"How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a weary world."
- William Shakespeare
Hello everyone! I'm writing today about something that is close to my heart. The incident that inspired me to write about this happened a couple of months ago. Sometime in November 2013, my dad was on his way to the office and while he was getting out of the car, he had unknowingly dropped his wallet. Soon after he had realized that it was missing, we received a call from a jeepney driver named Mang Dudoy, who told us that he had the wallet in his possession and wanted to know where he could return it. That same day, the wallet was returned to my dad with all
the contents intact, thanks to Mang Dudoy, a man who had a kind heart
and sound conscience.
That day restored some of the faith I had lost in humanity.
With the daily papers and evening news filled with violence,
corruption and negativity, it is easy to forget that there are still good people
in the world. We have been conditioned to be wary of others that we fail to see
the goodness that surrounds us. The honesty of Mang Dudoy made me realize that there are still Filipinos who, despite their hardships in life, manage to stay
principled and uphold moral values. These
are Filipinos do good even when no one is watching, even when no compensation
is given or even when no accolades are presented. These are the Filipinos whose
good deeds sadly seldom reach public awareness when these are the very acts of
kindness that are essential in inspiring hope and motivating change.
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contest, I am glad to be given the chance to possibly
contribute something to my country in collaboration with a brand and company I
trust and believe in. In connection with Globe Telecom Inc.’s
value of putting their customers first, I would like to give the Philippines a
gift that encourages altruism and compassion for others, a gift that puts others before ourselves.
If I were given the chance to give a tangible
gift to the Philippines in partnership with GLOBE
TELECOM's PROJECT WONDERFUL, THROUGH GLOBE LABS,
I would like to create a free mobile app dedicated to encouraging
and acknowledging acts of kindness. The mobile app will
be called Good Vibes, or simply GV.
Here are my designs. This is an overview of the app's pages.
Good Vibes is about doing, noticing and cultivating simple acts of generosity that ultimately, make an impact and create a difference in other people’s lives. It is about being gifts to one another through acts of compassion and kindness. Good Vibes hopes to transcend the kinds of posts usually found in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Good Vibes is about going beyond the materialistic things that we think make us happy. It is about finding that there is contentment and happiness outside materialism and realizing that in spite of our busy and sometimes difficult lives, we can all still be nice to one another.
The GV app will have TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS:
1. Encourage
people to complete acts of kindness
The Welcome Page will display the daily challenge and the links to others areas of the app.
Every morning, the app will post a
“challenge” that the user can
complete. Often, we have such great intentions that we are overwhelmed by the effort needed to achieve it. The challenges in this app could be something as simple as giving your seat up for
a stranger or maybe, surprising the vehicle driver behind you by paying for his
toll. The challenges will always be something
doable that will emphasize how completing little, unselfish acts everyday,
makes the world a little more friendly and a little less hostile. Through
these gestures, for a brief instant, we tip the scales in favor of goodness.
“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness.
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."
– Scott Adams
2. Acknowledge
acts of kindness
The user is brought to the Share Page when you click "SHARE THE GOOD VIBES" in the Welcome page. A user can make a text, photo or video entry, sharing an act of kindness they've experienced or a gesture they've witnessed while going about their daily routine.
In a world where no news is good news, and
good news is not considered newsworthy by large broadcasting companies, the
positive is often overshadowed by the negative. Current events force you to
wonder where humanity is heading. Often, we become so engulfed by the
negativity fed to us by the media and caught up in our own problems and
concerns that we forget about the many things to be thankful for. Filipinos need an avenue that will
cultivate positivity and Good Vibes
by recognizing and acknowledging the blessings and kind deeds that come our
way.
This is the Newsfeed that displays all the GV entries shared by users.
It is always heartwarming and inspiring to see and hear about kindness in a world that is seemingly filled with violence and negativity.
We don't need more people like these. We need to BE people like these.
People aren't always awful. In fact, many are
wonderful human beings, once we stop and really
look.
As we learn to be more attuned to the
compassionate things that people around us do for us and become aware our small
gestures of kindness DO make a difference, we will come to realize that life is
still filled with goodness.
Globe Telecom has used “Making Great Things Possible” and “Abot mo ang mundo” as the company slogan.
A simple call, text or email are just some
of the ways we can extend our friendship and show concern to others. Just like Globe, the Good Vibes app is ultimately
about relationships- treating people with compassion and kindness and enriching
each other’s lives. It is a testament to
how little things can make great things
possible, how selflessly reaching out
to others brings people together and therefore, makes the world smaller.
Through the Good Vibes app, we can cultivate an attitude of kindness
and gratitude. In the process of being generous, we change not only the lives
of others but also our own. Let us empower ourselves and be gifts to one another. It is my hope that the Good Vibes will
remind us how seemingly insignificant gestures of kindness can make a difference, like a long hug at just the right time or
kind words when you need to hear it most. It is a demonstration of the #PowerofOne.
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