Many of us in the province of Iloilo have surely been affected by the continuous pandemic, severe lockdowns, and growth of Covid19 patients. Someone whose job isn't part of "essentials" would suffer, and it's not just them; there have been countless family businesses that have closed as a result of Covid19, as well as the uncountable deaths. To be honest, I'm not sure if I would keep believing in it. I just think it is a business and a clear plan to control people. I lack the authority to tell them that, and who would believe me if I did? Although actually, I've been dying to do so, but I've chosen to remain silent and instead focus on helping others by volunteering to distribute relief goods in our community.

Since the concept of a community pantry became popular in the Philippines, our parish, St. Anthony of Padua Parish, established its own, and individuals from all walks of life, including the wealthy and poor, have contributed food and goods. The gathered food and goods will be packed and handed to the poorest of the poor families in Barotac Nuevo's 28 Barangays. Typically, each Barangay might get relief goods for up to 50 families.

Everything was going smooth until the Enhanced Community Quarantine was declared in Iloilo City and Province. Everything, including church activities, was restricted. There were no large gatherings, and the number of youngsters volunteering at the community pantry was decreased to three, given the fact that some of us are still under the age of 18. I was one of the chosen three persons, and while I had intended to stay at home and continue earning Bitcoin Cash for my studies, I had to cancel my plans and perform my responsibilities as a member of the youth who had been entrusted with such a significant responsibility.

The beginning

We packed 103 relief goods with 3 to 4 kilograms of rice, monggo beans, biscuits, noodles, and snacks last July 16, the first day of our work. It took us almost seven hours to complete it. Our speed was initially slow, and we thought it would take us a long time to do everything. My back hurts from lugging a sack of rice and performing all the other things. But, of course, I didn't mind the discomfort because we also get adequate sleep at night.

We chatted a lot about ourselves and laughed a lot while packing. We swapped tales and ate meals together, so by the end of the day, we didn't know we were actually moving quickly and it seemed so simple.

The next day, nothing particularly noteworthy because we are repeating what we did the day before. In the afternoon, we discussed which Barangay should be visited first, followed by the next. We made the decision to visit Brgy. Bagongbong.

The next day, we went to Bagongbong and took 60 packs of relief goods, just in case someone who wasn't on the list needed something. I've been to Bagongbong previously and know how difficult it is to get there, particularly because the road is narrow and rough. So we virtually took 4/5 of the road with our four-wheel-drive service. When we arrived, it began to rain heavily, so we had to wait almost two hours for the people, but that was alright. It makes us happy in some way.

The satisfaction of being able to assist someone, even if you are merely a vessel for delivering and packing food provided by the community. The smiles in their eyes heals the pain, and their words of thanks are payment for the hard effort we put in. Some of them also talked about their predicaments and how difficult it was for them to buy food. Since the onset of pandemic, the fare was five times higher, while before it only costs them 10 pesos using a tricycle and then before July 15 it was 50 pesos and finally 100 pesos. It wasn't the responsibility of the tricycle drivers because all they had to do was follow the protocols, which stipulated that only one passenger be carried at a time. It's a truly hopeless scenario.

As the days passed, I began to realize their circumstances and what further we could do to assist them. Despite the fact that I have some excellent suggestions, the church does not have sufficient funds to implement them.

There were also times while we were distributing relief goods to others, some people would look at us with hate because they were hoping to receive some as well. Some may argue or pick a fight with us about why their names aren't listed, so we do our best to explain everything to them patiently and lovingly.

"Dear people, please understand that the relief goods you are receiving are only donations we received from generous people. We sincerely wanted to help you all, but we needed to prioritize the poorest of the poor from each Barangay to ensure that they received at least some. We sincerely wish to assist you all, but we are not a government with unlimited funds to do so. To put it another way, we rely solely on donations. So, if we don't get enough, we must give priority to those who are truly in need.," is what we used to say.

One day, someone gave the church 5000 pesos for the community pantry since this particular person couldn't select what things he could buy for the pantry. So we went to Brgy. Lamintao to buy some dried fish because we were out of noodles as well. The timing was absolutely perfect. We had already decided to buy anything the locals had to offer us before we arrived in Lamintao. We went from house to house, asking if they had any dried fish or anything, but unfortunately, some of them had nothing to sell. We bought whatever dry fish they had until our money ran out. So we returned to church with dried and fresh fish that we had purchased with the 5000 pesos.

The next day, we delivered the fresh fishes first, so they could be cooked right away. For a while, I thought what we did was "buy some food from poor then give the food to another poor," which is interesting because we were able to support two families.

Our distribution continued as days passed, and we visited new Barangays until we had visited and sent relief materials to all 28 Barangays. Because we no longer have anything to pack, the day of our distribution has finally come to an end.

We chose to distribute the remaining 78 packs of relief goods to trisikad drivers on August 7th. It is no secret that they are also among the most affected, as the minimum wage for a day is 75 pesos ($1.5), which is quite low. They are, without a doubt, among the poorest of the poor.

Being a trisikad driver could at the very least assist you and your family's needs. Before the pandemic, trisikad drivers had the happiest days of their lives, earning at least 300-500 pesos ($6-$10). They had a large number of customers, the most of whom were students from elementary to college. However, because of the current situation we're up, they have few customers. I honestly feel bad riding with an elderly trisikad driver because I can only pay him 10 pesos when I have less money. I usually pay them double the minimal fare because I feel sad that they were frequently turned down by choosy consumers. They don't want it because it takes too much time.

So I guess, they are really worthy of receiving these relief goods. We sent them enough for 4 meals and that should atleast help them save money.

Unforgettable Journey

This is a journey I will never forget. It gave me various life lessons and allowed me to see individuals in various situations. It changed the way I looked at life. I'm ashamed to admit that there have been times in my life when I've felt ungrateful for the things we have at home, but seeing these individuals reminds me that I should at least be glad because my circumstance is better than theirs.

It's also not true that poor individuals constantly rely on government assistance. I recall hearing politicians claim that poor people are always reliant on them, yet this is not the reality. These people are genuinely trying their hardest to survive and doing everything they can to get themselves out of poverty. I believe they were already tired of being poor, and no matter how hard they tried, there was nothing they could do to change their situation.

But there's something about them that I look up "They never lose hope." Their eyes tell me that there is still hope, and I'm witnessing that hope in the form of their children, whom they hoped would graduate and find a great career. I'm confident they can. So I guess it's not really accurate to say that these people always rely on government support because they hardly get any. The truth is that they may only receive assistance during the campaign period. And I'm sure these people are aware of this. As a result, they opt not to rely on or expect anything.

These are some of the lessons I have in this journey and although it already ended, I will still never forget the experience. One day, when the church got more donations, I might or might not be chosen again. But that's alright, I know others need that kind of experience too and just in case I'll be chosen again, of course I will come and serve. For in service I find that I am whole.

This article is free from plagiarism