MANILA, Philippines - Actress KC Concepcion said it was the best birthday present ever.

The television star, who turns 23 today, told Inquirer Entertainment how surprised she was when the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations told her that, as a gift to her, it would donate two sacks of rice for children under the care of the Virlanie Foundation in Makati City.

?The rice will be good for two months at Virlanie. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the news because WFP efforts are largely concentrated in the south, in Mindanao. I was very happy about their decision to hold an activity here in Metro Manila.?
KC, wore dark denim jeans, trainers and a WFP shirt during her visit last Wednesday.

?With this Metro Manila event, I hope the problem will be clearer for many. Not everybody realizes how serious the issue of hunger is,? KC said. WFP picked the actress last year as National Ambassador Against Hunger.

Actually, the Virlanie Foundation is one of the many non-government organizations that the actress?daughter of movie star parents Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion?has been supporting for some time now. Virlanie has provided street children with shelter, education and care for more than 15 years now.

The foundation also gives education and support to abandoned children in Metro Manila. ?When I was studying in Paris,? KC said, ?I would visit Virlanie every time I came back home for a vacation.?

Serious role

KC explained how seriously she took her role as WFP ambassador: ?This is my priority. Wherever I am, when they call and tell me that I?m needed for an activity, I will show up. Hindi na ito entertainment; this is reality. People are hungry.?

She said she had only two hours of sleep before the party. She had come from the taping of her weekly ABS-CBN anthology, ?I Am KC.?

But her eyes sparkled as the kids rushed to her, then hugged her, or touched her face and hair. ?I feel very good that I am able to make them happy. Maybe it?s just because they don?t know how hard life is outside of their immediate environment. Whatever it is, I am touched that they are carefree on this day that I am spending with them.?

?I love you?

Six-year-old Totoy, one of the Virlanie wards, thanked KC, and said, ?Love kita, Ate.? Alaisa, also 6, didn?t say a word, but embraced the actress tightly.

As WFP ambassador, KC is required not only to appear in the organization?s activities, but also ?to be hands on.?

She explained: ?I talk to the mothers of these children and tell them how to better feed the kids. I think up projects that I personally want implemented, and then I write the formal proposal and send it to the United Nations.?

Some time in June or July, the WFP is preparing to launch a huge hunger mitigation project, KC said. She did not elaborate on it, but gave a hint: ?It will be very big, and it will involve the youth.?