Nowadays, not too many people take the time to show kindness towards strangers. Some say they’re busy while others may not know how to start, but sometimes, you don’t even have to look too far to show kindness.
This past March, the Ecclesiastical District of Manila launched the 21-Day Kindness Challenge, which had been successfully launched in various districts outside the Philippines. These are some of the stories of those who took on the challenge.
This is Eddie who has a son named Loloy. I met him and his son in the area near Domingo Santiago, Sampaloc, Manila. They are from Bulacan but Eddie says life is hard there so he came here with his son. He doesn’t have a wife and even though they have relatives, but they live far from them.
His son, Loloy, collects junks and sells them to the junk shop so that they have something to eat.
On this particular day after work, I went straight to attend bible study. Then, before I went home I went to Eddie’s place to give him food, which I brought home from the office.
He was already lying down, but when he saw me he got up to greet me. I could see from his eyes how happy he was. I asked for a picture with him so we have something that would remind us of this moment. I said to him, “I am happy because this day I was able to bring happiness to someone.”
Jessa Mae Jose is from the local congregation of Sampaloc in Manila. Along with spreading kindness on the streets of Manila, she sings in the choir, a Children’s Worship Service Officer in the area of Altura Main and helps oversee an area Area as part of the KADIWA Organization (Organization of single members over 18)
So I was waiting for my research team at a meeting place near UE when suddenly this child approached me and asked for some spare change. Instead, giving him changed I offered him lunch in a cafeteria nearby.
As we conversed, he told me his name was Exequiel. I asked him why he was begging people for money and I found out that he only wanted to help his father who feeds him along with his 5 siblings. They can only afford rice as his “baon (lunch from home)” in school to be shared with his brothers and sisters. His mother recently left for Davao.
Before going our separate ways, I gave him some money and he said: “Yes, may pambili na kami ng bigas (we now have enough money to buy rice).” A small act of kindness for you might be huge for someone, so never stop being kind!
Princess Ronquillo is from the local congregation of Tondo, the most densely populated district in the city of Manila. She is a member of SCAN (Society of Communicators and Networkers) and a Teacher for the Children’s Worship Service of the Church Of Christ. In addition, she’s one of the District Officers for the Christian Brotherhood International (CBI), an organization for students.
A tricycle ride from our house in Guiguinto, Bulacan, to the main road costs 10 pesos for each person, but, I gave twice the regular fair. These drivers (some of them are very old) spend most of their time serving other people just so they can provide for their family. By the end of the trip, I handed one of the Iglesia Ni Cristo’s PASUGO(God’s Message) magazines as a thank you for the tricycle driver’s kindness to me during the trip.
It’s not about how much you give to people but it’s about how much you care and show kindness for them.
A little tip for their hard work might be a simple thing but every simple thing that is made out of pure love and kindness makes it special!
Reinier Roman Santos sings in the choir in the Church Of Christ’s local congregation in Tayuman, Philippines. He is the Christian Brotherhood International District Director. He commutes regularly and has been paying twice the regular fare on tricycle rides side 2013
At a very young age, I lost my grandparents on both sides of my family. Considering that I was such a grandpa’s girl, my heart remains close to the elderly. Seeing a grandma seated at the side of the street, under the heat of the sun in front of the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Santa Cruz, Metro Manila, I couldn’t help but approach her.
I talked to her, and she confided that her children were in the province and that she was just waiting there in front of the hospital to sell goods, the proceeds of which will go to her loved ones. I gave her a pack of food and, of course, gave her a copy of the God’s Message Magazine, as a gesture of goodwill and as a means of sharing my faith. Then I saw a smile on her face and as she thanked me, I thought, “Thank you, grandma. It’s about time for you to receive all the love you’ve given to your family”
As a choir member, Assistant Chairperson in the local congregation’s KADIWA (organization for single members 18 and above), and the President of the Children’s Worship Service in Tayuman, an area in northern Manila, Shaira A. Salangsang is often busy with the various activities in the Church Of Christ.
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Hopefully, these acts of kindness will prove that beyond the usual problems in life, there are people with big hearts always willing to extend a helping hand.
What’s your act of kindness today? #incgiving #21DayKindnessChallenge
