Bayanihan
Bayanihan, or also known as “community spirit,” is something that is very familiar to Filipinos, as this trait has been part of our culture for as long as we can remember. From what I know, this trait refers to cooperating with one another or being one with the community without expecting anything in return. According to Ealdama (2012), Bayanihan is a Filipino tradition that involved people going out of their way to lend a hand to others. Its root word being “bayan,” which means nation in English, bringing about a sense of unity and aid.
As this has been a tradition, Bayanihan started as a way wherein a community of people would help in lifting the house, or the “Bahay-Kubo,” of someone who wanted to move. Since the materials used to build the Bahay-Kubo were light, it was easier for the men to carry the house. This also involved women supporting them as they did so. This ended with them having a “salo-salo,” or a simple gathering to celebrate and socialize (Admin, 2015).
Obviously, this has changed with all of the developments and advancements that we have made as we adapt to our environment. Filipinos are still able to exemplify this trait even through the smallest acts in order to reach out to others when they are in need. We are able to see Filipinos extending any help that they can to the community, especially in our current situation. With the pandemic, everything has become restricted and limited in hopes of being able to lessen the spread of the virus. This, in turn, resulted in people needing help because of these limitations due to the pandemic.
Because of this, a lot of initiatives were done in order to reach out to them. These were usually done in the form of donation drives or fundraisers to be able to provide relief goods to those who are in need of these and PPEs to frontliners. There are also programs that are done by companies to also reach out to the community (Bagayas, 2020). One example would be the Bayan Bayanihan program, which was started by the Asian Development Bank with a partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the private sector. Their aim was to aid the COVID-19 crisis by providing basic needs such as food to the different Filipino households around Metro Manila (ADB, 2020). But of course, it isn’t only seen there. As mentioned, even as simple as sharing posts and raising awareness for others to stay updated and informed is also a form of Bayanihan. In all of these acts, we can see Filipinos coming together and uniting as one in order to help their fellow Filipinos in any way they can.
References
Admin. (2015, May 28). Filipino culture: Bayanihan: The Filipino value that must BE Retained. Retrieved from https://everything-filipino.com/filipino-culture-bayanihan-the-filipino-value-that-must-be-retained/
Asian Development Bank. (2020, July 24). For poor Filipinos during the pandemic, Bayan Bayanihan brings food and hope. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/news/features/hungry-filipinos-during-pandemic-bayan-bayanihan-brings-food-and-hope
Bagayas, S. (2020, December 31). Pandemic can't STOP Bayanihan: How FILIPINOS took action on urgent issues in 2020. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/moveph/times-filipinos-acted-issues-yearend-2020
Ealdama, Y. (2012, November 22). BAYANIHAN: The indigenous Filipino Strengths perspective. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297551533_BAYANIHAN_the_indigenous_Filipino_strengths_perspective
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