In March 2020, the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) launched its Ani Para sa Bayani project as part of its bigger Para sa Bayani campaign that aimed to provide essential support to frontliners and communities by working together and doing our part in “flattening the curve”. The Ani para sa Bayani project aimed to promote good nutrition, food security, and livelihood by providing vegetables for frontliners and communities struggling to access nutritious food during the enhanced community quarantine and facilitate access to markets for local farmers that were struggling to sell their produce in the context of the ECQ.  When PGH opened its doors as a COVID-19 referral hospital, we reached out to see if the hospital needed fruits and vegetables to augment the meals being provided to frontliners and patients in the facility. They confirmed this would benefit many and so we agreed to procure, transport, and donate the fruits and vegetables along with the requirements defined by the PGH team. 

This donation contributed to the overall goals of the Ani Para sa Bayani Program: PSFI procured and transported approximately 4 tons of fruits and vegetables to PGH, supporting 14 local farmers in Rizal. PGH was able to provide meals to 22,506 frontliners and 715 patients. PSFI has always believed in the power of collaboration and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with farmers and support the frontliners.

Sebastian C. Quiniones Jr. 
Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc.

Ako ay taga-UP at proud ako dito! Malapit sa puso ko ang UP-PGH at inisip ko kung paano makakatulong ang Franco’s Friends sa Dietary Department. 

Noong una, may takot kami na lumapit sa PGH dahil sa COVID, nguni’t naging inspirasyon ang nakita naming pagod at hirap ng mga duktor, nars, at healthcare workers. Naghatid ako ng pagkain sa PGH—kung anu-ano ng naisip kong sintomas. Pero sa kabilang banda, naisip namin ang kapakanan ng PGH personnel, halos wala silang oras kumain.

Kalinga nami’y maghatid ng masarap, ligtas, at maayos na pagkain; at sana ay nagdulot ito ng panandaliang saya. Nawa’y busog ang mga tiyan at ang morale, para muling makasabak sa susunod na mga araw.

Mr. Ramon Eugenio
Franco’s Friends PH

My boss instructed me to send ice cream to PGH frontliners. The thank you message and photos showing them smiling beneath their masks touched my heart and I wanted to send more ice cream to PGH but this time, as a personal initiative.

I love ice cream with all my heart. When I feel down, it’s a sure way of putting a smile on my face. I started this project to bring cheer to PGH frontliners and asked my friends to donate so I can send more ice cream. The help I got was overwhelming, but it was nothing compared to all the sacrifices PGH and its workforce have made the entire pandemic. Thankfully, I collected enough funds to send enough ice cream to PGH twice.

The ice cream project took place during my birthday month and I couldn’t be happier. I really didn’t know how to stay positive in this pandemic but I will be forever grateful to PGH for being a constant reminder of hope in this trying time—all your bravery will always be an inspiration to me and each one of us who’s having a hard time in finding a silver lining at this moment.  

Ms. Mikaela Ayeera Quisido
Magnolia Ice Cream, SMC Infrastructure

We at Rise Against Hunger Philippines think of healthcare workers (HCWs) as our last line of defense, not just for COVID-19 but also for other health problems we are facing. If our HCWs fall, then this can lead to the collapse of the entire health system. We have been providing food donations to 31 public health facilities like PGH because we believe that they are the most in need of our support.

We feel blest that in our own way we are able to alleviate the difficulties faced by our HCWs. By providing them with some of the essentials that they need, then they do not have to spend so much time lining up in groceries to buy stuff. What very little extra time they have can be better spent with their loved ones, or maybe just to rest and recover.

Jomar Fleras 
Rise Against Hunger Philippines

When the whole ECQ happened, Hayden and I said we have to help; and we released about 3 million pesos worth of PPEs to hospitals. Of course, PGH is one of the hospitals in our list because it’s a public hospital and we know a lot of people go there first. And then I thought, what else could we do? Since we’re both doctors, we know that one of the things hardest to get was food while we were on duty. 

And it was extremely hard because everything was closed. We thought, how can you function if you don’t have fuel? Hayden decided we would provide 1000 meals a day. We partnered with Cloud Eats which gave us a reasonable price. Angkas delivered the food for free so it was really a collaboration between Angkas and Belo. We did this for 45 days and we served over 45,000 meals. 

I think the whole point is not to feel hopeless or to feel like “Oh my God, the world is ending”. We did it because we’re Christians. We feel that the food didn’t come from us, it’s really from God’s grace. So parang, “What do you want us to do, Lord?” I think it helped with our positivity. Even Scarlet was very involved. We tried to teach her social responsibility—caring for other people and caring for the frontliners. It is really true that when you give, you receive. And I feel like that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t get so depressed during the quarantine because we were trying to figure out how we could help.

Dr. Vicki Belo
Belo Medical Group 

“When the pandemic started,  a lot of hospitals became overburdened with the number of COVID-19 cases. It was clear that a lot of people would be going to PGH as it was the hospital most accessible to the majority of Filipinos. A lot of our volunteers felt helpless and frustrated for not being able to do something to contribute to the fight; which our front liners were doing every day. So when we had a meeting with Cloudeats and the Belo Group to help them coordinate the delivery of food to PGH, it was an easy decision for us. 

More than the donation, we think it was the overall process of seeing people unite together for a single cause of providing help to those at the frontlines that really inspired us to believe and hope again. It was inspiring to see people giving what they can in order to help in a cause that, hopefully, helped save lives.”

Carlo
Hirayang Kabataan
(Bukas Bayani & Sangguniang Kabataan Academy Initiative)

“As a business operating here in the Philippines, it is our responsibility as entrepreneurs to give back to the community in any way we can. And with this pandemic, we just really want to recognize the efforts of our health workers and frontliners in fighting COVID-19.” 

Edmundo “Iggy” Ramos
Tenya Philippines

Published in Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 9, 10, 11, 12.