NASSA/Caritas Philippines Situationer 4: COVID-19
April 2, 2020
Caritas Response
- The Social Action Network COVID-19 Response has now amounted to more than 45 million pesos with over 30 diocesan social action centers responding either through the establishment of the Community Caritas Kindness Stations, distribution of relief goods, providing shelter to frontliners and families, and fundraising for PPEs and medical supplies.
- In response to the call to support COVID-19 frontliners, temporary shelters were established in church institutions such as the St. Mary College (RVM), St. Anthony’s Shrine (OFM), Convent of the Holy Spirit (SSPS), Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Convent (FMM), Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Senora de Guia, OFM Provincial House of San Pedro Bautista Province and St. John Bosco Parish Makati.
- Parishes and church institutions also have offered their facilities to shelter medical frontliners, like in Sto. Nino Parish in Tondo, Manila; Our Lady of Peñafrancia Seminary in Sorsogon City; St. Mary College, Quezon City; St. Anthony’s Shrine, Manila; Convent of the Holy Spirit, Quezon City; Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Convent, Manila; Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guia, Manila; OFM Provincial House – San Pedro Bautista Province, Quezon City; St. John Basco Parish, Makati; and the Our Lady of Peñafrancia Seminary in Sorsogon
- Safer Spaces were created by partner Catholic schools for the Homeless in De Lasalle University, College of St. Benilde, Tahanan (St. Scholastica), Malate Catholic School, Paco Catholic School, Espiritu Santo Elementary School, Arnold Janssen Kalinga Night Shelter
- Caritas Manila continues its fundraising campaign to primarily assist the vulnerable sectors in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, while Pondo ng Pinoy has allocated 1 million pesos for its 20 member-dioceses
- NASSA/Caritas Philippines continue to push for the advocacy calls it launched on March 17, 2020 especially calling on: 1] #MassTestingPH, 2] adequate food and essential supplies provision, 3] better packages for the daily income earners, 4] mass disinfection, 5] moratorium on payment of mortgages, interests on loans, and financial obligations, 6] community level citizen’s desks should be set up as feedback, grievance, and action mechanism, and the 7] provision of better information dissemination mechanisms.
Photos of the decentralized, community-based humanitarian response of the Catholic Church:
