Church, Interfaith Friends Donate 1,300 Face Shields in Davao Region

The spirit of unity remained strong in the interfaith community amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being required to stay inside the safety of their homes, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and friends in the interfaith community and business sector in Davao never let the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) prevent them from assembling and donating 1,300 face shields.

The Southern Philippines Medical Center, a COVID-19 referral hospital, Ricardo Limso Medical Center and the Philippine National Police for Davao and Davao del Norte received a portion of the donations, while the rest were donated to Tagum Doctors Hospital, Samal and barangay health workers within Davao City also received face shields.

Phillip Tan, a Latter-day Saint of the Davao Philippines Stake (diocese), took the lead along with his group of volunteers, which consisted of local Church members and other city volunteers, in an initiative to assemble 1,300 face shields for the front liners in the city.

“A friend connected me to a group that was producing 3D-printed face shields. They were having challenges coping with the demand for the protective equipment,” Tan shared on how he first saw the opportunity to extend help.

Due to the ECQ in Davao City, movement became limited. As most of the establishments remained closed, it took weeks to complete the sourcing of the materials for the project. The procurement of the needed polyethylene terephthalate film rolls from the manufacturing plant, which have locally produced and donated face shields at the early stages of the pandemic, was a challenge. Hence, the delay shared Tan.

Nevertheless, Church volunteers contributed significantly to the project. “We had sufficiently good responses from members who shared with the costs, while some individuals and families volunteered to assemble,” Tan said. He relayed that volunteers scrambled for materials and tools enough to complete the face shields.

Additionally, as public transportation was inaccessible, some volunteered to handle logistics. They handled the delivery of the materials to the volunteers, picked up the assembled items, and distributed the face shields to the different beneficiaries.

Aside from Church members, several other volunteers in Davao City such as members of the Focolare Movement and Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center, who are both members of the Davao Interfaith Group, offered to help.

Some companies also extended help to complete the project. “We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of the solution,” said Gloryfel Lubaton, owner of Tots Garden, whose employees took part in the initiative. FGC+, an outsourcing company, also helped in the funding of the project and assembling the items.

While the country’s frontline medical, healthcare workers, police and military peace enforcers, sanitation workers, researchers, and many other front liners risked their lives, there were many others, though in the comfort of their homes, contributed in the fight against COVID-19.

Josett Castro, one of the 40 volunteers, shared, “During the first few days of the quarantine period, I felt I did not have enough purpose. I am very grateful that my family and I were given the opportunity to do something to protect our front liners.”

Currently, over a thousand face shields have already been distributed throughout Davao Region, which helped alleviate the dangers faced by the heroes who are at the forefront battling against the global pandemic.