If there’s one thing I am thankful for, it would be meeting phenomenal and inspiring people. Such is the story I’m about to share with you. I met a young girl who sells “kakanin.”
Kakanin is the Tagalog term for Filipino delicacies. Kakanin is derived from the word kanin, meaning prepared rice. The staple delicacies are suman, kutsinta, biko, cassava cake, puto or rice cake. According to her, these are the items she usually sells in the morning.
Here’s how I met her:
My morning routine is to drop off my kids at school through a tricycle and walk going home. However, I ran out of LPG and cash, so I needed to swing by the nearest BPI before heading home. Unfortunately, the ATM was under maintenance. Luckily, I had 100 pesos left in my pocket.
On my way home, I noticed from afar, a security guard and a lady were talking to a young chubby girl. At first, I thought, they were asking her to go away or something like that. Little did I know, they were just asking the young girl what she was selling.
So, the conversation went like this:
Guard: Anong tinda mo today? (What do you have for today?)Lady: Madami ka atang tinda. (Looks like you are selling a lot)Me: Ano ba yang tinda mo? (What are you selling?)Young Girl: Kakanin po (tells us, happily)Me: Ahhh.. (Then, I looked at her) Magkano isa nito? (How much each kakanin?)YG: 15 pesos po isa.Something in me knew that this little girl needed extra money for school.So I asked:
Me: anong oras pasok mo? (What time do you go to school?)YG: 11 po.Me: Ahh. Siguro, nagbebenta ka para may baon ka sa school. (Maybe you are selling so you’d have baon?)YG: Opo. (With a sweet smile)Me: Sige, bilihin ko itong cassava at biko. (Let me buy cassava and biko). Oh, magkano lahat?YG: 30 po.Me: *gave her 100 and she handed the change* Aba, magaling ka sa Math ha. Ilang taon ka na?YG: 10 years old po.Me: Luto ba ng mama mo ito?YG: Hindi po inaangkat ko lang po.Me: Inaangkat?YG: Opo. Sa kapitbahay po namin ito eh. Pag naubos ko po may 20 pesos ako.Me: *amazed* Ha? Dapat kada kakanin binibigyan ka ng 2 pesos ng nagpapatinda sa iyo. Kasi marami yan eh. Sige, ganito na lang, wala kasi akong dalang pera dito, pero itong bente na ito, baon mo na ito ha. Itabi mo na.YG: *smiles at me and said* Yun! Makaka kain na ako. Gutom na po kasi ako.Me: Anong kakainin mo?YG: Bibilhin ko po isa dito para mabilis maubos.
Me: Okay. Nandito ka ba bukas?
YG: Di ko pa po alam.
Me. Okay. Sige. Ingat ka. Sana maubos mo na lahat ng paninda mo para makapasok ka na.
I just smiled when I saw her face happy upon receiving the 20 pesos – that finally, she can buy something for her. I told her I will come back and we will eat at Jollibee tomorrow.
I personally chose to keep her identity private because social media, as we know it, might give a negative reaction to her and her family.
Ultimately, I shared the story because it felt good knowing I helped someone today.
How about you: what’s your good deed for the day?
