 |
| Joey Gamos, a young entrepreneur, founder and owner of the brand Tara Baraha! |
The rise of COVID-19
cases in the Philippines followed by the announcement of an enhanced
community quarantine (ECQ) have restricted the movement of people in
Metro Manila and Luzon, leaving many daily wage earners and informal
workers with no jobs.
Due to the ECQ, businesses
were forced to halt operations - thus leaving so many of our daily
wage workers with no jobs, and no means to provide for their
families.
Despite these challenging
times, the ‘bayanihan’
spirit of
the Filipinos prevailed. Many companies, members of the private
sector, and individuals took the initiative to assist fellow
Filipinos who are in need.
Joey Gamos, a young
entrepreneur, founder and owner of the brand Tara
Baraha!, is
among the many who stepped up to help those who lost their means of
living. ‘Tara
Baraha!’
is a small local business selling playing cards that showcase the
beauty of the Philippines. The deck comes with 52 info cards that
would take you on a visual journey around the Philippines, and three
joker cards that serve as bucket lists to top destinations around the
country. Gamos mobilized her own network and made use of her
business’ Facebook
and Instagram
page to start a donation drive, “Tara
Tulong Tayo!”,
for the daily wage earners and their families.
 |
| Joey Gamos, founder of Tara Baraha used online design platform, Canva, to design her posters for the donation drive. |
“It started as a personal
concern about our daily wage worker kababayans and their families. In
the news that preceded the start of ECQ, I saw the struggle of so
many of our workers who had to endure so much just to get to their
place of work as public transportation was put to a halt - a
foreshadowing of the hardships that they will go through for the rest
of the quarantine period. They expressed their worries and concerns
on how they’ll be able to feed their families,” Gamos shared.
“Without their income, they would go hungry and possibly resort
into other means of surviving. It could lead to crimes and
disorderliness in the community - it will be a domino effect,
really.”
Gamos
felt restless and after speaking to a couple of friends about her
worries, she had the urge to do something to help from home. She
started by creating a compelling poster through online design
platform, Canva,
for the visual materials of her initiative. She then launched the
fundraising drive on March 16, first day of the ECQ, which aimed to
give Php1,000 cash assistance to affected daily wage workers.
 |
Joey Gamos designed her ‘Tara Tulong Tayo!’ posters using Canva.
|
Her
close friends and family eventually joined her as the donations
poured in as they all helped with the day-to-day operations. For the
past 3 months, the whole Tara Tulong Tayo! initiative has become a
collective effort by generous individuals, small local businesses and
communities as some even mounted their own donation drives/online
sales and chose ‘Tara
Tulong Tayo’
as their beneficiary.
As
of June 14th, and Day 89 of the initiative, they have been able to
raise Php 1,741,353.00 and have sent out cash assistance to 1,741 of
our daily wage worker kababayans. The initiative’s beneficiaries
include our workers whose livelihoods have been affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic: food establishment crew, PUV drivers, maintenance
personnel, vendors, construction workers, salon staff, etc.
“Through
the generosity of so many kind souls, we have been able to send help
to those who need it the most, especially in these tough times. It
was great to have been able to create a platform that enabled many of
us to be able to help from home. May the kindest and best in us
emerge as we continue to fight this global pandemic,” Gamos said.
Post a Comment