JOBLESS SOCIETY Feeds People on Streets During the Sinulog 2009 Festival

By: Tyra ‘nell E. Pille

NOT a lot of people recognized how lucky they are for the clothes they wear, the four walls and roof of their house that shelters them from the unpredictable mood of the weather, and most importantly, for the food they eat. In fact, a lot of these people complained for what they currently have, even unmindful of how the lesser fortunate ones strive even harder to get the things the more fortunate ones possess. Moreover, notwithstanding the nonstop struggles of those who are living along the streets for survival’s sake; others still want more. They just can’t seem to get enough of life.

Nevertheless, in the midst of the world’s selfishness and competition, there are still those who rejoice over the happiness of others and who exalt in sharing their blessings to those who have lesser in life no matter how small their possessions may seem. True to such statement, five benevolent volunteers from the JOBLESS SOCIETY (JS) continued their generous acts of sharing their blessings to those who have less financially in life. Jobless as they may seem, it never hampered them from extending a little generosity to the children, vendors, beggars and families living and at the same time making a living along the streets of Jones Avenue to the corners of Sr. Santo Niño church located at the down town area of Cebu.

Members of the organization never seem to get enough of the smiles of those who received the Mac Donald hamburgers they gave away in their last year’s humanitarian activity during the Sinulog Grand Parade on Mango to Jones Avenue, and that is similarly the main reason why they decided to do the same activity during the Sinulog 2009 Festival.

January 17, despite the scorching heat of the sun and the myriad crowd that eagerly gathered around the JS volunteers for a free sumptuous lunch of 2 puso (hanging rice) and a big bola-bola, a concoction of pork meat and spices in a fist-size ball fried into golden hush brown, they unmindfully fed a lot of people attending the festival. The scene looked like a boodle fight on the side walk, except that it’s more meaningful and memorable than a real boodle fight. The plastic bags-full of packed lunches that the guys struggled to carry for about an hour were emptied within minutes. The noise of the crowd in a great effort to get their share of good lunch seemed deafening. But then, this was amazingly followed with a sudden silence to devour the food they received.

The sweat, the hunger and the struggle to keep the crowd under control among other challenges the volunteers encountered from the charitable act were all paid off when a good number of people gave them their sincerest smile of appreciation and gratitude for feeding them. Their brightly-lit facial expressions were candidly captured in photos. The words of “thank you” from the happy recipients inspired the team to organize similar activities in the future.

The adventure did not stop where the people walked away with satisfaction and filled with gratitude. The jobless in philanthropic action, namely, Joel Hayag, Zyra Homedia, Darwin Jayme, Ruby Kareen Basilla and Marjohn Presbitero walked home with great pride. Despite the long walk they took due to the fact that they didn’t catch any tartanilla, a wooden carriage pulled by a horse used for transportation around the down town area in the city, the five felt an inner happiness and excitement in them. Thus, the overall experience made the mission even more unforgettable for the JOBLESS SOCIETY. After all, it’s not just the convenience of one’s self that really matters, neither their personal feelings nor their situation that really matters to these volunteers, but it’s how they made others feel with what they did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Her weird and at times tactless choices of words, yet in a more abstract manner and extremely aesthetic style in writing made it more interesting and attractive to the readers who tends to be more appreciative with literature. Born with an iron fist, an out-of-this-world creativity, and an odd sense of artistry, Tyra, tough on the outside but soft on the inside, proved to be a visual artist and a writer at the same time who finds happiness and sanctuary in playing with words in her self-composed songs, quotations and poetry among others, and in mixing the shades in her undaunted canvass, which she calls “her life.” For her, imagination is simply a kaleidoscope, simply unlimited and free.

You may check more about the writer and her writings in her blogs: Kaleidoscope of Image and Teaching Life