Rotary Club of San Pedro South (RCSPS) President Guia de Leon shares her experience in collaborating with global company Canva to spread early Christmas cheer
“Anghel po ba kayo?”(Are you an angel?)
Those were the exact words of a bedazzled child that I met in one of the streets of San Pedro City, Laguna. I just offered him a meal, and I think our act of random kindness in Rotary was somehow etched on his young mind already.
I am truly grateful to Canva company for giving us, the Rotary Club of San Pedro South (RCSPS) family, this wonderful opportunity to conduct a feeding project entitled “1,001 Blessings: Maagang Pamaskong Handog ng RCSPS at Canva” on December 2020.
Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and other visual content. The app already includes templates for users to use. The company started on Year 2012 at Sydney, Australia.
True to its project title “1,001 Blessings,” Canva endorsed to us 1,000 pieces of packed meals to be given away to San Pedro City, Laguna. This one-up is actually not in reference to the tales of 1,001 Nights, but of Eat Bulaga’s “Isang libo’t isang tuwa, buong bansa, Eat Bulaga!” (1,001 joys, whole country, Eat Bulaga!)
Trivia: The idiom “a thousand and one” is used to signify a great number. Mathematically, 1,001 is also a sphenic number, which is a positive integer that is the product of three different prime factors. Other sphenic numbers include 42, which is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything.
Since it was perishable, by the way, our team had to act fast. Fortunately, our Project Chair and President-Elect Michelle Saturno Protomartir-Tapang had it all covered.
Team A was composed of Rotaract San Pedro South and some Rotarians who went to Barangay San Antonio. The youngsters headed by Club Secretary Mabeh Angelia Matienzo went house to house, while Past Assistant Governor Fe Aquinde and Rotarian Myrna Gundayao Guzman stayed with Ms. Dolores Lacostales at Sitio San Antonio West. Together, they distributed systematically.
Meanwhile, half of the food packs were delivered to Barangay Riverside. There, it was the Rotaract San Pedro All Star, spearheaded by Charter President Julian Adique, who had managed the fair distribution. Ms. Arlene Ido of Team B also ensured that the most deserving families will be given high priority.
For the remaining box, I personally went to look for deserving individuals. I gave 100 sumptuous meals to the fire victims at Calendola, the evacuees at Poblacion, the Sampaguita vendors at Pacita, and random strangers mainly composed of frontliners and beggars at the National Highway. I drove twice from Muntinlupa Boundary to Pacita Complex, and vice-versa.
There were funny incidents like a beggar telling me that it’s against his principles to accept a gift from a stranger like me. There were some who spoke nothing, but their eyes gleamed with happiness. And yes, there was one pristine moment that I looked like an angel to an unknown child.
I knew, in my heart, that all our recipients loved the meals. I tasted, and sincerely appreciated it. The rice, the chicken and the vegetables were delicious. I also appreciated that Sir Edward Padilla, Chef Nico Rapanot, Chef Russell Encarnacion and Sir Junecynth Salonga of Canva Philippines even put a wooden fork inside. Indeed, it was an Early Christmas Gift of RCSPS and Canva.
Finally, especially during these trying times of COVID-19 and successive typhoons, one small act of kindness can spell a huge difference.
So, next time, when I got asked again if I am an angel, I shall smile and reply sweetly, “Thank you. I belong to an organization that truly serve above ourselves… I am a Rotarian.”
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