamour, this is a night built on grit, grace and a growing culture of compassion —a culture stirred by one woman's lived truth.

This gala is about performance and purpose.

FROM PERSONAL PAIN TO PUBLIC PURPOSE