My OFS Julia writes:
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In the Philippines, there’s this custom called “Bayanihan” (pronounced as buy-uh-nee-hun), where people come together to lend a helping hand. It’s more than just people helping each other out. It’s about working together as a community.
Bayanihan is what makes the Philippines a resilient country despite natural disasters.
I was reminded of this because of an email from one of my team mate OFS
“Good day!
Hope all is well with you guys. I would like to ask permission to go on a 1 day leave this coming January 21, 2022, due to the fact that I was tapped to be one of the leaders of the 2nd wave of relief operations for the Typhoon Odette victims in Surigao City.
I will be leading our team in terms of the preparation, distribution, and security of the said relief packs up until we are done distributing to an estimated 420 families.
I apologize for the short notice, rest assured all my tasks for the following date, Jan. 21, 2022, will be properly endorsed and properly coordinated with our team.
Looking forward to your understanding. “
To get to Surigao City, he and the other volunteers must travel for 8 hours straight by land. It will take them the entire day to provide aid to those affected. Then he’d have to travel back home for another 8 hours.
It would have been easier for my teammate to keep working and let someone else do it. Instead, he made sure he finished his work to go and help. The work these volunteers are doing may seem like a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. But efforts like these help places affected by Typhoon Odette recover faster.
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You’ll notice your OFS wants to help.
They want to help you.
They want to help those around them.
John