The Coca Cola Effect

I was watching the new ad campaign of Coca Cola Philippines giving a surprise gift to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to be home on Christmas. Coca Cola just made me cry. I am on mission in a very far country with a totally different culture, time zone and climate and I can somehow relate with the situation.

I am home in my mission, no doubt about it. Mission is home to me. But watching this commercial allows me to be in touch with reality, the reality that I am away from the family, away from the comfort of home and away from the security of being with people I used to be with.  Family is such an immeasurable support for an individual. For Filipinos like me, it is the family that keeps me sane enough in facing the harsh reality of life. It is an unshakable support system that an individual could ever have. The common faith that each family has, provides an amazing stamina for an individual to dream on and dream big. It is the same reason that sometimes baffles foreign media, how someone in the midst of calamity can still smile.

I also feel for those whose kids have to be separated from their parents because of the work overseas. More than 11 million Filipinos seeking greener pasture abroad leaving behind their families. There is somehow a break down in family values with children growing up without parents around them.

It is true that the Filipino diaspora has become a blessing to other countries. The deep faith that we bring along with us invigorates the faith of our host countries. Filipinos indeed can turn the mourning into dancing. Like a bamboo, very resilient! But, we still have to find a way to reunite families. It does not excuse at all, our government and society to find every means to change this situation. We have to build our families by providing opportunities for parents to raise their children in there own home with their own presence. The situation is simply not sustainable. The country has to be a nurturing homeland in order for our good Filipino values to survive.

Thank you Coca Cola, at least in this commercial, for reminding us that at the core of our character as a nation is the family. 

by aats