When helping goes viral

It’s all over our workplace. People sneezing and coughing. And really, I don’t know who started it, but the virus got me, too. It’s in the air! 

It spread so fast that one day I was perfectly fine, then the next, I got the chills. Playing doctor, I thought it was some bad bacteria. Doctor told me that with enough rest and Vit. C, it will naturally go away.

But aside from the virus that causes cough and colds,  another phenomenon that went viral that hopefully would not go away is the outpouring of generosity after Typhoon Yolanda.

I can’t explain it. It’s been over a month already, and I thought that the momentum of all the help we’ve been receiving would dwindle, just like any news item that is so easily forgotten by the public after the next big story. I was worried that Filipinos might forget about the survivors when we go about all our  Christmas celebrations. I’ve covered sooooo many disasters and calamities, and well... we forget easily.

I’m glad to be wrong about Typhoon Yolanda.

Since day one, I was fortunate enough to witness donors queuing outside our Sagip Kapamilya warehouse in Examiner St. in QC and at the PBB house in front of ABS-CBN. It was inspiring to see people from all walks of life, from a couple coming in their scooters to bring two gallons of bottled water, to senior citizens who donated their pension to Yolanda survivors, and the truck loads of relief goods from different corporations.

Just yesterday, a Filipino who worked in London came over to the office to bring the donation of school children for survivors of Yolanda. They had a fundraising drive, “A penny for Piso.”

In Australia, my cousin and his co-workers in a hotel placed a coin bank at the front desk for survivors of Haiyan. Many have forgone their Christmas parties to donate. 

People still care. And the generosity  has a snowball effect. I say this from the donations that have been coursed through Sagip Kapamilya amounting to over P400M, and the demand for the Tabang Na shirts, which are still selling like pancakes. 

I’ve been to the areas devastated by Yolanda. And yes, up to this day, there are so many heartbreaking stories, like parents still looking for their missing children. Some survivors suffer from guilt for the mere fact of living while others have died. The number of dead has reached 6,000. These are not mere bodies of people but lives lost. The magnitude of the suffering will probably be felt up to the next generation.

The pain may never go away.

But in compassion, survivors may find their strength.

In generosity, hope.  Hope for tomorrow and the faith to live again.

I’ve seen this in Iligan when I visited the place a year after Sendong devastated the city. Life was slowly picking up. But a lady told me that because other people cared to help, they were able to compensate for what was lost. They are able to embrace what was left, and to build from there.

It all sounds too ideal, especially now that the images of the devastation are still so fresh in our minds. But I’ve seen it happen. That’s why I believe that we can rise again, in time.

The generosity that I’ve witnessed these past few weeks is unparalleled, as if the world has been bitten by the helping bug. Unceasing and relentless. Viral.

May this viral desire to help the survivors of Yolanda, soon bring about an epidemic of hope not only to those who suffer, but to all of us who care.

(Do follow me on twitter @bernadette_ABS and e-mail me at bsaguinaldo.com.ph.)