When making new memories in the new normal becomes more special with Grab

MANILA, Philippines — Spending more than a hundred days in community quarantine, many Filipinos have been diligently practicing health and safety protocols, as well as following the government’s IATF guidelines to the best of their capacities.

Yet apart from all these important actions needed to stay safe from COVID-19, Filipinos have also been creatively spending their time in lockdown, especially as they transition to what  has been called a “new normal.”

Expectedly there are just things from life before the pandemic that we wish to experience again. When it comes to reliving what we miss most and making new memories, trust that Grab can make it even more special.

Here’s how Grab made this happen for two young Filipinas, and a group of young volunteers.

Gifting the joy of reading for Queennie

While everyone had to cope with lifestyle adjustments for the lockdown, 19-year-old Queennie Mapula found it more difficult. She has autism.

“She cannot understand fully the reason behind the lockdown. Queennie felt that she has been deprived of her rights. She became restless, worried and even lost hope in enjoying the routine she does every week,” Luningning Mapula, Queennie’s mom told Philstar.com.

Even prior to the lockdown, Queennie has turned to reading as her refuge.

“Reading makes her calm, improves her imagination, makes her understand people, and be part of our world,” her mother said, adding that they encouraged her to continue reading during isolation.

No wonder then that Queennie missed going to the bookstore most.

“I miss going to the bookstore. When I go to the bookstore, it brought me comfort and I want to get the glimpse of so many books. There are so many kinds of books that I cannot pick which one would I take home to me,” she commented on Philstar.com’s Facebook post, using her mom’s account.

Grab, as part of its eight anniversary celebrations in the Philippines, gifted the joy of reading to Queennie and surprised her with six books delivered right at her doorstep via GrabExpress.

“My mom and I just expected a book but I must have been good that God through the kindness of Grab promised the whole list of books to be delivered to me. The excitement of receiving the books with different Grab Riders/Kuya was an awesome thrilling experience that I cannot explain,” Queennie wrote.

Advanced graduation celebration for Dani

Dani Garcia was in the middle of finishing her thesis when the pandemic struck, which then led to the closing of educational institutions globally.

“It was really difficult at first, given the fact that I only had limited resources with me to do my thesis, and the pandemic made it a lot stressful for me to focus on my research paper. My family and I were worried about a lot of things, like our daily needs, and at the same I had to think about how I could finish my research paper,” recalled Dani.

With her family’s constant support and encouragement, Dani was able to finish and pass her thesis. The BS Advertising Arts major at the College of Fine Arts and Design in University of Santo Tomas is now officially a graduating student.

However, celebrating the good news had to wait, too. “Given the fact that we were in quarantine, and we had to prioritize our needs, we ended up postponing the celebration,” Dani said in a separate online interview.

Because of this, she wished to give back to her family with a simple feast. They had been missing pizza, chicken and mojos, as well as milk tea, all of which Grab granted through GrabFood!

“My family and I were so happy about it, and we were so grateful to Grab for taking care of my graduation celebration,” she said.

“This pandemic has brought a lot of stress and worries to us Filipinos. People's livelihoods were affected, and a lot of people, just like our frontliners, needed to sacrifice their own health in order for us to overcome this hardship. It's nice that Grab is there to help lessen people's stress by offering to grant their wishes,” Dani added.

Supporting the work of Project Protect

For the last wish granted through Philstar.com, Grab chose not an individual. This time around, it was for alumnae of St. Paul College, Pasig Batch 2011 who formed a fundraising group.

"We miss being able to enjoy spending time with our loved ones outside. This is even harder for our medical frontliners to do because they spend all of their time protecting us from the virus and distancing themselves to keep everyone else safe. The sooner we are able to beat the virus, the sooner we can do this! So help us protect those who protect us by equipping them with much-needed PPEs. Together, we can beat COVID-19,” Project Protect posted.

Grab donated and delivered medical-grade PPEs to Project Protect, for the benefit of Taytay Emergency Hospital.

“Grab fulfilled our wish of being able to distribute PPEs to one last hospital. Since we were already concluding the donation drive and we were hoping to be able to donate to at least one hospital with PPE sets, the funds we had left were not enough to procure PPE sets. Grab was able to gift us 19 medical grade PPEs and we added KN95 masks to the set,” Project Protect organizer Darryl Lim told Philstar.com.

Since organizing and raising funds in March, Project Protect was able to donate 600 PPE sets—consisting of a reusable lab gown, reusable cap, reusable shoe covers, five surgical masks, one N95 mask, five surgical gloves, a face shield, and a case of disinfectant—to nine public hospitals in Quezon City, Manila, Pasig City, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Isabela province, and lastly, Taytay in Rizal.

Grab ‘ang bahala’

With its #SagotKita campaign, Grab’s wish is to bring a sense of comfort and happiness in these trying times.

As Southeast Asia’s leading everyday app, Grab aims to be the Filipinos partner in adapting to the new normal. Through its various services, namely GrabCar, GrabExpress, GrabPay, GrabFood, and GrabMart, personal and business transactions can be observed with proper social distancing measures.

Make life in the new normal a little bit better with the help of Grab. Kami muna ang bahala.