Over 1,000 food kits and rescue equipment were donated by Latter-day Saint Charities (LDSC) to the municipality of Tanay, Rizal, during a brief handover ceremony on June 30, 2021. The donation made by the humanitarian arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was done immediately following the For the Strength of Youth (FSY) Camp groundbreaking ceremony.
Elder Jairus Perez, LDSC Country Director, handed over the donation to Tanay Municipal Mayor Rex Manuel Tanjuatco. Also in attendance was Vice-Mayor Rafael Tanjuatco.
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The food kits donated by LDSC were part of ongoing operations to administer relief to families and individuals who were displaced and affected by Typhoon Ulysses in November 2020. These kits were individually packed by Church volunteers of the Morong Stake (diocese). Each food kit contains 5 kilograms of rice, cans of corned beef and tuna, powdered milk, powdered malt drink, and noodles.
Aside from the food kits, LDSC also donated rescue equipment to the Tanay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO). These include emergency bags, outdoor flashlights, raincoats, facemasks, rescue helmets, and emergency foil blankets for rescue operations.
“Most of these food provisions will go to indigent people who were battered by Typhoon Ulysses (internationally known as Typhoon Vamco). The new equipment will also increase our municipality's capability to respond to future emergencies," said Mayor Tanjuatco as he thanked the Church for its generosity.
Speaking of the donations, Elder Perez emphasized that these were made possible through the charitable donations of Church members.
“The vision of LDSC is to follow Jesus Christ by embracing His two great commandments - to love God and to love our neighbors. We do the latter by ministering to their temporal needs,” concluded Elder Perez.
Latter-day Saint Charities
Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Charities is an application of the admonition of Jesus Christ to help others in need. Jesus Christ taught His followers to give meat to the hungry and drink to those who thirst. His gospel includes taking in the stranger, loving neighbors as self, and visiting those who are sick or imprisoned. He taught that we love and care for each other, visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions, and lift those whose hands hang down and whose knees are feeble.
Unique in its support structure, LDS Charities has access to the resources of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which include food production and processing, donated used clothing, employment and social services, and the ability to purchase goods locally in many parts of the world. We sponsor relief and development projects in 179 countries. Assistance is rendered without regard to race, religious affiliation, or nationality and is based on the core principles of personal responsibility, community support, self-reliance, and sustainability. Largely run with volunteer labor, we operate independently and cooperate with other charitable organizations and governments. More than one million person-days of labor are contributed yearly by volunteers in support of welfare initiatives.