It has been difficult for all of us ever since the pandemic started. Many of us have experienced some kind of loss and most of us adjusted to new circumstances. That is why we would like to share our volunteers’ story of dedication and selflessness to inspire and cheer you up.
On September 22, Ana, Charles, Ate Leony, Ate Weng, Monic, and Ate Ruth who are regular volunteers, prepared an early dinner meal for the kids at Sitio Dumpsite. They finished cooking and packing the meals of fried chicken, rice, and banana and were ready to deliver the food to the community by 3 pm. (Because of Covid-19 we’re now delivering meals to the kids instead of gathering them at our feeding station.) However, heavy rain started to pour. They waited for the rain to stop but it did not. Time was running out and the meals needed to be distributed. After one and a half hours, they decided to leave.
Armed for the rain in improvised raincoats made of plastic bags, they rented two tricycle. However, another hurdle came into view. The rain made the last few hundred meters impassable, so the team had to walk the rest of the way. With plastic bags full of meals in each hand, the team walked up the muddy and slippery road to reach the kids. It was nighttime when they finished serving all the food. They had to walk back to the feeding station because they had reallocated their transportation money to the meal budget to produce more meals. “We walked home drained of energy but our hearts were full,” one of them said later.
Ana documented their experience and you can watch it on our Facebook Page.
From the collective funds we received thru your generosity, together, we were able to provide meals to children in four feeding stations:
1. Bagumbayan and Libis: 130 kids
2. Sitio Dumpsite: 200 kids
3. Cainta: 100 kids
4. Brgy. Tarace: 50 kids
A total of 480 kids are served every week.
“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.” - Mandy Hale
This quote doesn’t apply only to the Sitio Dumpsite team but to you as well who finance this advocacy.
We started our relief operations in the first week of May. We are glad to report to you that, from then to now, we have served a total of 9,591 meals.
Through generous donors and volunteer efforts, we were able to distribute food to families and children who gratefully received the much-needed help. To maximize the impact, we decided to combine funds from our Covid19 Relief Funds, our #ProjectBaon Fundraisers, and other donations. These are what we have achieved so far:
Because of the COVID-19 situation, it is not advisable to gather people and kids to feed them, so we now pack the meals in paper containers and bring them personally to the homes of the children!
We were able to serve 4 locations and these are:
Brgy. Bagumbayan and Libis, Quezon City. Here we serve meals to 130 kids at least twice a week. We partnered with a local church in these communities to identify the children who will benefit the most from the meals we provide. The parents of these kids are unable to work because of COVID-19.
Sitio Dumpsite, Antipolo City. This community rests on top of an old landfill, thus the name. The common livelihood of people here is collecting scraps and recyclable materials to sell to junkshops. Here we feed more than 200 kids at least twice a day.
Brgy. San Jose, Antipolo City. We served meals to 100 kids in this poor community twice in May.
Brgy. Kamuning, Quezon City. Instead of serving cooked meals, we opted to distribute food packs to families in this large community to maintain order. These food packs consist of rice and meat enough for ten meals. We have distributed food packs to 234 families three times now.
In summary, we have fed 460 children, reached 230 families, and served 9,561 meals.
In the morning of July 1, we launched two more feeding programs! These are in Brgy. Tarece, Pangasinan, and Floodway, Cainta. We will be serving an additional 150 kids in these areas.
“I see happiness in my kids whenever we receive meals from you,” says Lilian, a mother of five.
The father of her children is in jail. Lilian had him imprisoned because of his drug habit. “Even if it means my having to raise the children alone, I’d rather see him behind bars,” she says.
Before the quarantine, she made a living by peddling Sampaguita flowers along Katipunan Avenue and sometimes by cleaning condo units at Eastwood City.
Since the lockdown began, she and her children have been forced to stay in their small house beside the river in Brgy. Bagumbayan, Quezon City. She has no way to earn a living, no means of providing food for her children.
“I don’t know how to provide for them especially now that I can’t work because of COVID-19 lockdown. This is a huge help for a single mom like me.”
It is ROFP’s mission to serve meals that will not only satisfy hunger but will also nourish the children’s bodies. We want to stay true to this mission despite our situation now so we serve meals that has meat and vegetable in it and whenever available, some fruit as well.
Thank you very much for your support! All these would not be possible without your donation. Despite the easing of quarantine regulations nationwide, our people still encounter problems from day-to-day — COVID-19 cases continue to rise, businesses close because of bankruptcy, people lose their jobs. In all of these poor families are badly hit the most. Please continue to help us and share this with your friends so we can feed more children and give their families one less meal to worry about.
Thank you and stay safe!
To our dear Donors and Partners,
Year 2020 is the 5th year of the #ProjectBaon program and there are simply no words to describe our gratefulness for your support and love for the thousands of kids who have received their school meals through this program since 2015.
School year 2020-2021 will be a totally different experience for all the kids in the communities we serve. Due to the Covid19 Pandemic, there are still no definite plans on when schools will be open. With covid 19 cases still on the rise and no vaccine yet available, the government, educators and parents are all in agreement that Schools should NOT open yet.
And so #ProjectBaon continues with our team going house to house to deliver these essential meals for the kids and in some communities even for their whole family. To maximize the impact, we have decided to combine funds from the #ProjectBaon Fundraiser with our Covid19 Relief Funds.
In the first wave of meal and food pack distribution, a total of 3,071 meals were distributed to 4 different locations as below :
In Brgy. Bagumbayan Quezon City, one family you are helping is the family of Lilian, a single mother of 5 kids.
“I see happiness in my kids whenever we receive meals from you.” says Lilian. The father of her children is in jail. Lilian had him imprisoned because of his drug habit. “Even if it means my having to raise the children alone, I’d rather see him behind bars” she says. Before the quarantine, she made a living by peddling sampaguita flowers along Katipunan Avenue and sometimes by cleaning condo units at Eastwood City. Since the lockdown began, she and her children have been forced to stay in their small house beside the river in Brgy. Bagumbayan, Quezon City. She has no way to earn a living, no means of providing food for her children."
Lilian is just one of the thousands of families we are able to help through your continous support.
Please pray for our team as we increase our reach to more locations needing help. Please pray for the protection of staff and volunteers who has been preparing the meals, packing relief and distributing it to the communities as Covid19 remains a real threat to the health of everyone.
We THANK you! We hope that you will be blessed beyond your expectations in the coming months even through this difficult season we are all in. Thank you for showing us, and the families we help that there is still HOPE.
Yours sincerely,
Dawn + ROFP Board of Trustees, Staff and Volunteers
