By Glemir Sordilla
HAPI Bacolod / HAPI Scholar
On the warm, bright day of June 18, 2021, the City of Bacolod was once again shocked by news of a fire incident that broke out in one of its barangays. Brgy. Bata, Purok Riverside Zone 2 is one of the city’s most heavily populated communities, an area where houses are made of light materials, built close to one another, and where residents are used to storing flammable things for their everyday use. This resulted in their homes easily succumbing to and their other numerous being devoured by the fire.
Thankfully, rescue and aid were swift to arrive at the scene but efforts were still met with difficulty due to narrow pathways and a non-existent water pipeline that would help them put out the blazing hurl of the fire.
“Fire out” was announced after a couple of minutes and 19 houses completely turned into piles of ash and dust. Fortunately, nobody was injured but immediate help was needed by the victims. That’s when the HAPI-Bacolod took initiative.
Since it was an urgent matter, HAPI-Bacolod released a pubmat on its Facebook page with information on how to donate to the affected families. The donation drive, called “19 Pesos for 19 Families,” highlights the dire needs of the 19 families and accentuates the idea that collective effort by generous Bacolodnons will give hope to the fire victims.
Rigorous sharing of the donation drive through personal messages, Facebook timelines, Twitter feeds, and more platforms resulted in HAPI Bacolod collecting 7,248 pesos. This amount was used to buy necessary home and kitchen wares that the families said they badly need. These include essential things such as spoons, forks, basins, pitchers, plates, cups, and bowls.
Hygiene and Contraceptive (HYCON) also reached out to HAPI-Bacolod in order to donate sanitary napkins, condoms, lubes, medicines, face masks, face shields, and alcohols. These kits were divided equally among the families.
“19 Pesos For 19 Families” would not be a successful donation drive without the people working behind the scenes and adjusting to the urgency of this matter – most especially to all of the people who donated and put their unwavering trust in HAPI-Bacolod. May this event spark hope to those in Brgy. Bata in rebuilding not just their houses but also their dreams.
