Joy is in short supply right now, and very much needed.
I lowkey love charity work. I love building things and building things for charity work hits WAY different. I always feel weird about posting about charity work because if you do it wrong it’s so performative and off putting. People are still people, even when they are accepting charity, and I want to be mindful about making sure they don’t feel exploited so that their dignity remains intact.
Catanduanes is an island province whose location makes it prone to multiple typhoons a year. As you can imagine, regularly being bombarded by typhoons, makes it difficult to maintain proper infrastructure and development, making it one of the poorer regions in the Philippines.
This week we put together food bags for 405 families! A few days ago we set up shop in 84 degree heat with 100% humidity, a bunch of food, bags, and clothes, some water and fried bananas and set to work. It was hot and sticky, and so, so worth it!
Yesterday was distribution day. We loaded up a pickup and an SUV, then drove through town, hopping out whenever we saw someone who looked like they could use a little lift. It was all vibes, no master plan. Just people trying to drop joy, not for optics, but for heart!
Each bag contained:
2kg of rice
4 packets of noodles
2 cans of sardines
1 can of sausage
1 packet of Swiss Miss
My most favorite things in the bag?
Sardines:
One year I went to a medical mission on the same island and I met a Mama holding her very skinny baby. The baby had a goiter on his neck that was 50% the size of his head. His Mama told me that he hadn’t been able to swallow properly for weeks. There are a number of things that could have caused this but in poor regions like this, iodine deficiency is a likely culprit, something that could easily be solved with seafood or iodized salt. Sardines? Not just protein, maybe prevention.
Swiss Miss:
Tiny sweetness. A reminder that joy is allowed here, too. Joy ripples. You share a chocolate packet, maybe someone shares a smile, and the day tilts a degree brighter.
In the Philippines, support bags like this are common political marketing tactics. It’s not election season right now and we saw people looking on the bags for names for who gave it to them. Sometimes people would ask what we were running for, or if we were from Congress, which of course we were not. We just said we wanted to give a little bit of help! And then drove away. But yesterday wasn’t about credit, so we left our names off the bags (which happens a lot more than you think in places like this), and I pushed a no photo policy for the recipients, unless they explicitly requested as such.
My mom and I also brought several boxes of Biscoff cookies that we got from Costco and every time we passed by some kids we would open the window and hand some out. These are legit my favorite cookie and now a bunch of kids got to eat them too! Random joy drop? SIGN ME UP!
Some of my favorite and most emotional highlights from yesterday:
1. Watching two little girls giggle and run to their house after I gave them an entire sleeve of cookies
2. The man who put on the shirt we gave him right away
3. The woman who looked at me and said, “Pinadala ka si Lord!” (The Lord sent you!)
4. When someone opened the bag in front of me and said, “Oh! May Swiss Miss!” (Oh, there’s Swiss Miss!) 🥹
5. Seeing a kid share his cookies with his dad 😭
6. My cousin looking at me and saying, “Sarap sa puso!” while we were handing out bags (Delicious for the heart!)
I get it. Sometimes the world gets loud and overwhelming, sometimes it feels like we can’t do anything with the problems around us. But even when things are dark, even when things are messy, we can still spread joy, one cookie or packet of hot chocolate at a time.
Why I’ll Keep Doing This
Because survival doesn’t pause when the world feels unlivable.
Because joy isn’t extra, it’s essential.
Because even small things, a cookie, a shirt, a can of sardines, can carry warmth across an island.
Because when it’s done with love, even a plastic bag can deliver dignity.
I still believe in plans but sometimes, the best ones start with no names and a sleeve of cookies. You don’t need a title to change a day. Just a little time, a little heart, and maybe a chocolate packet.
I’ll be back. No hashtags required. Just bring cookies.
starringrhealynn 
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