Bigger and Bigger Circles
Imagine yourself in the shoes of a student in the midst of this pandemic — a student whose parents were rendered jobless due to workplace retrenchment, or one who is struggling with the demands of online learning. Imagine yourself as a frontliner at your local hospital — one that is rapidly losing staff and supplies in an area experiencing COVID-19 spikes. Imagine yourself in a community ravaged by natural disasters — one whose resources for relief and rescue have been depleted in the fight against the pandemic.
It is no secret that the Coronavirus Pandemic has upended normal life for all of us, some by a greater extent than others. In times like these, any form of help can go a long way, whether it be providing financial and academic support for students, linking donors to hospitals for frontliners, or pitching in the relief effort for communities.
The times call for one to go beyond their own circle — a call to pull each other up in shared hardship, a call to which UP Circuit has responded to.
Circuit Help
In the hopes of pulling up its own in their own times of need, UP Circuit created Circuit Help — an initiative aimed at gathering the needs of its members who are most affected by the pandemic. “In these unusual times, member welfare is of utmost priority,” said Andrei Calabano, Circuit President for ‘19-’20.
Released as a form, it allows members to request for financial and academic assistance such as funds for daily needs and mobile load for internet access. These requests are then forwarded to Circuit’s alumni, who are enjoined to chip in and help those in need.
“[Circuit Help] really helped me [with] easing my problems in a way. [I’m] very thankful for Circuit because of this,” said one beneficiary of the program.
Dissemination of the form is paramount, especially when internet accessibility is variable and unpredictable. Apart from being posted in Circuit’s Facebook group, the form has been sent to individual members through personal and text messages via batch representatives.
Seven requests for assistance have thus been received and granted by the organization, wherein Php 720.00 has been spent for load assistance.
Hospital Bayanihan
As for healthcare workers, the need for medical supplies and equipment is more important than ever before. Recognizing the need to link hospitals to potential donors, several alumni of UP Circuit had teamed up to form Hospital Bayanihan — a public database designed to do exactly that.
Operable like a spreadsheet, hospitals were invited to provide figures of their current stock of supplies as well as requests for items in need, whereas the database’s visibility on social media was ensured through dedicated teams for data mining, calls, and publicity, among others. With the help of Circuit’s resident members, hospitals in need and interested donors were found and contacted — all in the hope of ensuring that more people would find the initiative and pitch in.
Since it was first launched, Hospital Bayanihan has contacted over 1,500 hospitals across the country. It has since partnered with at least seven other organizations including the Department of Health, and is now integrated into a single website called Covid Mapper. All of the teams’ work paved the way for hospitals to receive much needed supplies from donors throughout the country.
Circuit Week
Going beyond students and workers in need, Circuit also had its fair share for the community — giving back in a Circuit Week fit for unconventional times. In lieu of the annual celebration of the organization’s achievements on its founding anniversary, the Executive Board chose to focus on the welfare of its members as well as helping out a nearby community.
“We were hesitant to proceed… since we are trying to be sensitive to the things happening around us, but I think this awareness is what encouraged us to push through… and lend our helping hand,” recounted Ysabela Coronel, UP Circuit’s ‘19-’20 Membership VP and Circuit Week Co-Head.
Capping off this year’s Circuit Week is the conduct of a community outreach program in partnership with Tulong Kabataan, a student-run organization that organizes relief efforts for people struck by calamities. Circuit was able to raise Php 40,000 in a week-long donation drive, which was then given to Tulong Kabataan for the purchase and distribution of relief goods for residents of Barangay Central in Quezon City.
When we initiate something, we would always start small, and our reach grows larger only when we have the intentions to match it.Smaller circles could be one’s family, community, or even taking care of oneself, and we would then expand and bridge out into bigger circles. Once we’ve helped ourselves, we would then be prepared to help others.
Amidst the challenges that come with the times, UP Circuit is merely one of many others who have heeded the call to pull each other up. In the case of its initiatives, help reached circles of people of different sizes. We started from the inside with our own members — helping to pull each other up, and inspiring compassion and solidarity among each other along the way.
Expanding outward, we then provided assistance to others in need — healthcare workers braving the onslaught of COVID-19. Alumni and resident members teamed up, and extended help in a way that could only be described as “uniquely EEE,” or “uniquely UP.” Then again, that’s the point of our education — to heed the call of the people, to serve the people.
Finally, Circuit pushed onward into a bigger circle — helping out a community in need. Truly, the times call for one to go beyond their circle, and may we never tire of heeding it.
What is the moral of this story? Start small, and aim for bigger and bigger circles.
