The bustling hub that was the UP campus has settled into a brooding disquiet. Where once students plied well-worn routes and patronized their beloved resident vendors’ steady supply of staple street fare—from fishball to karyoka to ice cream to taho—university life is now at a standstill.

In their 46 years of existence, the UP Vendors Association has never faced such a season of drought and doubt. In fact, theirs was a robust and thriving trade. Former UPVA president, Edna Sinoy, recounts how they even had a program for ‘loaning food’ to students in need—their way, she says, of giving back for the faithful patronage that likewise propagated their livelihood through the years.

But since the outbreak, there have been no hungry students, no loyal patrons to cater to, and therefore no income. Hoping to see an end to the pandemic and once again earn a living, the shift back to Enhanced Community Quarantine on the heels of the lockdown’s anniversary all the more cast a growing shadow on their prospects and sense of hope.

On the third day of the newly imposed ECQ, our church met with them for the first time and truly, it was a cherished encounter. As we shared food and groceries through the kind generosity of our church community, we also struck friendships, conversation, and offered prayer and encouragement.  In the midst of the heightened quarantine was also a heightened opportunity to share with them the unfailing hope in an ever-faithful God who Himself came to serve and save.

Indeed, in the spirit of #KapitKatip, we seek to serve our home and community—and show them the only real hope to cling to. We are called by Jesus to be salt and light wherever we go—seasoning, preserving and shedding light on the joy found only in the true and trustworthy Source of hope and salvation.