Through a donation drive dubbed #MayTwentyAko, a group of young Filipinos has been helping communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic
MANILA, Philippines – The initiative of two friends who wanted to help contribute to the fight against the coronavirus has gone a long way since they embarked on their call for P20-donations months ago.
Erika Ente and Charisse Parchamento were inspired to do their part when they saw people getting affected by the coronavirus lockdown in their area around mid-March.
Ente, 27, is a technical officer at the National Anti-Poverty Commission; 19-year-old Parchamento is an incoming college freshman. They became friends through Ente’s youngest sister, who is a close friend of Parchamento. (READ: Indigenous youth find ways to help communities hit by pandemic)
Ente said after she discussed the plan with Parchamento, the latter included her in a group chat with her friends – all former students of Ente at St James Academy in Malabon where she used to teach subjects in humanities. Ente recalled pitching her idea to them at 6:30 in the morning.
After she told them about seeking out P20-donations on social media – with what she thought then was a grand goal of collecting P2,000 – she remembered asking them: “Are we going to do this? Let’s just try it.”
After the group agreed, they started tagging people on Twitter – mostly influencers and celebrities – banking on the power of their retweets. With the question, “Ano ang ambag mo (What’s your contribution)?” and the power of the hashtag #MayTwentyAko, Ente, Parchamento, and their group got shocked when the donations amounted to P5,000 in just one day.
Later on, the group moved to Facebook with the same question and hashtag. They eventually created their own Facebook page.
Unexpected help pour in
Ente shared that the group initially targetted to collect just P2,000 to buy 100 hand sanitizers for homeless people in their community but the amount shot up to P30,000, allowing them to help more people in other areas. (READ: ‘Ambag ng kabataan’: Pasig youth help neediest in barangay during pandemic)
“We were able to buy bread and other groceries that we have distributed to informal workers in Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Bulacan,” Ente said.
Their group now has 13 members. The youngest is aged 12, and the oldest member is Ente’s mother, Beth. Ente’s siblings, Edward and Eunice, are also part of the group.
#MayTwentyAko also branched out to other cities and now has recognized campaigns in North Caloocan, Pampanga, and Cavite.
Expanded beneficiaries
With more donations pouring in, the group decided to expand their projects. The #MayTwentyAko initiative has been providing medical supplies and food to frontliners as well.
“We are also able to purchase 10,000 surgical masks, gallons of alcohol and liquid hand soap, as well as packed lunch and snacks for frontliners of Philippine public hospitals,” Ente said.
Photos from #MayTwentyAko Facebook page
Leaving no special education (SPED) student behind, #MayTwentyAko has also provided activity sheets and face masks to the learners of the Kapitbahayan Elementary School in Navotas City, Ente’s hometown.
“At present, we are looking at printing and binding learning materials for the new modes of learning for the upcoming school year,” Ente said.
To help organizations with the same cause, the group also sent monetary donations to Save San Roque, All Together in Dignity, and Joly Homes Foundation.
Bumpy road to P4 million
To date, the donations to the group totaled P4 million – an amount none of them even dreamed of hitting at the start. But the road to get there wasn’t all that easy.
Following community quarantine guidelines, the team had a hard time mobilizing their relief efforts. Some cities were under strict lockdown, which limited their entry. (READ: While classes are on hold, students find ways to help affected communities)
Manpower has also become an issue at the start of the initiative since minors were prevented from participating in the distribution of goods to ensure their safety.
And of course, there would always be skeptics. No matter how good their intentions were, the #MayTwentyAko team still got flak from people who accused them of pursuing the donation drive for self-promotion, especially when they got more well known.
“We really did not expect to get this kind of reception. However, this did not stop us and inspired us further to reach more communities,” Ente said.
She said the continued donations and the communities that benefit from this help motivate them to continue the initiative.
“Every road trip is a memorable one and is a reminder that we are blessed beyond what we expect and that we should keep on giving,” Ente said.
In their video posted on YouTube, Parchamento challenged her fellow youth to stop being apathetic and start considering the welfare of other people.
To further sustain the projects under #MayTwentyAko, the team explored other income-generating projects such as selling merchandise, and milk tea products. The proceeds are spent on grocery items, hygiene kits, and hospital logistics.
They also embarked on the #MayJerseyAkoproject that allows professional athletes like Ino Comboy of the San Miguel Beermen and Javee Mocon of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to auction their jerseys to gather more funds for the initiative.
As of June, #MayTwentyAko was able to help more than 1,500 families, and over 40 hospitals, in and out of Metro Manila.
Article Credit: rappler