Monday 23 December 2013

Shoichi Kondoh

With this blog entry, I wish to convey, on behalf of the Filipinos worldwide, our gratitude from the bottom of our hearts to all people from around the world and their countries who unselfishly poured their support to the victims and survivors of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). We will always remember.

One of the most powerful storms on record, Yolanda claimed nearly 6,000 lives and destroyed many cities in the Visayas region of the Philippines. During the wake of the tragedy, the country has received an outpouring of international support. In fact, it was very clear and widely known that the entire world scrambled to help.

Personally though, there's this individual I will never forget... a 6-year-old Japanese kid named Shoichi Kondoh. A week after the storm hit the Philippines, this boy went to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and gave away his piggy bank savings of 5,000 Japanese Yen (almost 2,200 Pesos) when he found out about our country's predicament on television. When I first read about this, my heart melted.

Shoichi, accompanied by his mother Miho, making his donation at the embassy (Photo by:  R.Gavino from http://tokyo.philembassy.net)
Because one kind deed deserves another, a group of Filipinos here and abroad came up with the idea of sending this boy a humble present that would be sent anonymously to remind him of the people he had helped and would give an impression that it came from the Filipino people in general. So a month later, the Philippine embassy was able to find Shoichi and handed him the package: a nicely-wrapped present, the size of a shoe box, containing four small jeepney toys and an “I LOVE PH” shirt.

Now, just look at that bright smile on his face after receiving his surprise!

(Photo from the Philippine embassy in Tokyo)
Kudos to that anonymous group!

In my opinion, his parents deserve gifts too for raising him so well! :)

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