We have witnessed in the past few days the true bayanihan spirit of Filipinos helping in any way—big or small—to alleviate the condition of others. In fact, help comes from all places, from different kinds of people—even from whom you wouldn’t expect it.
Take Gimmy Panis Conos, or Tatay Gimmy, for example. The 52-year-old taho (soy pudding) vendor gives his product away to street children for free before he heads home.
“Napansin ko na madami talaga ang apektado sa pandemic at kung paano makatulong (I noticed that there were so many people affected by the pandemic and thought about how to help),” he related.
Giving away his merchandise also allows him to go home on time. “Kailangan ko na din makauwi para hindi maabutan ng curfew kaya pinamimigay ko ng libre ang taho (I also needed to go home before the curfew so I decided to give my taho for free).”
Kindness springs from challenges
But Tatay Gimmy also has his own challenges. From Tacloban City in Leyte, he moved to Manila to look for better employment opportunities. He worked in construction for five years while living alone since his family chose to stay in the province.
When age and illness caught up with him, he started selling taho for a living despite having diabetes and rheumatism. In 2019, Tatay Gimmy recovered from a mild stroke and eventually went back to the streets to continue selling taho and giving some away.
Moved by his gesture, one of his customers encouraged him to upload his video on YouTube to inspire others. With the help of his neighbors, Tatay Gimmy signed up to YouTube and uploaded his first video of himself sharing taho with kids.
Seeing a potential to earn on the platform, he thought of a way to hit two birds with one good stone. Tatay Gimmy gives away free taho to encourage people to subscribe to his channel.
Good deeds add up
His story went viral after being re-shared on April 10 by 20-year-old Mary Christine Amoguis. Amoguis’ post raised awareness of Tatay Gimmy’s channel which gained more than 280,000 subscribers, as of this writing.
However, shortly after the channel started to gain subscribers, Tatay Gimmy lost his mobile phone and could no longer remember his channel login credentials. With the help of Amoguis, they created a new channel (which currently has over 33,000 subscribers) and was able to retrieve his first channel (hence the two Gimmy Panis Conos channels).
Amoguis even led a fundraiser on social media, which quickly raised thousands of pesos, for the taho vendor after many online users expressed desire to extend financial support.
Amoguis, an accounting student from General Santos City, South Cotabato, has a habit of sharing and reposting online calls for donations. After being touched by Tatay Gimmy’s story, she posted his photo which was retweeted by influencers and celebrities including Maine Mendoza.
“Matagal ko na siyang ginagawa just so I can help in my own little way, pero this is the first time na ganito karami ang nag-share ng post ko. I am so happy na pinost ko‘yun, (I’ve been doing it for a long time just so I can help in my own little way, but this is the first time that these many people shared my post. I am so happy I posted that).”
She admits though that the attention she’s getting for her role in Tatay Gimmy’s viral video is making her uncomfortable. However, she chooses to look at the positive side, pointing out the benefits of the Internet and social media: “Ang powerful talaga ng social media. Sa isang share mo lang, isang life na ang pwedeng ma-change (Social media is powerful. You can change someone’s life with just one share).”
Tatay Gimmy is wishing that it would soon be safe to go back to the streets, not just to sell taho, but also to look for more opportunities to share. As he hopes for the pandemic to end and works for his recovery, he takes comfort in the fact that we can all contribute to making the world a better place with one post, one share, and one good deed at a time.