I was also informed of the possibility of being deployed to Daanbantayan Camp until this initiative ends, but I hope I won’t be, for I want to see the kids again. Daanbantayan team still had their session today.
Alongside the news of not having a session today in San Remigio was my friend’s message that an anonymous sponsor contacted her about giving Jollibee donations to the kids in the camp after he saw my friend’s post about the children. So even if our psychosocial activities this morning were cancelled, another way of visiting the kids had to happen—by distributing Jollibee to them.
Early in the morning, we gathered outside the Jollibee Bogo branch to make our orders, which could take up to three hours. It was eight in the morning, and our goal was to get our order by eleven because we had to travel back to the camp at exactly lunchtime.
Some of us were already conditioned to rest today, so asking for volunteers was quite hard earlier. In a fortunate series of events, 
We had our orders of 92 Jollibee packs worth ₱8,000. We have approximately 50 children in the psychosocial activities, and they were the priorities in this distribution since we already know them. The excess could be given to the other kids once we completed giving to the priorities. We made our order immediately, but on the first attempt, we were declined by the manager because many bulk orders had already been placed since yesterday and were not yet finished. A little while later, however, they accepted our order when they knew we would get them by eleven. It was enough time, so we placed it successfully.
The bad part was that we had to wait outside for three hours since we don’t live in the area and no standby places were available. We were also doubtful about spending three hours in the branch because aftershocks were still ongoing with different gaps.
So we talked for hours about the earthquake experience and tried to process it without structure. Time passed shortly, and our conversation lengthened because of my friend’s funny story about the quake. I learned how much core memories we have from the quake, and some were hilarious enough to make us burst into laughter.
When eleven was near, we decided to visit the department store beside Jollibee to search for drinks for the kids. Our Jollibee orders didn’t have drinks since they weren’t available, so an option of buying separate drinks was made. We bought nine boxes of Zest-O worth ₱700, with ten drinks each. We made sure all children would receive fair food.
If you can remember, 
After we got our order, we searched for a tricycle outside. Luckily, my friend’s father passed by, and we planned with him to transport the food to San Remigio. We tried to make our transportation fare lesser so that we wouldn’t be short of money.
When we arrived at the camp, we searched for some of the kids we know who are old enough to follow our instructions. When we were able to get a few of them, we told them to spread around the camp, call everyone they know who participated in the psychosocial activities, and bring them to our area. We decided not to coordinate with DSWD in the camp because we didn’t want to delay the distribution. This was a private donation, so it could be in our will to collaborate or not.
The kids gradually arrived at our tricycle and lined up. We waited for some kids we specifically knew before we started the distribution. We have our own kids in the camp—specific kids we facilitate and observe every day—so searching for them was part of this distribution to ensure they got their shares.
We split our parts of the distribution to ensure a smooth flow. My friends handled the Jollibee food packs, the other handled the utensils,
We then started our distribution, and kids lined up in chaos at the start.
They wanted to get their meals already, so controlling them by reminding them to line up to get their shares was helpful. We gave the food packs first, then the juices. Some mothers of the kids were also present, but since we knew the children we were giving the food packs to, unknown mothers were not entertained first.
The chaos started when the mothers arrived—not because of the kids. They insisted on getting their shares without their children in line, and when my friend declined them, they got mad. We know the children individually, so any identification as one of the participants in the camp was rightly confirmed by us. No cheating allowed.
It was actually a chaotic distribution because of the parents. We could handle the children ourselves and the mothers who patiently waited for them, but those in angry mode made the process hard to follow.
We actually got lost in the crowd when they stopped lining up, so the food packs were no longer controlled. We got sad because by the end of the distribution, three children arrived—children we actually know—and they didn’t get their shares. In total, out of 50 priorities, only 44 of them received Jollibee food packs. I was guilty that we couldn’t give them Jollibee when they arrived because the box was already empty.
Even if the distribution didn’t go as perfectly as we planned, it was still a day of meaning and hope. The laughs during the wait, the chaos of giving, and the smiles of those who received are all stitched together as memory that reminded me why we do this in this time. Sometimes, as I realized, even when things fall short, just like our cancelled session, kindness still finds its way to reach the children who matter most and in need of light.