Mormon Helping Hands, LDS Charities Respond to Call for Help in Flooded Areas in Hagonoy, Bulacan

Residents of Barangay Mercado in Hagonoy, Bulacan received aid on 21 June 2018 from LDS Charities (LDSC), Mormon Helping Hands, Philippine Marines and TV5 Foundation. Barangay Mercado was one of the barangays under Hagonoy heavily affected by flooding due to two-weeks of heavy rainfall.

Church members of Hagonoy Branch (Congregation) under Malolos Philippines Stake (Diocese), together with Church leaders, officials of Barangay Mercado and a representative from the Philippine Marines repacked goods delivered to the Hagonoy meetinghouse on 20 June 2018.

Each set of relief goods consisted of two and a half kilos of rice, two cans of sardines, five cans of corned beef, a half-pack of sugar, and three packs of noodles. Church members and volunteers were able to repack a total of 2,000 food kits. 

According to one volunteer, residents’ faces lit up with gladness as the Mormon Helping Hands volunteers in yellow vests, members of the Philippine Marines in their green camouflage uniforms and other volunteers arrived in the barangay's covered court bringing food and aid. Ninety-percent of the residents of Barangay Mercado received aid. 

LDS Charities is the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For years, LDSC has been sponsoring programs, through partnerships with other organizations, to provide Clean Water, Neonatal Resuscitation Training, Vision Care, Wheelchairs, Immunization, Food Production and other health programs as part of their mandate to provide opportunities for individuals and communities to develop and become self-reliant in the long term.

In addition, LDSC provides humanitarian services, such as emergency response to natural disasters. Through partnerships with local government officials and non-government organizations, LDSC is able to send aid to affected areas within hours of disaster.

The Mormon Helping Hands (MHH) program brings members of the Church and their friends together to provide community service. Recognizable in their bright MHH yellow vests, volunteers reflect the desire of Mormons to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others those in need. Resources that MHH uses to provide aid are from the Church’s humanitarian arm, LDSC, donations from friends, and projects that local Church leaders coordinate with other organizations.