Relief Operations for Typhoon and

JULY to AUGUST 2020 Relief Operations funded by ACTS – Singapore (A Call to Share)

Relief Operations by the Laura Vicuña Foundation

• 1,400 food packs were given to 1,400 families in Metro Manila, Laguna, Pampanga, Mindoro, Palawan, Negros Occidental, and Cebu. Each food pack contains 5 kilos of rice and some canned goods and noodles.

SEPTEMBER to NOVEMBER 2020 Relief Operations funded by Don Bosco Mondo - Germany

• 25 kilos of rice were given to each of the 1,960 families in Metro Manila, Laguna, Pampanga, Mindoro, Palawan, Negros Occidental, and Cebu. • 855 hygiene kits were given to 855 families in Metro Manila, Laguna, Pampanga, Mindoro, Palawan, Negros Occidental, and Cebu. Each hygiene kit contains 10 washable cloth face masks, 10 face shields, 8 bath soap bars, and 2 alcohol bottles. • 6,030 meal and snack packs were given to 1,650 medical frontliners in Metro Manila, Laguna, Pampanga, Mindoro, Negros Occidental, and Cebu. • A total of 2,800 meal packs were cooked and distributed to frontliners. These food packs come along with fruit juices, rice, vitamins, school supplies, and pre-loved clothes for our frontliners & CPC Communities in Quezon City, Taguig City, and Marikina City.

Relief Operations by the VIDES Volunteers – Philippines

• 900 food packs were given to 900 families in Cavite, Quezon City, and Manila. Each family received a total of 50 kilos of rice, one pack of milk, one spaghetti party pack, 2 kilos of pork meat, and several pieces of canned goods and toiletries. The relief goods were gradually distributed to the families from April to December 2020.

By Sr. Debbie Ponsaran, FMA

Relief Operations for Typhoon and Flood Victims

The Philippines had five typhoons from the last week of October until mid-November in the year 2020. They left trails of destruction and affected more than two million people in eight regions, displacing hundreds of thousands and killing more than a hundred persons.

Don Bosco School (Manila) served as an evacuation site to seven families when their houses submerged in floodwater. The Sisters provided the meals and sleeping mats. Just beside the school is our Provincial House, where the Sisters also prepared packs of rice and canned goods for people knocking at the door for food.

The FMA educating community of Don Bosco School (Manila) collected goods like rice, canned food, bottled water, face masks, clothes, blankets, toiletries, and cash donations. They distributed relief goods to the people in Metro Manila and donated cash to areas outside Manila. They reached as far as Rizal Province, Cagayan Valley, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes. The Caritas in Caceres acknowledged their donation amounting to Php 200,000. On January 5, 2021, they sent P50,000 to Caritas - Virac (Catanduanes) for the

typhoon victims. The coordination of relief goods and cash donations was usually through the parishes. They also extended help to the families of their students and teachers who were also affected by the typhoons.

The FMA communities in Manila are the nearest to the places most affected by typhoons. However, the Covid-19 health protocols make it difficult for the Sisters to move around and distribute relief goods as they used to do many times in the past years. At the provincial level, the FMAs and the educating communities collected donations in cash and kind. They sent them to the Relief Operation Program of the Vice President of the Philippines. They also donated boxes of clothes and shoes to Caritas-Manila.

The Laura Vicuña Foundation of the FMA distributed hundreds of meals and relief goods to the affected people in Metro Manila. The VIDES Volunteers distributed relief goods to more than 700 flood victims in Rizal province. The Mary Help of Christians School (Pampanga) educating community also collected and distributed relief goods. The Mary Help of Christians College (Laguna) educating community sent a cash donation of P68,000 to a parish in Nueva Vizcaya and P70,270 to the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.

On January 1, 2021, more than 17,000 people fled their homes in Negros Occidental province when floodwater suddenly filled the streets and not long after reached neck-deep. More than 30 FMAs hail from Victorias City, Negros Occidental. Two days later, the FMA community of Malihao (Victorias City) visited the families and relatives of the FMAs and brought them food packs and other necessities. Two weeks later, the FMA community in Bacolod City packed goods for the flood victims. Thanks to John and Lucille Mower for the generous donation. The past pupils of the former St. Mary Mazzarello School also organized relief operations. They donated necessities to fellow past pupils and former teachers of SMMS.

The Don Bosco School (Manila) educating community sent more than 200 kilos of slightly-used clothes for the flash flood victims in Victorias City. The Federation of the Past Pupils of the FMA Philippines started a fund drive for the flood victims.

By Sr. Debbie Ponsaran, FMA