A week ago I created my first #WhoAreTheyPhilippines post and wrote about Ernesto the local bladesmith.
While I wasn't able to talk much with him because of the language barrier, I did understand that he lives a very simple life with his wife and 5 daughters. Just like a lot of Filipinos, every day is a struggle for him to make ends meet.
He was kind to let me take pictures of him while he sharpened my blades and agreed for me to post them online, so I thought, and did mention at the end of the post, that maybe I could help him a bit and that I would hand over the total HBD reward to him.
Last night marked the 7 days of the post and the author reward came in.
As you can see, the amount was 0.786 HBD which is equivalent to about Php 40 in the local currency. Since the amount is quite low, I decided to add Php 110 as a personal contribution making it a total of Php 150 (roughly USD 3).
Today, I prepared a paper with the Hive logo and the written amount, so that I could take Ernesto's picture while he holds it along with the money. This is my proof that I did what I said I would and that he got the reward. 🙂
When I got to his workplace, I explained as best as I could with a mix of English and Tagalog the reason I was there. As soon as I told him that the money was given to him thanks to your upvotes and my contribution, a smile popped up on his face and he agreed to the picture. Somehow, that smile was gone by the time I pressed on the shutter button though. 🙂
Php 150 is really not much for most people but for him, it does make a difference. His exact words, in a mix of English and Bisaya, were "This will be used for buying rice for the family".
I'm happy that my small action did bring a smile on his face, and that I could help him, even if it's only worth 3kg of rice.
As I was there a pedicab driver named Romeo saw the whole thing happening and he turned to me asking: "do you do it for pedicab drivers too?". I'd love to do it but I need your support for that. What do you think? Should I make #WhoAreTheyPhilippines a weekly thing and interview Romeo? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you to all and see you next time.