Caritas Manila, the social service arm of the Archdiocese of Manila through Caritas Damayan launched the Nutrition and Feeding Program for the poor at Saint John Bosco Parish in Tondo, Manila last June 9, 2022.
The social arm program of the Archdiocese known as the Hapag-Asa Feeding Program aims to address and prevent the growing number of malnourished children in the country.
According to the Veritas news post, Caritas Manila has partnered with the Rotary Club of Makati (RCM) and in support of the institution’s program has provided P500,000 to more than 150 children covered by the said parish.
Caritas Manila Executive Director Fr. Anton CT Pascual, said that it is important to pay attention to the problem of malnutrition in the country, especially among the youth to help in providing a healthy body and mind.
“We have to save the child as soon as possible and we have a six-month Hapag-Asa program to save the child and give him a more normal future,” Fr. Pascual told Radio Veritas.
Meanwhile, Luis Angel Aseoche, President of Rotary Club of Makati assured Caritas Manila that they will continue to help and support their aspirations and programs.
Aseoche shared that although his term as president of the RCM will end on June 30, the next leader will continue to address the problems of malnutrition and will improve the situation of those who experience hunger, especially the children from poor communities.
“Tamang-tama sa transitioning from my term to the next term, we have as beneficiaries children of school age because they need to have good nutrition for their brains to develop and for them to have a fighting chance to succeed in life and to improve their economic conditions,” Aseoche said.
Fr. Gaudencio Carandang, Jr., parish priest of St. John Bosco Parish-Tondo commended the initiative of Caritas Manila for its continued support and assistance to poor families especially in addressing hunger and malnutrition of children.
It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 beneficiaries of Caritas Manila’s Hapag-Asa Feeding Program.
According to a study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2021, about 45-million children are experiencing the severe effects of malnutrition worldwide. (Jheng Prado/RCAM-AOC)
