70 Globe employees. 3 bloggers. 4 hours in the field. Millions of potential crops. One noble objective — to build farms.

Those are the figures we recorded two weeks ago. This post has nothing to do with showbiz but it is something that everyone should participate in.

Two weeks ago, GoFigures.net joined Globe as they headed to Concepcion, Tarlac to build a small farm for a Gawad Kalinga community there. This is part of their Bangon Pinoy initiative.  The project is called “Bayan-Anihan,” an initiative that aims to end hunger in the country. As you all know, Gawad Kalinga has been building houses for the homeless. This time, together with Globe, they take it a little further by providing food for the hungry. What’s the point of having a house if there’s no food to eat? Bayan-Anihan is the answer to that.

We were all in the bus at 6am. The travel time was around two and a half hours but Globe employees were so accommodating we didn’t even felt the time. They treated us as if we were one of them. The truth is, we were one with them in this endeavor.

We arrived at about 10am and after a ceremonial planting and a short program, we started farming! Some of us chose bamboo fencing, some picked landscaping, a few went for installation of huts. We decided to do the more artistic side of farming — painting!

It wasn’t easy, mind you! The sun was such a villain at the time. Not that we’re complaining, the weather was actually perfect.

The goal was to paint the farm orange. We liked it. Orange is a lively, happy color!

After a day’s work, the Gawad Kalinga people took us to the plaza for a boodle fight! if you don’t know what a boodle fight is, here’s what it looks like!

Globe also threw a party for the kids in the community. It was a hilarious program. We were reminded of our childhood.

A bit after 3pm, we hopped back into the bus and bade goodbye to the people of Gawad Kalinga Concepcion, Tarlac and headed home. It was an experience we would never forget. Thanks to Globe and Gawad Kalinga for the opportunity. We hope that we could still go with them next time.

On the way home, the voices of the children were still echoing in our heads. The voices were saying “Goodbye Gutom!” And boy did it feel good to be part of something like that.