SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

for a long time in my life, ive always been on the receiving end of the give - receive continuum. ive always been thankful for that. i consider myself blessed for everything happening in my life. its as if lady luck is a godmother to me. by this, ive made a conscious effort to give back what i can to the community - especially to the homeless.

for a few years now, i've been spending christmas eve on the streets giving simple joy to the homeless. i usually pack grocery bags to give out and bravely walk the streets at night. it breaks my heart everytime i would chance upon a father, mother, and child scouring trash for food on christmas eve. this is something that my conscience cannot bear. back at home people are feasting on tons of food mostly just going to spoil and eventually end up being thrown while the homeless are desperately seeking for anything just to ease their hunger.

last night, ive decided to give out packed meals instead of grocery bags. ive prepared more than a few packed meals and refreshments and bravely hit the streets. ive walked street after street carrying my goodies looking for the homeless. i must admit it was tiring but it was worth it. as i hand out the meals i have prepared and hear the word "salamat" and the phrase "maligayang pasko", i feel the tiredness suddenly go away and makes me more eager to go on. it was such a heart warming feeling.

after walking and searching for almost 4 hours, i was able to make it home just before the clock struck twelve. just in time for noche buena and gift giving. as i got home, my mom greeted me with a smile. i felt that the smile she gave me meant something. it conveyed a feeling that she was proud of me. that made my night even better.

happy holidays! may the spirit of christmas be with you guys always!

GIVING BACK

i am the type of person that is easily moved. the recent calamity that struck our country made such a big impact on me that i felt i had to do something. everytime i opened my facebook account, i am greeted by so many videos and photos of ondoy's aftermath. as i watch and see them one by one, i felt my heart shatter into pieces.

last week, i organized a relief operation to reach out to those affected by ondoy. i must admit it was hard to do but i was determined and there was no stopping me. i posted a shoutout on facebook that i am going to organize a relief operation. many responded to my post. a lot said that they are willing to help. i received messages from friends that they are willing to pledge monetary aid to help out. by wednesday last week, i was able to collect a hefty sum of money. deposits to my bank account were made. many also volunteered to do manpower help during the operation. i was overwhelmed with the reponses i got.

came wednesday night, i made an event invitation on facebook inviting the people who volunteered to come for a meeting on thursday to finalize the plan. from all those who volunteered, only four came. i felt a little frustrated. i thought people are full of talk shit. all talk but all shit. regardless, this must push thru. so i, together with the four who came, finalized the plan. the plan was to give out relief goods to 100 families and to do a feeding program for at least 200 individuals. as we were about to leave to do grocery shopping, another person came. good thing, that was. we then went to the supermarket and bought essential items to give out as relief goods.

when i got home that night, i texted people saying that we need help to do re- packing of relief goods on friday. once again, only the same people confirmed of coming. came friday, it was only us again doing the re-packing. i was really getting pissed. okay, so i guess it was only going to be us who will make this happen.

friday night, yet again, i posted another event invitation saying that we will be doing the relief goods distribution and feeding program on saturday and we badly need manpower. of course, it was only us again who confirmed. what the fuck!?!?! at around 2 am that saturday, as i was making relief bag stubs and meal stubs, four new people confirmed of joining. i felt a little relieved.

4:30 am that saturday, i met with my two friends in farmer's market in cubao to buy ingredients for the feeding program. we went straight to one of my friend's house after and started to prepare. did i mention that these two friends are chefs? they are. so, prepping and cooking for 200 people were a breeze for them. well, not for me but i managed. as the morning passed by, people who confirmed started coming. one even brought her boyfriend so that was extra help. by 11 am, there were 10 of us. by 1 pm we were able to finish prepping, cooking and packing all the meals for the feeding program. another friend came last minute so that made 11 of us.

we did our relief operations in pilillia, rizal. we coordinated with the area's local government unit and they provided us with police escort and a representative from their social welfare department. they brought us to one of their evacuation centers. when we got there, traces of the typhoon were still very evident. the place was really muddy and there were still areas that were a little flooded. it was depressing. when the people there saw us, they hurriedly came as if they knew that help has arrived. as i started handing out the relief bag stubs and meal stubs that i made, more and more people gathered around me and i felt a little worried. i thought that we will not be able to accomodate everybody. as i move from one area to another, the people never seemed to lessen but for some odd reason, the stubs in my hand never seemed to lessen as well.

people started lining up to claim their relief bags and packed meals in the designated claim area. thanks to the police escort that the LGU provided, it went very smoothly. it was heartwarming everytime we would hear the people say thank you. as we handed out the relief bags and packed meals, we saw smiles on the peoples' faces. that was more than enough to ease all the tiredness we all felt. would you believe that despite the very long line, nobody left empty handed?

we finished at around 7 pm that day. we all felt tired but we didn't mind. tiredness is nothing compared to those who felt hopeless, scared, burdened, and sorrowed. this little act of kindness may seem  minute compared to other outreach operations but i know deep in my heart that for those who were reached by our extended arms, this little act of kindness is something more.

kudos guys for a job well done!!! when the time comes that help is needed once more, we shall rise again to the occasion.