NEWS
Protecting Those Who Keep Us Safe | SOS Calbayog Joins Hands With The Rotary Club Of Calbayog In Producing PPEs For Frontline Workers
On
April 17, 2020, the Rotary Club of Calbayog, in partnership with SOS Children’s
Village Calbayog donated 550 Face shields and 175 protective suits for the
frontline workers in the city.
The Rotary Club of
Calbayog has been a reliable partner of SOS Children’s Village Calbayog for decades
in keeping children and young people less vulnerable, happy, safe, and well. Every
year, they organize various developmental activities and provide financial
support to help sustain the children’s needs.
“They are our friends
who constantly give support in fulfilling our care promise to the children,
young people, families, and communities we serve” - Ms.
Emily Torculas, SOS Children’s Village Calbayog Directress
Due to the recent
global emergency brought by COVID-19, this simple partnership evolved to become
a more meaningful and empowering one. The Rotary Club of Calbayog reached out
to SOS Children’s Village Calbayog to produce face shields and protective suits
to contribute to lessening the risk posed by this pandemic.
SOS Calbayog offered
workforce and a facility to materialize the project. On the other hand, the
Rotary Club took charge of the funding and materials procurement.
The production phase moved
forward in SOS Calbayog’s Hermann Gmeiner Technical Vocational School’s
Production Room where Dressmaking NCII classes were normally conducted. The
Rotary Club of Calbayog purchased meters of nylon taffeta, a kind of fabric
used for an umbrella’s canopy, as the primary material to produce the protective
suits.
Doing What We Can to Help
(Mr. Geriel Salvadora, a government worker from the City Social Welfare and Development Office, supervising the production of protective suits. The sewing machines used to produce protective suits are from the local government office of Calbayog City for the Dressmaking NCII classes. SOS Calbayog and the local government office of Calbayog City through the CSWDO are partners in facilitating Dressmaking NCII classes.)
Since no one from
either of the two organizations has a background in PPE production, members of
the Rotary Club of Calbayog searched for standards-compliant, protective suits
designs. They found a pattern, made by a Filipino designer, Mich Dulce, which
was likewise based and inspired on a real isolation suit lent to her by Vice
President Hon. Leni Robredo.
Geriel Salvadora, a
government worker from the City Social Welfare and Development Office,
supervised the production process. He and 5 volunteers patiently sewed 175
protective suits.
“Sewing
has been a part of our [referring to his volunteers] everyday life and now,
this skill [we have] hopes to protect the lives of our medical workers who try to
save people’s lives every day. Who wouldn’t be happy about that?” – Mr.
Geriel Salvadora, Project Head
Three out of 5
volunteers worked at their homes using their sewing machines, while the
remaining 2 volunteers worked on-site to finish the project within one week,
from April 13 to 17. In return, the Rotary Club of Calbayog paid one hundred
pesos for each suit a volunteer has finished.
Choosing to Be a Part of the
Solution
Meanwhile,
the face shields were produced thanks to the youths of SOS Children’s Village
Calbayog. Excited to take part in the project, the youths studied how to make
face shields online even before the sample and materials arrived. They have
been working on the production of face shields since the second week of March,
as a response to the growing need for protective equipments.
“I’m
glad that I can help protect frontline workers through this project. They’re
risking their lives to keep us all safe, this is the least that I can do for
them.” – Jessa*, SOS Youth
(SOS youths also participated in creating face shields
for frontline workers.)
(Protective face shields made by the youth girls of
SOS Children’s Village Calboyog being used by frontline workers. Left: Health
workers from St. Camillus Hospital, right: Tinambacan PNP Frontliners; photos
grabbed from Rotary Club of Calbayog’s Facebook page)
Through the project,
550 face shields and 175 protective suits, or collectively known as personal
protective equipment (PPEs), have been personally distributed by the Rotary
Club of Calbayog to the frontline workers of the city. Among the beneficiaries
of the project are the City Health Office of Calbayog City, St. Camillus Hospital,
Tinambacan PNP Frontliners, OLPHI, Calbayog District Hospital, and nurses from
the Department of Health Office in Calbayog City.
(From left to right: SOS Childre’s Village Calbayog
Directress Ms. Emily Torculas, Rotary Club of Calbayog President Rtrn. Maria
Margarita Sajul, Rtrn. Ritchie Roño, and SOS Children’s Villages
Philippines Board Chairman Rtrn. Mel Senen Sarmiento. On top of the table are packs of protective suits
ready to be handed over to IATF Calbayog.)
Last April 17, 2020, a
small turnover ceremony was conducted at the City Hall Compound. Packs of
protective suits and face shields were personally handed over by members of the
Rotary Club of Calbayog headed by its President Rtrn. Maria Margarita
Sajul, and SOS Children’s Villages Philippines Board Chairman Rtrn. Mel Senen
Sarmiento to the Inter-Agency
Task Force Calbayog as headed and represented by Mayor Ronaldo P. Aquino.
Officers of LGU Calbayog and the City Health Office were also present during
the ceremony.
The success of this
project has proven that we all have a role to play in the fight against the
COVID-19 pandemic; be it through lending our time, skills, or resources. We at
SOS Children’s Villages Philippines would like to express our heartfelt
gratitude to everyone who took part in this meaningful initiative.
While we patiently
wait for the world to heal, staying at home and praying for the safety of our
fellowmen are among the steps we can take to help be a part of the solution.
And if we can lend a helping hand to those in need, now is the best time to do
so.
SOS villages are currently under lockdown. Food and supplies are urgently
needed. Send help now.
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