The Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) prevented Rotary Clubs to conduct regular meetings. Under ECQ, club projects delayed during the eruption of the Taal Volcano were temporarily shelved if not completely set aside in the face of the COVID 19 pandemic! Social distancing was the norm for all Rotarians and law abiding Filipinos.
It is in this scenario when the Rotary Club of Manuel Roxas Manila (RCMRM) & the Rotary Club of Manila Sta Ana (RCMSA), under the initiative of All Star Governor Ernest Yuyek, decided to pool their resources together to the address the safety needs of the frontliners in our public hospitals, principally, Sta Ana Hospital & Ospital ng Maynila . A Rotary Action group consisting of representative members of the two clubs was formed and a Messenger Chat Group was established for proper coordination between the two (2) clubs. The individual Clubs in turn coordinated with their respective club members by way of the Messenger Chat Groups established even before the COVID 19 pandemic.
Regular Video Conferences were held everyday at 3:00pm by project proponents ChP Emmanuel Valenzuela, SDG George Ng, SDG Brick Onlingkuan, PP Anthony Go & Rtn Varick Ong of RCMRM and Rtn. Carmelita Siasat, Disaster Response Chair of RCMSA! During these conferences, fund sourcing, product canvassing, delivery set ups and overall logistics were discussed. Results of every discussions were in turn cascaded to the individual clubs by way of the Clubs’ Messenger Chat Groups.
In summary, the group was able to raise a total of PhP120k, with PhP60K from RCMRM, PhP50K from RCMSA, PhP10K from SDG George Ng, plus 100 face shield & 1000 face masks solicited by SDG Brick Onglingkuan. With the PhP120k, the group was able to purchase 400 PPE gowns for the two hospitals.
Dra. Cara Sason, Ospital ng Maynila ER Triage, sums up the result of this activity . “Received the suits, masks and face shields, po. They will surely be of use by our healthcare workers On behalf of the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, many thanks to the Rotary Club of Manuel Roxas and Rotary Club of Manila Sta Ana. “
To date the Rotary Action Group continues to meet in cyberspace to discuss action plans to address the needs of our frontline workers during this trying times. #RotaryResponds
CP Mariano “Nito” Siasat – RC Manila Sta. Ana, RID 3810
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