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Packs of Hope
On our last Beyond Feeding distribution at Manuel Guianga, Matilda shyly smiled at one of our staff and said in a rather sad and shaky voice as if she was on the verge of crying…
Karon na mahuman inyong panghatag, Ma’am?
(Is this the last time you will give us food, Ma’am?)
Matilda isn’t really part of the community we were helping for the last leg of our Beyond Feeding program but our local health workers included her name on the list as a special consideration since Matilda and her family are really dirt poor.
Every food distribution day, Matilda would walk for hours along muddy roads just to receive our food packs which she said have immensely helped them survive this pandemic. She also said how the bread rolls we have included in our packs have sustained her while she walked back home and have sustained their family since there are times they don’t have water to cook rice.
With tears slowly racing down her cheeks, Matilda shared how life had been so harsh to her. She added that her eleven-year-old son cannot walk and they have been promised a wheelchair by different organizations before but those were just empty words. While wiping her tears, Matilda said that ever since she joined our Beyond Feeding program, she slowly had hope come alive in her because she realized that there are still people who remember them and care for them.
Dako kaayo mo’g tabang namo, Ma’am. Salamat kaayo sa pagkaon ug salamat kay gitagaan mi ninyo’g paglaom.
(You have been such a huge help to us, Ma’am. Thank you very much for the food and thank you for the hope that you gave us.)
Although our 3-month program in this community has ended, we are still keeping in touch with Matilda. In fact, we were able to give her a wheelchair for her son.
It is stories like this that encourage us to press on and continue feeding communities and giving hope to them despite the risks, because there are families out there who are desperate to eat and have nowhere else to go.
YOUR SUPPORT HAS KEPT FAMILIES FROM GOING HUNGRY.
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to take its toll on vulnerable Filipino households with hunger and malnutrition worsening due to lack of access to food, let alone nutritious food, lack of safety nets, and lack of available jobs for the Filipino poor.
For the past year, through our Beyond Feeding program, we were able to help families who are bearing the brunt of this pandemic across 17 marginalized rural communities within Davao City and beyond.
Beyond Feeding has undoubtedly made a significant impact on hundreds of Filipino families who otherwise would go to bed hungry and depleted. A food pack every two weeks for three months may seem so small but to a hungry home, that already means a lot.
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