Siomai to the Rescue!
Kyle John Antonio in Ang Pinoy Stories
May 28, 2020 • 2 min Read
Two months into the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to slow down if not prevent the spread of the Covid 19 virus, the jobs and livelihood of millions of Filipinos have been greatly affected and made them rely on government aid for their essential food needs.
The predicament of these millions of families in Luzon echoes the situation of students stranded in dormitories. Due to the short time span given by the government to halt public transport operations, thousands of students were stuck in Metro Manila. Dormitory rent and food expenses were among the financial burdens they have to face.
In the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila, about 400 students from other provinces quite far from Manila were stranded in their dormitories. I was among those who failed to get a ticket. I was in the middle of finishing the requirements for my thesis when the government announced the lockdown. When I went to the bus terminal to buy a ticket for Isabela, there was none left. My savings were slowly dwindling at that time and I still had to pay the rent at the dorm
A friend in rescue
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” A friend, Thoni Anne Taller, reiterated this quote to the stranded students when she contacted us for help.
Typically, a friend to the rescue would lend cash. But the idea has never sunk in Taller’s mind as she invested php4,100 worth of frozen siomai and encouraged me and fellow senior Airiam Sancho to sell them on the internet. As of May 23, total sales are enough to pay our rents and feed us for the rest of the quarantine.
“Noong nalaman ko na may dalawa akong kaibigan na stranded sa dormitory, hindi ako nag-atubiling tulungan sila. Naisip ko, since reseller naman na ako since 2014, bakit hindi ko sila turuan? Kung kaya ko, alam kong kaya rin nila,” said Taller.
On May 18, we were invited to an online interview with ABS-CBN’s My Puhunan show hosted by Karen Davila. “Ang tunay na kaibigan, blessing ‘yan. Kayo ay mga inspirasyon na kaya pa ring magpatuloy sa buhay sa gitna ng pandemic. Aside sa idea niyo sa business, you should always be thankful din kay Lord Jesus Christ na nagbibigay sa atin ng lakas para magpatuloy,” Davila advised us.
