PANDEMIC RELIEF BRIEFS

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Udenna Foundation-WorkLink-Phoenix partnership helps Aeta honey producers

Udenna Foundation with the help of WorkLink Services, Inc. of Chelsea Logistics, and Phoenix Petroleum has transported 50-gallons of honey processed by the Aetas of Bataan to buyers in Manila in cooperation with social enterprise AGREA, headed by its Founding Farmer Cherrie Atilano.

“The wild honey, sustainably harvested by the Magbokun Ayta Indigenous Peoples of Morong, Bataan, in their ancestral lands, is done only during the dry season when the flowers are in full bloom and honey production is at its height to ensure the purity and quality,” said Atilano.

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The shipment was part of the Sagip Saka program spearheaded by the Udenna Foundation under their Community Care initiative. The objective of this initiative was to aid upland and lowland farmers of Luzon, transport their fresh produce to Metro Manila at the height of the enhanced community quarantine. Since then, the initiative has continued in partnership with AGREA as well as the Department of Agriculture.

Henry Fadullon, new Phoenix President and Chief Executive Officer added, “Udenna Foundation alerted us that our Aeta brethren needed help in transporting honey to Manila, we immediately saw this as an opportunity to live up to the core of what we in the Udenna group have stood for the past months of the ECQ, that is to serve as a critical bridge between the farmers needing to deliver their highly perishable goods and the people in NCR.”

Udenna Foundation is constantly working with and coordinating with the farmers and organizations in Northern and Southern Luzon to provide logistics services to ensure the free flow of fresh produce during the COVID-19 pandemic under the UCARE or CommUnity Care program of the Foundation.

UCARE or CommUnity Care is a program of Udenna Foundation that aims to find synergies across the different companies under UDENNA to feed, protect, and transport the community. This call to action is hinged on Udenna Corporation Chairman Dennis Uy’s belief that all efforts, no matter how small, done together can lead to better lives for the Filipino.

PPEs for frontliners from Shell’s Proteksyon Para sa Bayani

Seamstresses in Ambulong, Batangas have responded to the need for more non-medical grade personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontliners like delivery people and volunteers.

The initiative is a collaboration of the Maghanapbuhay sa Bahay (Magbuhay) and the Garments Production Center at the SIBBAP Multipurpose Cooperative.

Magbuhay was first hatched as a program to teach technical sewing skills to the women of Batangas. It began as an initiative of the Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI) almost a decade ago.

Fourteen seamstresses now have all been helping out the community to fight COVID-19 through this program.

Magbuhay is under Shell’s Proteksyon Para sa Bayani movement which aims to help individuals in far-flung communities by giving them ample protection against the pandemic. It also aims to address the growing concern of individuals whose simple livelihoods have come under threat of stalling due to mobility restrictions.

Proteksyon Para sa Bayani has been tapping various Shell communities that have been part of the Magbuhay project. To date, over 8,000 PPEs have been delivered and produced.

“This is just one of Shell’s multi-tiered program called Para sa Bayani,” said PSFI’s executive director Sebastian Quiniones. “Our main goal is to provide resources and help to our frontliners. At the end of the day, every help and every aid brings us closer to replenishing the strength of our warriors and bringing us closer to winning the fight against the pandemic.”

Nickel industry group aids host communities

Members of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) continue to release funds to host communities to aid in the rehabilitation efforts in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PNIA members have collectively disbursed more than P38 million of their Social Development Management Program (SDMP) fund apart from providing assistance to key hospitals in Metro Manila and to more than 66,200 households in CARAGA, Zambales and Palawan.

“We try our best to keep our commitment to our host communities especially during these trying times. It’s definitely a challenging time for our business operations but our local communities are our partners throughout the years and saving lives is our priority right now,” PNIA president, Dante Bravo, said in a statement.

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He added that members also provided food packs, sacks of rice, disinfection tents, face masks, personal protective equipment, digital thermal scanners, vitamins and other medical and disinfection supplies apart from sourcing fresh produce from local farmers and other goods from local establishments.

Over and beyond allocating SDMP funds, PNIA members have also prepared a COVID-19 response fund to support employees and local community stakeholders through salary continuance and various forms of assistance.

“We also ensure that highest health and safety standards are enforced in our mining operations, during and beyond the enhanced community quarantine to protect the welfare of our employees, partners and communities. PNIA members are strictly following quarantine protocols and information campaign efforts to help mitigate transmission of the virus… Each company is doing its best to balance the impact of this crisis and at the same time uphold the safety of all our stakeholders but we are optimistic that will survive this,” Bravo further stated.

Aboitiz foundation assists partner coops to boost earnings in ‘new normal’

Two multi-purpose cooperatives (MPCs) have been addressing and overcoming the economic impact of the current health crisis, even boosting their earnings, thanks to continuous training, financial, and business start-up support from the Aboitiz Foundation.

Prior to the pandemic, the Aboitiz Foundation has already been helping partner-cooperatives improve their business operations by providing various organizational strengthening and skills training programs, technical assistance, small business starter kits, and even market and entrepreneurial support. These initiatives have empowered the foundation’s assisted cooperatives to navigate through COVID-19.

For instance, Tabla MPC in Barangay Tabla in Liloan, Cebu received training sessions and technical assistance on bread production, bakery management, and organizational development.

The Aboitiz Foundation, together with Aboitiz food unit Pilmico and other partners helped the cooperative set up and manage its bakery business through a bakery starter kit donation, and obtain capital funds through loans from partner microfinance institutions. Today, despite the pandemic, Tabla MPC sees an increase in bread and baked goods sales, being the sole bakery in their barangay and nearby communities.

In Tuba, Benguet, Aboitiz Foundation expanded its support to the province through Thanksgiving MPC (which the Foundation has been assisting since 2004) to include financial assistance and capability building and technical skills training programs to develop the members’ skills, enabling them to be productive members of their communities.

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