Steemph.cebu's Gift Giving Day: My Personal Account and Perspective

Hello Steemians!

Introduction

Kim T. Ybañez here (@ybanezkim26) and I would like to share my personal account and perspective about what happened yesterday (December 17, 2017). An event initiated by @steemph.cebu entitled Gift Giving Day was finally realized and I happened to be there as a witness (not to be confused with steemit's witness).

The core leaders of @steemph.cebu has been very active in outreach programs and civic initiatives. I have no doubt about that because they never missed to provide an update about their projects. For this activity alone, 2 updates (Update 1 and Update 2) were posted aside from the original post. On top of that, there were also updates provided by the individual members which were posted on their personal blogs. Because of these updates, I was fully informed that the activity is not a joke.

I decided to join and be a volunteer on the last minute because I was supposed to have a prior commitment. To add salt to the wound, I am socially-awkward and I haven't met all these people yet. Interactions with @themanualbot is through Messenger group chat only and the rest is though steemit comments and replies. As they say, everything happens for a reason.

Why? You might be asking right now.

First Reason: My prior commitment got cancelled due to Tropical Depression Urduja.
Second Reason: My latest post entitled Existence of Art Even in Mundane Places made it to @curie!

I have all the reasons to join now that the universe has conspired for me. Anyway, I will now share my perspective about the activity before we will be lost in the rumblings of my head. I'll divide it into two parts: the first part is more on passive observation and the second part is more on active involvement.

First Part: Passive Observation

I arrived at the venue (DSWD Building, Mandaue City, Cebu) with only @themanualbot and @jassennessaj as the familiar ones. As I've said, I haven't met these people yet. Once the program started, I was just at the corner; watching and observing.

I'm like a journalist in the field who's trying to take in every single thing he can process. In my case, I'm absorbing all the positivity in the venue. Children laughing, steemians enjoying, and mothers smiling; these are the sights that made me overwhelmed. I have this explosion of the senses. Everything's a mess in my head. A beautiful mess. A clutter of it's own. It's more than I could decipher.

I have to add it here my observations: the quirky and bubbly attitude of @purepinay and @bellatravelph, the leadership prowess of @jassennessaj, and the chill and laid-back persona of @themanualbot. Forgive me if these are the only people I can mention. It's because they're the ones familiar to me.

As the program continued, I took tons of pictures. I thought that I should document everything. But as it went on, I became more engaged. If I'm not mistaken, it was during the distribution of 10 kg of rice when I started to be involved. This leads to the second part.

Second Part: Active Involvement

It's this part that I enjoyed the most. Seeing the families especially the kids happy when the goods were distributed, I can't help myself from smiling.

It's this part that I feel I'm part of something bigger than myself. It's this part that I envisioned to be bigger than myself.

I never contributed anything of monetary value to realize the activity and yet, I feel overjoyed thinking that everything happens because of steemit.

The social-awkwardness thing is still there, but I have been slowly overcoming it. To my fellow steemians who were present at that time, forgive me if I didn't socialize. I'm still a work-in-progress. I'm still in the process of getting out of my shell. Don't worry; I'll mingle with you all the next time we meet.

Let's go back to the activity (enough with the personal drama). It was a full package. There were games and prizes were given to those who participated. Ten (10) kg of rice, toiletries and soaps, groceries, and cash assistance were all provided to the 12 chosen families. Take note that it's 6 families in the original post and then 8 in the update, but it's actually 12. It's a perfect gift any family would want to receive this season. Dinner was also served to those families.

After the program, I always take photos of children who were so happy with the gifts. They tried to lift the packages with their little hands. You can really feel how ecstatic they were. It was a sight to behold. Thank you @steemph.cebu for organizing such kinds of activities.

Here other photos that captured my heart:

The Ending Ritual

After the chosen families left the venue, I thought that we would all be going home. I was wrong. There was this choreographed feat involving candles. The lights were off and we were to form a heart shape out of the lighted candles. The outcome was magnificent!

Sending and spreading all the love from Cebu!

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Here's my only proof of existence:

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@jassennessaj, @ninyea, @itinerantph, @mikekenlytungal, @jaderpogi, @rezjons, @leryam12, @maedian, @julsmlz, @philiparniebinag, @lullettematz, @dwaeji-aizelle, @babybear, @themanualbot, @junebride, @fernwehninja, @hillaryaa, @smaeunabs, @ted7, @micch, @purepinay, @rafael.espina, @mosheheart, @belvaj, @maimaimaichan, and @josejirafa. You guys were awesome! I wish to know you more, personally.

With much positivity,
@ybanezkim26