Todd Pitman of Associated Press, wrote a beautiful piece on the glimmers of the Filipino spirit that are rising up in the aftermath of Hurricane Yolanda.

Pitman was struck by how residents of Tacloban, a small village that was in Hurricane Yolanda’s path, are singing, dancing and playing. The first thing they rebuilt in Tacloban was the basketball court. “The children wanted to play and we wanted to watch,” Pitman quotes a villager. In his article, Pitman mentions the Filipino saying.  “Bahala Na.” Roughly translated it means, “Whatever happens, leave it to God.” This seems to be the core of the Filipinos’ strength. In Tacloban, the message is written out loud and clear, “Don’t Quit.”

In a situation where everything has been taken in a sweep of a storm, and the people you love have been stripped from your arms, how does one find the strength to smile?  To continue to serve, to believe, to hope? Filipinos have shown the world how it is possible. That even with everything gone, one still has one’s humanity, faith , hope and ability to serve and keep smiling.

In his emotional account of what he saw in Tacloban, CNN reporter, Anderson Cooper wrote, “ Mabuhay Philippines. Maraming Salamat for showing us all how to live.”

On Sunday, the spirit of “Bahala na” shined across the Manila Bay when 15,000 students gathered on the coast to clean the littered beach. In Tagalog, they say, “kapit-bisig”, let’s link arms together in solidarity.  The students came out in solidarity for their city and their nation.

A smaller group of volunteers from Japan, Korean and local Manila responded to the DSWD call for help to repack goods for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.

In the rubble after Yolanda, accounts like the recent coastal cleanup, Pitman’s story of the basketball court, and the commitment of the local Filipino leadership, is a testament to their enduring faith in God and their unshakable sense of community.

In addition to these smaller efforts, Global Peace Foundation has been working with the local Philippines chapter to coordinate the distribution of solar powered lamps for medial units as well as solar powered streetlights to aid in recovery efforts.

Salamat po and mabuhay to our Filipino family, we are proud of you.