Angel Thoughts
Often times we fail to see the blessings in our lives for in the midst of our own pain, we fail to realize that God has never left our side.He's just a prayer away!
Jill Lemming
Singer Madonna Decena, a member of Rotary Club of Manila Archangel Premier and the first Filipino finalist of Britain’s Got Talent in 2008, had always been involved in philanthropic work.
Even in this crisis, Madonna, a Miriam College alumna, didn’t stop being involved in humanitarian projects. One unique charity project caught her attention: “Two Puppets” raising funds to help displaced jeepney drivers.
Charter president of Rotary Club of Manila Archangel Premier District 3810, George Tagle (yes, the singer and founder of the award-winning group, The Angelos), was informed about this fund-raising drive. He immediately saw that the puppeteers are a fun duo and that this project could help many people in need. Charter members of the rotary club thus made this project possible. It was so successful that a second wave of this charity is coming soon!
A trivia about how this collaboration started: Madonna was helping friends on the Bigo Live app and stumbled on this random live stream where two puppets were doing comedy skits. They are called Lockdown Puppets--Mang Kano and Boy Banat. This power duo goes live for six to 11 hours every stream and create funny and signature antics to raise funds for the poor and marginalized.
The brains behind this ongoing altruistic deed are cousins Rady and Jay Ar Pineda. When asked about why they do what they do tirelessly, Rady, who plays Mang Kano, said “Matagal na po namin ginagawa yung pagpapuppet show pero lalo namin kinareer nung nagsimula 'tong lockdown kasi gusto namin magpasaya nang mga tao dahil nga 'di sila nakakalabas madaming nalulungkot. Ang pinaka reason lang po talaga namin sa ginagawa namin ay magpasaya and to share the love. (We have been doing this for quite some time but really got on to it during the lockdown. We wanted to make it fun and bring some joy into people's lives but primarily to share the love).”
Rady recalls that this idea started when one time they were on their way home and they drove past the drivers asking for help on the sidewalk. What’s touching about their story is that even though they themselves were affected by the lockdown, they didn’t allow it to be a hindrance to helping others.
The outcome of Madonna’s collaboration with the Lockdown Puppets and George Tagle yielded 340 grocery packs and 100 food packs that were distributed around Quezon City on Sept. 6. With the success of this drive, the duo did another fundraiser recently, on Rady’s (Mang Kano) birthday.
In these very difficult times, Madonna hopes that these kind gestures and the selfless acts of her two generous friends would be a breath of fresh air and she hopes that people would follow suit. Helping people in this dire time even when they themselves need help is the kind of news we all need to see and hear and they are the kind of people we need to imitate.
The Lockdown Puppets are a source of inspiration and they have amassed a lot of fans on Bigo Live and in real life. Bigo hosts, supporters, and celebrities help The Lockdown Puppets raise money in their live stream.
If you readers want to help and would want to donate, message them on Facebook (Lockdown Puppet Show) and follow them on Bigo Live (ID: Rady0297) to witness their show that would not only entertain you but also help the displaced drivers and a lot more people who are in need.