Photo courtesy of Barbara Sebastian

(comm)unity

Take my hand

Sandy Gee C. Santiago

The sun rose high and the luminosity of it brought everyone to glow with enthusiasm as they gave food to kids and adults falling in line. 

The global pandemic has made everyone’s knees weak and hit us with every possibility we could ever imagine. The only thing that we can do is to help one another and spread the kindness and love we are receiving. 

Inspired by the community pantry of Maginhawa Street, the Discipler Christian Church located in Dakila, Malolos set up a community pantry outside their church to celebrate their 21st Anniversary Collection.  They started last April and continued with neighboring barangay such as Sumapang Matanda. They have one motto — give to those who are in need.

They have managed to accomplish much with the help of members, families, and relatives of the church, along with the 10% cash aid assistance from the government. Their funds are approximately P50,000 to buy groceries and essential food such as bread, noodles, drinks, pancakes, and rice. They plan to keep the community pantry going as long as there are people who need their help and are willing to give help. 

With the simple gift of a green bag with groceries, a sea of people are crying with relief, knowing that they already have food to eat at night. Indeed, no kindness is wasted; to be able to relinquish and give the warmth of comfort to everyone is something that we are all longing for unexpectedly in these tough seasons. 

Let us just hang on. When this catastrophe passes, hope will come again as we take one another’s hand.