News Release

684 Volunteers Help Collect Valuable Genealogical Information

A total of six hundred eighty-four Mormon Helping Hands (MHH) volunteers arrived at Bolonsiri Public Cemetery, 5:00 in the morning, to participate in a Cemetery Documentation Service Project.

 

The Cemetery Documentation Service Project took place on Tuesday, 28 August 2018, in the City of Cagayan de Oro. Cemeteries contain valuable records and information of people who have died, many of whom are dead ancestors of people living in a locality. However, grave markers are being destroyed at an ever-increasing rate due to weathering and other natural forces.

The aim of the service project was to help ensure that records of deceased ancestors are preserved for future generations.  Volunteers from the three stakes (dioceses) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped clean and beautify grave sites while collecting and documenting important genealogical information.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through FamilySearch, the largest genealogy organization in the world, has been actively engaged in projects aimed at preserving historical records. The Church has partnered with BillionGraves to further the initiative of documenting and digitizing every headstone in the world.

The output of this project will be a searchable database of photos and information available publicly on the internet particularly on Familysearch.org and Billiongraves.com. Anyone needing information on friends and family who have been buried in public cemeteries can access the information on Billiongraves.com and familysearch.org for free.

At the end of the day, a total of 345 headstone images were uploaded to the cemetery documentation website. 

The project was made possible through the approval given by Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno.

Future Cemetery Documentation projects are planned for the Malaybalay City and Balingasag areas in September as part of their National Family Week celebrations. 

Video credit: FamilySearch Philippines

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