ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. The adage is especially true for young actor Crispin 'Ping' Medina, Jr. (left) whose Barangay Soup Kitchen has served thousands of flood-affected residents.

A lot of people may recognize him as “Nico Valencia’’ in the top-rating soap opera “Tayong Dalawa.”

But for the flood-ravaged victims of typhoons Ondoy, he is Ping Medina, that young man who has been providing them with hot arroz caldo for almost a month now. Sans the trappings of showbiz or politics, Ping is the person behind Barangay Soup Kitchen which has served thousands of people struggling to get their lives together after the devastation wrought by the typhoon.

The son of acclaimed film and theater
actor Pen Medina, Ping simply says that putting up the soup kitchen was just the right thing to do.

“There wasn’t any specific incident during Typhoon Ondoy that prompted me to start the Barangay Soup Kitchen. It was simply something I needed to do. To help out in anyway I can, with the limited resources I have. Or else I wouldn’t sleep well at night,” he says.

Barangay Soup Kitchen started out after Ping realized that he had the resources to provide evacuees hot, home-cooked, and easily-prepared meals. With his group (mom Chupsie and staff of his PenPen Restaurant) Ping would troop to flood-affected areas, set up industrial stoves and pots, and there cook arroz caldo from sun up to sun down. People often turn up in the thousands, with about 1,500 people being fed in San Mateo alone.

Soon, Leni Velasco and Steph Tan of Dakila Collective got involved, providing Ping with the logistical knowledge to implement the group’s trips to places like Marilao, Bulacan and San Mateo, Rizal.

“Volunteers really made it more possible to do things on a bigger scale. This includes tons of volunteers from the Brewrats (Ramon & Tado’s radio show) and from just about anywhere. I’m proud it brought people together,” Ping says. “It’s amazing how people responded to the soup kitchen idea. The support and donations we got was unexpected.’’

But Ping refuses to be overwhelmed, focusing on the task at hand just like a good soldier.

“It’s been a crazy few weeks post-Ondoy – and that’s understating,” Ping says of the project. “Being on the front line requires a tremendous amount of work. You have to be tough like a soldier. You should know how to troubleshoot on the spot.”

GREEN RELIEF
Barangay Soup Kitchen isn’t just providing nourishment, but a greener alternative to relief efforts as well.

Ping, for one, is very conscious of his carbon footprint. He even refuses to buy gas-powered cars and takes public transportation instead.

For the relief effort, he asks for donations of bowls and mugs, thereby reducing the use of non-biodegradable styrofoam containers. This is in part because of Ping’s involvement in Oxfam’s “Tik Tok” campaign on climate change, his first official advocacy and something he became a part of four days before Ondoy hit.

Today, even with a breather from the typhoons, there is no stopping in sight for the Barangay Soup Kitchen. Ping is looking to stage a three-day soup kitchen to Pangasinan which was ravaged by Typhoon Pepeng. The soup kitchen aims to provide hot food for at least 20,000 people.

“This requires tremendous planning and resources. I am looking into investing in better equipment. Like really huge industrial pots. And I’m planning to customize industrial burners. Preferably ones you can fold, so they’re more portable and mobile,” he says.

Ping says that while he is doing his part, young people looking to make a change in the world shouldn’t hesitate to do so either.

“I was only brave enough because I knew I had the resources and the network of people to make it work,” he ends. “I would suggest joining local established groups like The Dakila Collective, RockEd and even international organizations like Oxfam & Greenpeace. They know what they’re doing, definitely”

(If interested to help, e-mail pingmedina@gmail.com)