Written by President Don Shields.
On the 16th of October 2024, I accompanied President Raymund Balicha of the Rotary International Club of Multinational Manila (RIMM), and we started by visiting Andrea Senior Home Care Inc (see enclosed brochure). This is a nursing home for the elderly, named after Andrea Senior, a Filipino who lives in the USA, and financially supports the home personally, providing the home free, and paying most of the costs.
In the Philippines, the elderly are normally looked after by their children in old age, but it is becoming an increasing problem that the elderly have no children (there is a 98 year old resident who has outlived her children) or are disowned by their children due to challenging behaviours, or they can no-longer afford to look after them due to dementia or health issues. This nursing home houses 9 elderly female residents and receives no government support. It is run on a daily basis by a Catholic nun, a retired social worker & a retired qualified nurse. Via one of their members, who works for the Department of Social Welfare & who used to work with the retired social worker, RIMM made contact & asked what they needed. The result was that today we delivered 14 chairs & a table (with another 10 chairs & a table to be delivered next week), along with tinned food & laundry soap. The tined food when supplemented by rice will provide meals for a week.
We then visited Kaysuyo National High School, a small rural high school with approx. 150 students in grades 7 to 10, which come from poor rural families. The school has 8 staff, and the Philippines Government provides the bare minimum. There is no air conditioning anywhere in the school, and many of the classrooms don’t even have fans. Obviously, this is not conducive to learning when the weather is hot &/or humid. RIMM purchased 4 ceiling fans, we donated them to the school. They were extremely thankful to receive them – cost approx. $60 each. The school has been added to the Christmas Giving Program of RIMM, which our club has supported with $1,000 each year for the last several years, and I have matched/doubled myself.
The enclosed letter also asks for a grass cutter, which the RIMM will donate, and I will supply a playground, along with a couple of boxes of 2nd hand school supplies (from RARE North Geelong).
We are blessed to live in Australia
