I spent today volunteering at a relief operation organized by the OLBL Merville Youth, my community. As everyone in the Philippines may know, most of Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces are heavily flooded and thousands of our fellow countrymen have been victimized by the rain and the flood. This is much like a repeat of the 2009 typhoon Ondoy.
Me and my family may not be affected by the intense flooding or the heavy rains; me and my family may be safe and warm under the protection of the roof over our heads but my heart still aches for those who are out there. Out there, people have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their material possessions and some even lost their lives or the lives of loved ones. Everything about it is just heartbreaking.
But despite the tragedies that they have come to face with and despite everything that these people have lost, they still manage to smile and carry on. What's even more amazing is our sense of unity amidst this horrible tragedy. The willingness of everyone to go out and move and help out to the victims of this unnamed monsoon is just amazing. It's amazing how we can rush to help others in these situations. I guess bayanihan is not dead in our culture, thank God.
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| (c) Katria Alampay |
It seriously moves me to tears how much people want to go out and volunteer or donate to those who are gravely affected by the flood. I love that we standby each other in time of need; I love that we essentially don't want anybody to get left behind. I see a lot of volunteer stories and a lot of rescue operation stories and it's just amazing. We have heart, and that's something no one can ever take away from us.
I volunteer because I want to help. Helping makes me feel fulfilled and enriched and happy. I have signed up for many volunteer programs previous to this and I'm not volunteering just because it's uso or whatever. I feel complete serving the nation and its people.
Today, I volunteered at the relief operations organized by our community's youth group and I felt amazing. I felt my heart melt with every clothing, food, etc, that I repacked. I felt my heart melt each time a new donation box flew in the room, I felt my heart melt with every young person that walked in the Hall eager and willing to lend a helping hand. It was overwhelming to think that these goods we were repacking may actually mean the world or a life to someone out there. It seems exaggerated and all but no, that's how I really feel. No service is too big or too small. Service is offering a part of yourself with no intention of getting anything in return. I only hope and pray that whatever it is we are doing can help a great number of people affected by the tragedy.
Today, I felt like I was doing something in service to my countrymen, in service to God. Today, I actually felt proud to be living in this generation where people would not hesitate in helping; where people will just go out there and actually do something. Faith in Humanity is restored. (ohyeah)
Tomorrow and the following days, I urge everyone to go out there and HELP, DONATE and VOLUNTEER. Don't be afraid to move and be proactive. It is an honor and our moral obligation to serve the nation and its people.
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| For Merville People: Relief operations. San Lorenzo hall,OLBL Parish,Merville. 1 PM. August 9, 2012. Help donate and volunteer! |
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| For UPM People: Tulong Kabataan Volunteer Relief Operations is OPEN TO ALL ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEERS. Interested parties may join the Tulong Kabataan 2012 group https://www.facebook.com/groups/269911563114576/ |
It is bad out there. Many homes were destroyed, many lives were taken away, many material possessions were washed away with the flood. But I do believe that we can all rise up from this. I believe that with a little help from the people of this nation and with a little faith in God, we can pick ourselves up, start over and stand strong again.
