Miracles at Work in By Mr. Jerricho Reynaldo
A
18
St. John Bosco Today | April - June 2021
pantries, while keeping it an effort of, for, and by the community: “This is a movement by the people among neighbors. The Parish encourages parishioners to support the movement, by educating them to give and be responsible Christians for their ‘kapit-bahay.’ Should other people from other streets within the Parish wish to set up their own pantries, we continue to support them.” Part of the Parish community is Brgy. Pio del Pilar, with its own share of community pantries, the first one having been set up along Taylo Street, followed by two more in J. Victor Street and E. Ramos Street. Extending support to these community and youth-led pantries is the Parish Youth Ministry, tirelessly sourcing, organizing, and distributing donations coming in from both benefactors of the Parish and those who drop them off on the pantry locations. On days when the pantries rise, the line of people eager to take part starts forming hours before they open, with distributions efficiently done within a short time. “Based on our experience, the people would start falling in line as early as 10:00 am in the morning,” says Lorenzo De Castro of the Parish Youth Ministry. “By then, if we would already see a number falling in line, we will already begin distributing goods, to ensure that none of them would experience any health related problems.” He adds that the pantries usually last from 30 minutes to an hour per day, serving an estimated 90-150 poor people from the vicinity. Meanwhile, some Parish volunteers have chosen to support, and even organize, pantries in their own communities, which are no longer part of the Parish territory. Inspired by the spirit of bayanihan, these volunteers took it upon themselves to breed generosity among their own neighbors. One of these is Michael Beltrano, coordinator of the Parish Committee on Health, Safety, and Environment, who with his family set up a community pantry in his own Barangay Bangkal. “It was the initiative of our family to set up a pantry. During the pandemic, a lot of families were affected and
PHOTOS BY JOHN FRED CASTRO
stricter quarantine protocol was the least the capital wanted, but with cases of COVID-19 infections on the rise, as well as the imminent threat of more virulent strains of the virus, there was no choice but to place Manila and its nearby provinces (the “Bubble) under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) once again. This meant shorter days, lesser movement, and the closure of certain industries and businesses which supported and fed thousands of families. The effects were felt across those cities and provinces affected, which included Makati, home to the country’s central business district. Catering to the spiritual needs of the Makati CBD is the Parish of St. John Bosco which, throughout the pandemic, has seen its congregational attendance rise and fall, given the ever-changing number of attendees allowed during religious gatherings. Yet, throughout the lockdown of the past year (and counting), the parish remained resolved to attend to the poor of the community, having regularly organized social service efforts for the needs of the affected. Thus, when another ECQ loomed ahead, the community stood ready to extend a helping hand to its parishioners in need. It was during ECQ in the middle of April that the country was swept by the “community pantry” movement, which started as a small food bank by entrepreneur Anna Patricia Non along Quezon City’s Maginhawa Street. Intended to support all sectors of the community, from vendors to vagrants, each pantry posits that a citizen who approaches might need something from what is offered, while also having something to give back. This is championed by the famous slogan which spread like wildfire: “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.” (“Give according to your ability, take according to your need.”) Within a few days from the first pantry in Maginhawa, similar efforts were being organized across the country, including a number within and beyond the territory of St. John Bosco Parish. Fr. Ronnie Urbano, SDB, its parish priest, saw the need to support the
