Instead of having drinking spree at home, a group of young professionals dubbed themselves as ‘Shotfriends’ raised money to give food packs to frontliners in Puerto Princesa City.
“Imbes sa alak ipambili itulong nalang namin at liquor ban naman, nagrespond naman kami kaso na feel namin na short pa din ang budget so we reached out with other friends through post na open letter to all kainuman friends sa Puerto Princesa City na may title na ‘Kaibigan Ambagan Na’”, said Rizchell Ann Pocallan, one of the organizers of the group.
Seven barangays in the urban area benefited in the food pack distribution mostly 185 barangay health workers and traffic enforcers last April 16, 2020. The group distributed lunch packs in Barangays Masipag, Matyaga, Mandaragat, San Miguel, Tiniguiban, San Manuel and Bancao-bancao.
“This is our way to acknowledge their efforts at this time of crisis,” Pocallan said.
“Sa una, may mga nagtanung na iilan seryoso ba yan? Sinagot naman sila ng maayos at inexplain ang intensyon namin. Bakit ganun ang way ng pagreach out namin, dahil gusto namin to lighten up the mood ng makakabasa amidst this time of crisis at so much toxicity ng mga news sa paligid at lalo sa social media. Pero madami naman nagtiwala dahil kilala nmn nila kami na seryoso sa ganitong mga bagay,” she said.
Moving forward, the group organized another program dubbed as “Kornbip19 Bayanahin” to raise more funds to help out affected individuals specifically the kids in some barangays in the city.
“Ang pinakatarget talaga naming tulungan ay yung mga pamilyang may mga batang maliliit. Balak namin magbigay ng munting tulong tulad ng gatas at diaper sa mga iilang barangay sa abot ng aming makakaya,” she said.