A kind man gives money to another shopper who quickly added milk for his kids in his cart. The kind deed was caught on camera by another shopper who shared the story as inspiration to others.

In this time of COVID-19 crisis, a lot of people lost their jobs and are left with very little money to buy food. Many are hungry and worried about what they could feed their families, especially after the 1-month enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) got extended!

Kindness in the Time of COVID-19

Marianne Ercillo is at SM Southmall in Las Piñas when she witnessed the beautiful act of kindness. She was already lining up at the counter when she noticed that the guy in white who was also waiting in line at the cashier moved to the other line to discreetly give the guy in green some bills.

According to Marianne, she isn’t sure how much the guy in white gave the other guy but she was sure the bills were blue (Php1k). Then, the guy in white simply went back to his line, as if nothing happened. It was a great moment to witness!

The guy in green hurried back to the aisles, leaving his cart at the counter. Then, he came back with two packs of milk and thanked the guy in white for giving him money as he was able to buy more milk for his baby. Isn’t that sweet?

“Kay sir na naka white, mabuhay po kayo! May God bless you more! Indeed, angels are among us. Kay manong na naka dark green, kapit lang po.🤗🙏🏼❤” Marianne wrote.

What is ‘Mabuhay’?

In the Philippines, people would say, ‘Mabuhay!’ but this confuses foreigners because the directly translation of the word to English is ‘live’.

But in the Philippines, ‘Mabuhay’ is more than just the translation of that Filipino word. It also means a greeting equivalent to ‘Hello!’ and also means ‘Long live!’ or ‘May you live long!’

A farmer responds to calls for bayanihan as he offers all the vegetables in his farm for free!

While COVID-19 has greatly affected our lives, it has also brought out both the best and the worst in people. But let’s focus on the best – such as the bayanihan spirit that’s spreading across the country, with people helping each other in this great time of need.

Farmer Offers Free Vegetables

In Malasiqui, Pangasinan, a farmer is going viral for offering all the vegetables in his farm for free – so that his neighbors and everyone in the community will not go hungry amid this COVID-19 crisis.

Popularly known as “Erning Kalabaw” in their locality, 31-year-old Joel Espinoza was inspired by the call of controversial personality Francis Leo Marcos to do the “Mayaman Challenge”. This inspired him to help, saying that he might not be rich but he is willing to share his blessings to feed their community.

“Napanuod namin yung video na inuudyukan mga mayayaman na tumulong sa mga nangangailangan ngayong krisis. Mahirap lang kami pero yung mga kabarangay namin wala nang maulam kaya kung ano yong sobra-sobra sa amin, pinamimigay na lang namin,” said Espinoza.

Coming from a family of farmers, Espinoza owns a 1.5-hectare farm in Barangay Binalay. He actually sells buko in Candon City, Ilocos Sur but during the lockdown, they were unable to leave town. Since there are also no satellite markets in the area, their neighbors are having a hard time finding food.

Since only buyers of their products were allowed in, Espinoza decided that he should just give it away to their neighbors so that no one gets hungry!

“May mga relief goods pero kulang pa rin po. May mga wala nang maulam,” he said. “Kadalasan mahigit 200 kilos ang naha-harvest namin dito na talong every other day. At sa loob ng dalawang araw, napitasan na ng mga kabarangay namin ang kalahating ektarya.”

After his video went viral, several OFWs also sent help for the people in his barangay to buy rice and other needs. Wow!

What’s the “Mayaman Challenge”?

The “Mayaman Challenge” originated from the dare by Francis Leo Marcos who asked rich people to ‘burn’ their money to help the poor.

A janitor walked several kilometers to reach a mall to withdraw his salary but was sad to learn the money isn’t in his account yet. Dejected, he planned to go back home and try again the next day but found help in a kind woman who gave him some money for groceries!

Netizen @itsjustknix shared the heartbreaking story of how she encountered the janitor after she was done doing her grocery run at KCC Mall, a mall that’s apparently in Zamboanga City. In her post, @itsjustknix said that the old man approached her, asking for help in withdrawing his salary from his ATM.

She readily assisted him at the LandBank machine but was brokenhearted to see that there’s nothing in the account. He had walked from Guiwan, a barangay that’s several kilometers away, and had hoped that his salary as janitor at an agency was already credited in his account.

Feeling sad for the old man and sorry that she was not able to bring more money, @itsjustknix gave him Php2k. She intended to use the money to buy gas and LPG, but those had to wait because this man’s family surely needed food.

The old man refused to accept at first but she insisted. Nearly in tears, the old man told her to remove her mask so he could see her face. He wanted to see how she looks because he wants to remember her forever, for the kindness she bestowed on him. She smiled and told him he didn’t have to remember her face, but deep inside she also wanted to cry.

“Maam, hindi ko na inalala na aalis ako dito ng walang mauuwi sa pamilya ko. Talagang lalakad na sana ako pauwi kase wala naman talaga akong mabibili. Pero salamat talaga maam,” the old man said, thanking her for the help.

Moved by the experience, @itsjustknix urged people to be generous in this time of crisis

“To those who are fortunate, please bear in mind that our excess goes a long way to those in need. So please, please, please, help out in any way that you can. Now is not the time to hoard and be stingy,” @itsjustknix ended the Twitter thread.

What is Stingy?

Stingy is the term used for someone who is unwilling to give or share with others.