Every birthday deserves some sort of celebration, and for a senior citizen in Abra, 78 years of life is worth being thankful for. Hence, he celebrated it according to his heart’s desire — a community pantry for his kababayans!
After a magnitude 7 earthquake struck inland in the northern province of Abra on July 27, more than 500,000 individuals were affected, as per the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of August 7, Sunday.
Many organizations and institutions, as well as individuals, shared what they can afford to help those who were deeply affected by the quake.
Now there’s this kindhearted grandfather – Santiago Laureta – who, instead of having a personal and private celebration of his 78th birthday with his family, chose to spend their budget on a community pantry to somehow contribute to their fellow community members’ food concerns. It was his way of giving back for the nearly eight decades of his life.
One of his grandchildren, Geraldine Laureta Azada, shared some photos of their grandfather’s celebration via Facebook.
She posted, “Happy 78th birthday Lolo Santiago Laureta (emoji) Community pantry instead of birthday party. Maawis kayo apo nga umay bring your own ecobag (smile emoji) may pa ice cream pa.”
She reminded their guests to bring their own ecobags for the pantry offerings. She even disclosed that some ice cream are for them, too.
Greetings and words of graitude poured for Lolo Santiago. How happy can he get? He had a lot of people wishing him happiness and good health.
“Happy birthday! (emojis) May you have many more wonderful years filled with happiness, God bless!”
“Coolest birthday celebration I’ve ever seen! Long live King Santiago po!”
His birthday story touched the hearts of many and was featured in many regional sites and social media pages. He is truly an inspiration that kindness need not be extravagant. It just need to come from the heart.
Watch Lolo’s joy over his birthday pantry for fellow Abra folks in a video shared by Alisto News: