The best gift that Ondoy gave to the Philippines is to wash away all levels of pretension. What was left after was the true nature of our fellow neighbors. In a span of 48 hours, we learned about the countries such as Vietnam and Singapore who really cared for nations like us. Locally, the true ramifications of corruption were revealed as there were not enough emergency funds because they were bamboozled for booze. The heavy rains also set in a forced catharsis or reexamination of one’s core value as many were stuck in their homes or cars and faced with their own thoughts or unfortunately the nagging ones of their partners. These moments allowed me and you to reveal who or what we really cared about or cared much less for. Who did you call or text within the first few hours? Was it your mom or your dog Fifi? Did you pray for your coworkers? Who did you first check on Facebook were doing okay? Who would you want near to us if this was the great flood to sweep us all away?
Within this much needed standstill of life, many busybody people were also able to learn about the people within their own households. Couples were able to iron out each other’s quirks as they argued and made up while trapped in a traffic jam for more than 10 hours. Parents were able to see how heroic their children could be as they swam to rescue their neighbors. Also, Ondoy revealed who among your friends really cared about you by calling up for your safety. It was time to be astonished at what truly lay in the heart of who sit or even sleep beside us every day, whether it be bad or good.
A Show Of Hands
Another gift of revelation from Ondoy was a show of what the hands of the youth and media can do. From hours of self-absorbed messages of the rice that stuck in one’s tooth during lunch or tapping away at Mafia wars, the hands of the youth were now used to make status messages of where one can donate to what were the contributions most dire. Instead buying sprees,giving sprees were underway as clothes, rice and medicine were wrapped and delivered to the Red Cross. Meanwhile, singers strummed their guitars to inspire or at the very least amuse the volunteers.
The media made good use of its hands to push out election politics and tsismis and put good news in the forefront with tales of everyday heroes stepping up for others. And we at Supreme will be making good use of our hands by gathering your Ondoy relief stories. Please donate your stories and artwork to feedback@supreme.ph that will make us cry or laugh with a flood of tears at the revelations that you learned about yourself or others during this disaster. If we gather enough stories, we’ll compile it and publish a charity book to give donations for Ondoy victims. So, please give us a show of hands for your Ondoy relief stories that you wish to pledge to us.
Your Hands: A Call For Creatives
As we’ve seen, there are a lot that we can do with our hands because it is what makes us supremely human compared to the animals. We can swim and carry kids out of murky waters, wrap plastic bags and deliver canned goods. Hopefully, your 10 fingers don’t stop becoming idle after these Ondoy weeks. So what can your hands do after Ondoy? If the drive to help is in still there, you can lend your artistic hand to a newly opened network site called Oneline.ph by Ideals Creative. The site is a place where creatives such as photographers, graphic designers, writers, and marketing people can pitch their ideas, pictures and other works to non-profit organizations such World Wildlife Fund and Starbucks. NGOs can also post their briefs for eager creatives. Thus, an online dynamic is born for NGOs and young creatives to reach out to each other. It is a true testament to this new no-douchebag society.
If you are still stumped as to what to do with your opposable thumbs, my advice is to join an outtreach organization in your community, school or workplace. You’ll naturally fall into where your skills can find use for. As typhoon Ondoy has taught us, we will never be lacking in neighbors who need a helping hand.
* * *
Visit Oneline at http://oneline.ph.
* * *
Ideas Alive Talk with Budjette Tan and Jomike Tejido tentatively moved to October 10, 3-5 p.m., Powerbooks Megamall.
* * *
Flood me with e-mail messages at readnow@supreme.ph.