GIVING BACK
BECOMING HEROES OF ONE ANOTHER A
By Judy Anne Santos
t the height of the pandemic in 2020, I was incredibly vocal about the plight of those who cannot afford to stay home to keep the virus from spreading. They have two choices, to die of COVID or die of hunger. Drown or burn. While I subscribe to the idea of the lockdown, I felt the need to highlight that for many Filipinos, the privilege of staying at home does not exist. This is the truth a lot of us would rather ignore: that there is a lot to be done AND a lot we can do to help the Philippines get back on its feet.
68 THE FILIPINO | #14 2021
“CHILL. Wala ka namang magagawa. Ang swerte mo na nga, nandiyan ka sa Europa. Why should you care, e umalis ka na nga?” In the nearly two decades I have been living in Europe, I’ve heard the same rhetoric from people who do not think I have any right nor capacity to care
nor dream of contributing, on the ground in the Philippines. I almost believed them. Hero App: Born out of hope The inspiration of Hero came one day on my way to the fresh market. While on a tram I came across an interview of a masseuse on one of those Filipino
