Manhattan’s Dwight School community shares a part of their homes with the PHL

Students Patrick Dy (left) and Nino Villamor proud of the ‘balikbayan’ boxes filled with donations from school community

Students Patrick Dy (left) and Nino Villamor proud of the ‘balikbayan’ boxes filled with donations from school community

By Audrey Enriquez

What started as a simple request for friends to donate old towels, blankets, and bed sheets to be taken to the Philippines over Christmas, quickly turned into a staggering collection of 67 balikbayan boxes.

The Monday following Typhoon Yolanda’s devastating sweep of the southern Philippines, members of the Dwight School community checked in with me to see if my family was safe. Being the only Filipino on staff, I was their only connection to the natural disaster. By mid-morning, 12th grader Patrick Dy and 11th grader Nino Villamor, two Filipino students, were equally so moved by the care and concern of the community that they asked if there was anything the three of us could do for the people back home.

When I told them of my plan of filling one of my two checked bags with towels, blankets, and bed sheets, they asked if we couldn’t collect and pack more. We approached the school’s administration, who wholeheartedly agreed to support us. Just three days later, we were in the gym sorting the mounds of old as well as new towels, blankets, and sheets with the help of student, staff, and parent volunteers!

The immediate response to our call to donate was overwhelming. Students spoke of stripping their beds and having their sheets washed so that they could donate them to the kids who lost theirs; staff spoke of guest towels that could be spared because they had no guests right now; and parents spoke of buying what they enjoyed in bulk, so that Filipinos could enjoy now what they did on a daily basis.

What we collected meant so much more to us simply because the Dwight School community shared what they had in their homes. They gave what they had, so that those without could feel a sense of home again. Patrick, Nino, and I were deeply reflective and appreciative of that gesture. It’s generous to give from one’s pocket — it’s even more meaningful to give from one’s heart.

The Afya Foundation, which the Philippine Consulate recommended as our collaborator, echoed our gratitude to the Dwight community. Foundation representatives remarked upon how quickly we worked, and commended us on the nature of the relief goods we were entrusting them to quickly get on the ground to the Philippine Red Cross and ABS-CBN — their powerful partners with real experience in disaster zones. The Deputy Consul General recognized our efforts as well, and sent a heartwarming letter commending us for being Ambassadors of Goodwill.

Patrick, Nino, and I will forever be grateful to the Dwight School community for embracing the Philippines and seeing to our countrymen’s needs. We have been invited to continue our relief efforts, this time with the help of Dwight’s Lower School Student Council; first through fifth graders want to share their once-loved toys and books, and excess art and school supplies, sending what they once loved in order that Filipino children may love them again.

Typhoon Yolanda may have taken their houses away, but Patrick, Nino, me, and the Dwight School community will ensure that they will always have a home, by giving a part of our own homes.

Audrey Enriquez is an English teacher at Dwight School, a 141-year-old independent school located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The author leads community volunteers in sorting and folding  donated bed sheets and linens

The author leads community volunteers in sorting and folding donated bed sheets and linens



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