Photos & video by Veronica Lon Martinez Pantaleon Mendoza
October 4, 2009
12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM
While working with these amazing volunteers, I heard a couple of accounts that previously took place.

*A young boy went to the GK relief center and brought his piggy bank with him. He was saving up (for a couple of years) for a PSP but decided to donate his money to the victims of Ondoy.

*A young girl who is one of Ondoy's victims recently had her birthday. A family donated cooked spaghetti to her family. Her mother, in tears, said, "Finally, my daughter has spaghetti for her birthday".

The movement was very organized. Music can be heard all throughout that kept everyone on their feet. I convened with a lot of individuals in my four hours of stay in the RFM gym. There were diverse groups and mixed personalities of various status. I chanced on a nurse from Binangonan, some Chinese Filipino students, a couple of Muslims, a group of bubbly teenage boys and girls who beyond any doubt laughed to almost anything, and a couple of young English speaking groups. I worked with them this afternoon measuring, repacking and carrying all the relief goods. We were ALL abreast, passing packages from one person to the other, transferring the heavy goods to the trucks for distribution as we were standing in the "bayanihan line". Some were chatting away, others were singing with the continuous upbeat music while we were all seated on the floor counting the cups of rice being poured inside the plastic bags and making the finishing touches of tying and securing the packages. It was definitely an amiable gathering. Observing and listening to them gave me a certain warm sensation. I just thought that however different all of us are, we really don't need to give an arduous effort to extinguish all our differences. We don't need "an Ondoy" to have this amity.
We just need to take cognizance of how easy it is. (less info)