Sr. Malou Santos, DW
The Covid 19 Response and Collaborative Actions Daughters of Wisdom – Minglanilla, Cebu Philippines
Whatever commitment or the condition of our life, we make the passion of Montfort our own today: “I will love God hidden in my neighbor.” RL 6
In fidelity to the apostolic orientation of the Institute, we collaborate with the local Church and with the people among whom we are rooted. RL 4
At the beginning of the lock down in our place in Minglanilla Cebu, few meetings were done with our parish priest for a collaborative works with the team of Pastors and the Parish Pastoral Council in our Parish, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Parish asked our collaboration in distributing relief goods to the poorest of the poor in the area.
In some places that we visited most of the men work as construction workers or laborers, motor and tricycle drivers and depend on their day to day earnings. Most of the women are in the house taking care of their children. These people have no savings, no food stock, and even no descent home to stay in.
With the support and the generosity of many people in the parish and with the hand in hand collaborative works of parish lay workers, volunteers and Friends of Wisdom we distributed hundreds of bags of rice, noodles and sardines to our poor brothers and sisters in our neighbors and close-by barangays or villages.
From the Enfant du Mekong Sponsorship Program
Our scholarship program sponsored by Enfant du Mekong (EDM) received food subsidy. Sixty-nine (69) sponsored students got the support from the program during this time of Covid 19 pandemic crisis.
From the Friends of Wisdom
Greg and Hannah Bentain, Friends of Wisdom prepared fifteen bags of packed rice, eggs and canned goods to the poorest students in our kindergarten school.
Dr. Aussie Trinidad, another Friend of Wisdom, donated 600 washable masks to distribute to the needy and collected 200 sacks of 5kg of rice to be given the poor people in our place. It was distributed to different places in our area.
Feeding Program Team Work
Despite of the lock down we continued to distribute milk, multivitamins and rice to the 65 children in our feeding program. Leaders or parents from the feeding area came to our place to get the supplies and distribute to each child.
GIB- COVID 19 RESPONSE TEAM God is Bigger than Covid 19
Lock down brings us to work together without borders. A GIB-Covid 19 Response Team initiated by the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS), Cebu was created on March 25, Feast of the Annunciation. The team were composed of different religious congregations of sisters, priests, brothers, and lay people with different expertise like doctors and social workers.
“We respond from behind the scene through social media” we reached out to friends and people especially for those who are front liners working in the hospitals and prayed for them. Free online counselling and medical consultations were offered.
PANDEMIC COVID 19 BRINGS US CONNECTED
Personal Reflection
Different missions raised in front of me during the time of lockdown A call to help the needy despite of many limitations
To work behind the scene and pray for one another.
To be connected and reach out to a long-lost friend
Be concerned to the loved ones, family and friends
Comforting words, prayers of healing and trust in the Lord!
The world becomes smaller when loving without borders
We become more connected as we comfort each other.
We all rejoice for one’s healing and praise God for miracle!
The “value of human connection”
Outpouring generosity, Spiritual communion,
The wind of the Spirit is already moving!
Wisdom is calling us to be part of this new path
Lack boundaries or borders,
No end and no beginning,
For loving God as He deserves
Means loving Him without end” (hymn 5,26)
