THE United States-based Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has started distributing relief aid to persons with disabilities (PWDs) and informal workers in two municipalities in the country as part of its humanitarian assistance program to help households affected by the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
CRS sub-regional country representative Matthew McGarry on Thursday disclosed that an initial amount of P1.2 million has been disbursed to provide relief to PWDs and informal workers in Cainta, Rizal and in the municipality of Pateros.
“We are focusing our efforts on assisting the most vulnerable populations, who bear the brunt of the lockdown and are at the greatest risk from the spread of COVID-19,” McGarry said in a statement.
“Beyond the dangers of the disease itself, the current situation makes it virtually impossible for many families in the communities we serve to meet their most basic needs,” he also said.
The CRS partnered with the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. (TWHI) to provide 116 PWDs in a TWHI residential facility in Cainta, Rizal a month’s supply of food and hygiene items.
The group delivered fresh vegetables, fruit, rice, eggs, dried fish, canned goods, condiments, bath soaps, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, detergent bars, bleach, razors (for men), and sanitary napkins (for women) to the facility.
McGarry said CRS is working with Caritas Pasig and the local government of Barangay Santo Rosario Kanluran in Pateros to provide 150 informal workers P5,000 cash grants.
Its beneficiaries include tricycle and jeepney drivers, sidewalk vendors, construction workers and others who have lost their sources of income but are not included in the government’s Pantawid Pamilya cash assistance program (4Ps).
The official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States said it aims to expand its assistance efforts to other areas in the country.
“CRS is planning to incorporate the lessons learned for safe, secure, and timely COVID-19 safety net assistance in an expanded COVID-19 relief and recovery program across the Philippines,” McGarry said.
