In a desire to follow Jesus Christ’s example of service, thousands of members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered hand in hand in various locations in the Philippines to provide service in their communities, rendering over 10,000 volunteer hours in observance of the National Day of Service.
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Organized with local government units and non-government organizations, Helping Hand volunteers carried out different activities that benefitted people in the community.
While the common theme of the activities was the Brigada Eskwela or the National Schools Maintenance Week initiated by the Department of Education in preparation of every opening of the school year, volunteers also rendered other types of services.
Below is a summary of the different service-oriented projects that HH volunteers performed to show love for God and their neighbors.
Luzon
In Muntinlupa City, the Las Piñas Philippines Stake (diocese) participated in the local government unit's city-wide bloodletting drive to increase the adequacy of safe blood supply and ensure accessibility to those who need blood transfusions, especially that the dengue season is close by.
Meanwhile, Helping Hand volunteers of the San Isidro 2nd Branch (small congregation) cleared the seashore of Brgy. Tinoan in Real, Quezon of trash.
In Agoo and Guimba, volunteers and their friends cleared the roads and public areas of election campaign materials. They also cleaned the roads and streets of dried leaves that littered the area.
In Cavite, members of the Cavite Philippines Stake together with Rotary District 3810, Couples for Christ, and other organizations planted 7,000 mangrove seedlings along the shores of San Rafael Bay in Noveleta, Cavite.
This is the third time that the stake has done this mangrove tree planting activity. The seedlings planted in 2013 are now over 5-feet tall and the ones planted in 2015 are 3-feet tall.
The 150-volunteer effort is in response to Noveleta City Mayor Dino Chua's pledge to the Bureau of Aquatic Resources to plant 1,000,000 mangrove trees in his town’s shores to help prevent floods, eliminate red tides, and provide a home to a variety of fishes and shellfishes, which Cavite province is known for.
Meanwhile, the Malolos Philippines Stake contributed a total of 1,464 volunteer hours in their week-long clean-up drive activities. In partnership with local government authorities within and outside the stake's area, 359 Helping Hand volunteers aided in cleaning institutional buildings in several communities, including the Tuktukan Elementary School, Sumapang Matanda and Balagtas Sports Complex, San Jose Elementary School, and Plaridel Central School.
Check out Church Newsroom Philippines photo album on Facebook for more projects in Luzon.
Visayas
In Metro Cebu, several wards (congregations) of the Cebu City Philippines Stake helped in the cleanup following a water drilling project that Latter-day Saints Charities and the Rise and Rebuild Foundation carried out at an NHA housing community in Budlaan, Talamban.
In a different province, HH volunteers of the Tacloban 2ndWard in Tacloban, Leyte beautified the surroundings of the Apitong Elementary School to create a cool, relaxing space for students to learn as they start the school year. A similar activity was also carried out by members of the Church in Bobon, Northern Samar and in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental.
Check out Church Newsroom Philippines photo album on Facebook for more projects in Visayas.
Mindanao
In Cagayan de Oro City and other areas in Misamis Oriental, such as in Manticao, Aloran and Oroquieta, many congregations took part in the post-election cleanup drive to beautify public spaces. Volunteers donned in yellow Helping Hands vests went around streets, national roads and barangays to remove tarpaulin banners, scrub posters off walls, pick up plastic and other trash scattered on sidewalks and gutters.
Volunteers are looking forward as elementary and high school students attend their first day of class in a newly cleaned school thanks to the efforts of Helping Hand volunteers who participated in the nationwide Brigada Eskwela campaign of the Department of Education.
Check out Church Newsroom Philippines photo album on Facebook for more projects in Mindanao.