A surge of excitement always well up within me every time I see simple acts of kindness extended by big-hearted people. I get more inspired when it is done by co-ops especially amidst this present COVID 19 crisis. No one is more moved than me when even the small co-ops are helping people especially the front liners manning the checkpoints. I am also aware that even if it was not posted on social media, almost every co-op is donating either directly to the frontlines or coursing it through the Local Government Unit. As they way, we are blessed to be a blessing.
These are one of the unique characteristics of co-ops that I find special. Every time a disaster or calamity strikes, they help, they give, they sympathize. It is in their nature, I believe. It is what they call, concern for community. This is a guiding principle in cooperativism that has become a common practice worldwide. It is based on the premise that they are part of the community and should contribute to development and efforts to make the community better. And of course, as a counterpart or form of giving back for being exempted by the government from taxation.
During this Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) a particular thought kept coming back to me. I attended a seminar sometime last year on Business Continuity Management. During one workshop the facilitator let us imagine a worst-case disaster or calamity that could happen and then we were required to prepare a plan before, during and after the occurrence of the disaster.
The purpose is for an organization to continue functioning even when a disaster strikes or at least can resume business immediately after the disruption caused by a disaster. What they were saying during that training was true. Many of our organizations and business establishments incurred losses and stoppage of operation due to the lack of preparation or the absence of a business continuity plan. I guess we have to emphasize this upon normalization of everything.
Another concern right now is the news circulating that COVID 19 was made by a scientist and the spread of the virus was due to a leak from a lab in Wuhan, China. That it is a biochemical weapon in preparation for some end-time war or something. That is not true, according to an online article from an online magazine (Live Science) I was reading recently. Researchers found out that the virus is not created in a lab or what they call “purposely manipulated virus”. They found no evidence after looking at the virus that this is a product of genetic engineering.
Whether there was a leak or not, what matters is that all of us have a part in preventing the spread of the virus. So, let us stay home. Even if for the past days there were no new cases in our area, we still have to be careful. Lastly, a snappy salute to all health workers, frontline personnel (police and military), the LGU officials and the Barangay officials who are all working tirelessly until the end of the quarantine period.
