THE "Diff Fam" dance crew has proven that it is more than just TikTok-famous, as it embarked on the first of a series of community relief efforts, distributing food packs and water to several areas in Cebu affected by Typhoon Odette.
Despite picking up the pieces a month after Typhoon Odette ravaged the country, residents of several areas in Cebu are still reeling from its aftermath. Yet the spirit of "bayanihan" can be strongly felt especially among the youth, as many of them have banded together to help their community. One such group is the Diff Fam dance crew from Cebu. It is the first dance crew to be verified on TikTok with 5.4 million followers.
According to founder and lead choreographer John Byron Padilla, Diff Fam, which is short for "Do it for fun family," has more than a hundred members composed mainly of teenage youth from the Municipality of Balamban and other nearby areas in the 3rd District of Cebu.
"Dancing develops discipline and focus among our members," says Byron who is proud to say that being part of Diff Fam keeps many youth away from vices and helps with their character formation.
Fresh from the success of its 10th anniversary "The Rhythm" dance concert in early December 2021, Diff Fam felt the need to do something different in light of the aftermath of Typhoon Odette which severely affected its hometown of Balamban. Many houses were severely damaged and there is a general lack of food and water.
"We wanted to help our fellow Filipinos so they can rebuild and recover from the typhoon," says Diff Fam dancer Clifford Pormento, who adds that many of their members wanted to do an outreach activity.
On January 15, 2022, Diff Fam joined AP Partylist in continuation of their Typhoon Odette relief efforts in distributing loaves of bread, sacks of rice and bottled water to more than 500 residents of Barangay Baliwagan in Balamban Municipality where many of DIff Fam's dance crew members also hail from.
"This would not have been possible without the help of the AP Partylist. This is only the first of many outreach activities that we are going to do with them. We mobilized 30 of our Diff Fam members who did the actual distribution to our fellow residents," says Byron, who added that their members felt happy and energized to be able to be of help to their community.
"Thank you to Cong. Ronnie Ong of the AP Partylist and to the Diff Fam members for the support. It feels so good to be able to help others. It's inspiring, and this time, we're not only providing them with entertainment but we were actually able to help our fellow Filipinos," concludes Clifford. (Sponsored Content)