TBK gives- Kawang gawa- Helping others without expecting anything in return

The Book and food I took to Jesus while he was in COV 19 Quarantine on arrival in Bahrain

I have been meaning to write this blog for a while as its a Pinoy concept I think the world could benefit from. I think Chester taught me the phrase, "Kawang Gawa", which means to help others without expecting anything in return. In England we call it "Paying it Forward". Chester also added another phrase- "Kabayan help Kabayan" , which is also very true. My Kuya Coco reminded me of another word in Tagalog- "Bayanihan" which means a group of people doing good deeds- see my footer at the bottom of the blog. Often you see Kabayan asking for help for a sick relative- "Bayanihan tayo”. I think you get the idea! So clearly if I was to become a Kabayan I had to embrace these important values, But how?!

        Aimae and her mum with my first donation back in 2018

Back in 2018 a guy called Jam Fernandez, who was a Pastry Chef at L'Hotel in Bahrain with Kuya Coco, but is originally from El Nido in Palawan approached me to donate to his charity HOPE. I was happy to do so and my money was used , along with donations from many OFW around the world to buy books, Tsinellas, pens and paper for the kids at Aberawan Elementary school. Jam asked if I would like to sponsor a child at the school and they selected a young lady who was very Matalino ( bright) , Masipag ( hard working ) but poor called Aimae . For 3 years I have paid her school fees, uniform, books etc. She studied hard and I met her in 2019 at a HOPE event when I was in El Nido on vacation. I get regular updates from Jam and the school and she is doing really well winning several awards. As if studying at school was not enough for a 10 year old she also takes in Laundry to make some money to support her mother and sister!

             Aimea with one of the HOPE team who visited her school in 2021

When I was staying in Palawan in December 2018 I also met some very polite students who were doing their on job training (OJT) at El Nido Cove. I asked the hotel staff where they were from and they said BNHS ( Barotuan National High School). They explained as part of their curriculum they had to work in all the departments ( Reception, Restaurant, Housekeeping). I started chatting to the students and the staff told them I was a regular guest there and worked in the Middle East. They were very polite and had good English, worked hard and were always smartly dressed. I then went to stay in some other parts of Palawan and returned 2 weeks later to stay in another Hotel near the airport at Lio , run by the same company, Ayala . Who should I meet but Jhoanna , Grecil and Rodel ( or Catriona Black as they called him!)- the students from BNHS who were completing the final part of their OJT there.

                                      Jhoanna and Grecil

We chatted again and I asked what they wanted to do after High School. I was really sad that they wanted to go to University but as it was a 7 hour drive from their home and they could not afford the transport and accommodation in Puerto Princessa ( Boarding house). So I paid for Jhoanna to go to Palawan State University back in 2019 and she will complete her degree in 2023.

Today , as I write this, my Anak , Jhoanna turned 21- I am so proud, and so upset I could not be there in person for her special day, but I got her, Grecil and Kit to send me the photos!

                                              Ate Jhe at 21

In 2021 the COV 19 pandemic hit and Grecil lost her job at a restaurant when the Philippines was closed to Tourists. Rodel was by then working in another hotel which was forced to close. His sister , Rhoda, who has a small child, was also affected as she worked at the Glamping site on the same beach as where Grecil and Rodel worked. I sent them all money so they could buy food. Grecil tried to set up a business selling smoothies and later went into Pig farming ( like Jhoanna) but ended up with no money! In February 2021 , she moved to my rented house in Puerto with Jhoanna to clean, unpack my boxes when they arrived from Bahrain, and buy extra furniture. 

                          Grecil cleaning my bedroom in Puerto

Eventually Grecil decided she too wanted to go to University in Puerto and started at Western Philippine University in 2021. Soon after that I helped out TJ, a friend of Jhoanna,  who was struggling to pay her electricity and Mobile phone bills as PSU switched to on line learning.   In September 2021 Jhoanna's cousin, Kit Campos,  will be joining our "family" in Puerto. He wants to join the Navy and I will be assisting with his expenses. Sadly I could not get a Visa in February 2021  ( as required by COV 19- previously Tourists did not need a visa to enter the Philippines) and so we gave up the house in Puerto at the end of February and the Jhoanna put my 57 boxes , furniture and Bicycle in storage in Jhoanna's boarding house there . 

                                         TJ ( she is shy)

                                    Kit Campos, my final scholar for 2021

Back here in Bahrain I have been practicing my Kawang Gawa for years by employing Phillipino's (OFW)  as my houseboys ( Patrick, Corleen, Jake, Ram, Gaby, Joshua, Lee to name but a few) and feeding them and taking them out for Eid, Christmas and having Birthday parties etc.

                                                           

                                                                                 Jesus

Recently a new OFW arrived in Bahrain, Jesus , and so I took food to him in his quarantine hotel as well as toiletries and candy and chips. He asked if I could make his favourite Sinigang which became a real team effort. Using the Social Media I asked my Kabayan where to buy the ingredients and had advice from Jam, Chester, Elizabeth and Ate Tess . When I was not sure how to prepare the Taro Chester emailed me instructions and when I did not know how to prepare the Kangkong leaves Ate Rachelle made me a short Video to show me how to himay the leaves! Special thanks to all of you!

                                             

                                      Rachelle shows how to himay the Kangkong leaves

I even had 2 Kabayan in Lulu supermarket show me what Kangkong was! The result was well received by Jesus who is now out of Quarantine and working at Texas Chicken in Bahrain. The other day he came around to finish the rest of the Sinigang and I gave him two packets of Sinigang mix to take home and bought him some food. He did not get paid until the end of the month and had no food at home. His mother was on the phone as we drove around Bahrain asking why he had not sent her any money yet. Once a Phillipino goes to work overseas he is expected to send money home to support the rest of his family there!

A few months ago , an Indian friend in Bahrain, Max, caught Cov 19 and so I  practiced my Kawang Gawa by making Butter Chicken curry for him and delivering it to his hotel along with bags of sweets. Some of you will have read his blogs where he explained what it was like to be in Quarantine and how nice it was to have someone deliver his favourite Indian food and Candy!

                             

 The Photo Max took of my first Candy delivery - there was 2 of everything as he was sharing a room with another guy!

   Ronnie studying for his Nursing Diploma at the Philippine Institute on his day off

My final case of Kabayan helping Kabayan was when a friend wanted to change his job from Barista to Nurse. I was very impressed with his desire to improve himself and the fact that after working 6 nine hour shifts from 7 pm to 4 am he had 4 hours sleep before completing his nursing diploma every Friday on his one day off. He asked if he could come and use my laptop one day to update his CV, and when I saw the quality of his CV I suggested I could improve the layout a little. I also told him about my friend Chester, in Marikina , who was a Graphic Designer and said that, for a small fee, Chester would greatly improve the design and layout of the CV. He agreed to pay Chester and I sent him the CV with Ronnie's preferred layout that he had seen on the web. Normally the first thing Chester does when I ask him to create a piece of work is to prepare the invoice so I was really amazed  when he said he would not charge as "Kabayan Help Kabayan"

                                 The original CV

Ronnie was really impressed with the new improved CV but I said it would be better with a new Photo of him in his Nursing uniform. Corleen agreed to take the photo free of charge and set up our Photographic lighting and camera / Tripod etc. after our Boodle Fight. We sent the Photo to Chester and the next morning we received the final CV which Ronnie has been busy sending to Canada to get a job as a nurse there. We wish him all the best for his new career. 

              The new CV- a team effort by TBK, Chester and Corleen!

So I think I have truly learnt what it means by Kawang Gawa, Bayanihan, Bayanihan tayo and Kabayan help Kabayan. My special thanks to all my Kabayan like Chester, Corleen, Coco, Rachelle, Elizabeth, Ronnie , Jesus for role modelling these important values to me.

The anonymous Max

Better still Max messaged me the other day to say he had made a Barbecue for his colleagues at work and given them all small gifts after seeing me do the same. Then I had a message from another friend , James in Bali, telling me he had followed my lead by sponsoring a Pinoy girl at college .I also remembered one of my ex Pinoy coworkers, when I told her about HOPE who gave me 100 Bd for the charity when I headed off to Palawan on Vacation. Salamat Ate Hazel.

So it seems that Kawang Gawa is spreading- maybe you could apply it next week- let me know how you get on in the comments or by email.

Until next time- Ingat Palagi, Kita Kits and stay safe