LETTER TO THE TELSTRA MANAGEMENT

To the TELSTRA Management:

It has been seven days since typhoon Yolanda wreaked havoc to majority of the provinces in the Visayas region. The super typhoon left so much damage that up to now, we are still in shock. Yes, we have have survived the typhoon but we are still far from recovery now that we have seen the aftermath. We can only hope for the best…I can only hope for the best…

Tomorrow, I will be heading to Bogo City with my mom to help her look for some of our relatives who are still missing (as of writing). It has been a week and we have not heard anything from them. Honestly, it feels like shooting in the dark. We don’t know how or where to start. We don’t know what to expect. We don’t know how things will go. Despite this ambiguity, we are hopeful that they have managed to save some food. We are hopeful that they have managed to find a temporary shelter. We are hopeful that they have managed to bring some clothes to keep themselves warm. We are hopeful that we will see them so we can hug them tight and let them know that we are here for them.

I am an active member of RAFI not only because I want to but because I need to. I pack relief goods hoping that whoever gets the bag will realize that all the folds and crevices in these bags are testaments of the number of people who held the bags before they are delivered and that all the clothes, the canned goods, the packs of noodles, the pack of rice, and the bottles of water inside them will all help them to get by. Most importantly, I pack relief goods hoping some of these bags will get to those who need them the most.

I am sharing this not to get sympathy. I am sharing this not to get support of any kind either. I am sharing this not to display an act of nobility. I am sharing this only because I want everyone to realize that we are all LUCKY to be alive.

Come to think of it, things could have gone worse. Parents and kids all drowned. Properties destroyed. Corpses scattered all over. We could have died. Yet, we are here – alive and breathing. God spared us despite our shortcomings. He saved us despite our doubts. He protected us despite our sins….

THE TRUTH: WE ARE ALL HERE FOR A REASON. Although, the path to finding the purpose of our life is filled with uncertainty, it all begins with a single step… And that step begins when we start doing something not for ourselves… but for others.

SO WHAT HAVE  WE DONE LATELY TO HELP OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS?

I am humbly asking our Telstra Management to use the funds for relief packing operations, stress debriefing, or Christmas party with the typhoon victims instead of holding an anniversary party.

Although, at the end of the day, it is still up to the management as to how they are going to use the funds but holding a party, needless to say, is inappropriate at this point.

We can’t celebrate the milestone of the account while some of our colleagues are mourning. We can’t have fun while some of the employees are crying over their losses. We can’t enjoy fancy food and drinks when our countrymen have been deprived of food and water.

We just can’t be blatantly insensitive. We just cant.