True enough as they say, no act of kindness is too small.
Youth residents of Angat, Bulacan have launched a “five-peso challenge” to sustain the community pantries that have been set up in various parts of the town.
The Angat youth residents have set up their community pantry at the patio grounds of Sta. Monica Church, dubbed as “Hiraya ng Pag-asa Community Pantry,” on Thursday, April 22. It is one of the community pantries set up in the province last month.
In order to sustain these community pantries, the youth organizers of Hiraya ng Pag-asa Community Pantry have come up with the initiative to launch a “five-peso challenge” to uplift the Bayanihan spirit during distress times.
“Walang maliit na halaga, kapag pinagsama-sama. Isa itong paraan para ma-sustain natin kasi nagsisimula pa lang tayo. Yung pagtutulong-tulong ng mga ordinaryong mamamayan sa abot ng kakayanan nila yung dahilan kung bakit may pamilya tayong napapasaya tuwing may community pantry (There is no small amount if we put them together. This is one of a few ways for us to sustain the community pantry because we are just getting started. With the help of the ordinary people to the best of their ability is the reason why we have a happy family every time we open our community pantry),” Chelsea Tiaga, one of the organizers, told the Manila Bulletin.
With the use of social media, Tiaga said the five-peso challenge follows a simple process.
The participants were encouraged to visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hirayangpagasa/posts/119054703657048 and accept the challenge to contribute at least five pesos, however, the challenge does not end there.
They were also encouraged to tag five persons who can also participate in the challenge.
“Dito talaga tayo lubos na natutuwa kasi sa comment section iba’t ibang mga tao makikita natin. Mayroong mga propesyonal katulad ng nurse, doctor, at accountant. May mga magulang at mag-aaral. May mga taga- Angat, Maynila, at sa iba’t ibang lugar sa Pilipinas (We are very happy because in the comment section we see different people. There were professionals such as nurses, doctors, and accountants. There were also parents and students. Some were not just residents of Angat, but also from Manila and various places in the country),” she said.
Tiaga said the challenge caused a ripple effect because despite the differences of the people, it united them together for a greater cause.
“With just 20 hours, nakalikom po tayo mula sa pinagsama-samang limang piso ng halagang 2,000 pesos. Isipin niyo naman po kung gaano karaming tao ang kumilos para maging possible ito (from the combined five pesos we collected a total amount of 2,000 pesos. Think about how many people took action to make this possible),” she said.
The money raised will be used to buy necessities to support the community pantries in Angat town.
Tiaga said they also received donations from the Maginhawa Community Pantry, which they distributed from other community pantries in Angat including Pulong Yantok Community Pantry and Banaban Community Pantry last week.
The youth residents are also set to launch a community pantry on wheels to reach out to remote areas of the province.
“Nais po kasi nating makarating yung tulong sa mga liblib na lugar. Sisikapin po namin maabot yung mga lugar katulad ng Barangay Paltok at Barangay Baybay. Ang lahat po ng ito ay naging posible lamang dahil sa walang sawa ninyong pagbibigay sa abot ng inyong makakaya(We want to reach the remote areas to give them help. We will try to reach places such as Barangay Paltok and Barangay Baybay. All of this only became possible because of the help given by the netizens with the best of their ability),” Tiaga shared.
For those interested to give donations for Hiraya ng Pag-asa Community Pantry, they can contact them on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/hirayangpagasa/ or message them at 0955 557 7125.